For all the talk in recent years of how the Internet will kill off the already dwindling audience of book readers, it struck me recently that perhaps this theory will prove to be exactly wrong. One of the most common Internet memes is the reading list — a 50-book challenge or some such — in which people all over the world list and comment on the books they are reading. This would seem to give any book added value since it’s providing not only the entertainment or enlightenment or mental excercise that people generally look for in the act of reading, but additionally a means of connecting with the broader world. That’s got to be worth something, doesn’t it?
Is the Internet the Publishing Industry's Best Friend?
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Absolutely! Even if the publishing industry’s numbers are down, I think the overall experience of buying and owning a book has improved with the Internet explosion — you can find the right book, find out about it, and purchase it — so much more easily than you once could.
Moreover, human beings are tactile, analog animals that enjoy a sensory reward in reading (and carrying, and tossing around, and annoting, and sharing) a well-designed book. Even on crappy paper, good content is a joy to read. Consider the New Yorker anthology — I love owning it, but if I’m going to read any more than 1,000 words I spark up the laser jet.
Perhaps the publishing industry would be better off trying to find the right focus and scale for its changing market, instead of trying to achieve the mass market appeal of days gone by.
Oe, maybe they’re doomed.
Absolutely! Even if the publishing industry’s numbers are down, I think the overall experience of buying and owning a book has improved with the Internet explosion — you can find the right book, find out about it, and purchase it — so much more easily than you once could.
Moreover, human beings are tactile, analog animals that enjoy a sensory reward in reading (and carrying, and tossing around, and annoting, and sharing) a well-designed book. Even on crappy paper, good content is a joy to read. Consider the New Yorker anthology — I love owning it, but if I’m going to read any more than 1,000 words I spark up the laser jet.
Perhaps the publishing industry would be better off trying to find the right focus and scale for its changing market, instead of trying to achieve the mass market appeal of days gone by.
Oe, maybe they’re doomed.
The publishing industry is extremely scared of the internet, because with the internet you can do things like self-publish. It is much easier to self-publish now, thanks to the internet, and with things like a good blog, you can create your own publicity, and not have to rely on the publisher to promote your book. And with sites like Amazon, you can even sell your book via the internet, and you don’t need a publisher. The downside is that (currently) you will have a hard time getting into a traditional brick and mortar. But, for niche topics (which typically sell less then 5000 copies), an person can write and publish a book sans publisher, and make a lot more then one could have done selling 10000 copies via a publisher, even if they only sell 1/5 the number of books. I wrote an article on this topic “Why Shouldn’t Authors Self-Publish?”, http://donxml.com/grokthis/archive/2004/05/07/686.aspx back in 2004, which was noticed by some notable publishers (Tim O’Reilly) for my niche, technology.
The publishing industry is extremely scared of the internet, because with the internet you can do things like self-publish. It is much easier to self-publish now, thanks to the internet, and with things like a good blog, you can create your own publicity, and not have to rely on the publisher to promote your book. And with sites like Amazon, you can even sell your book via the internet, and you don’t need a publisher. The downside is that (currently) you will have a hard time getting into a traditional brick and mortar. But, for niche topics (which typically sell less then 5000 copies), an person can write and publish a book sans publisher, and make a lot more then one could have done selling 10000 copies via a publisher, even if they only sell 1/5 the number of books. I wrote an article on this topic “Why Shouldn’t Authors Self-Publish?”, http://donxml.com/grokthis/archive/2004/05/07/686.aspx back in 2004, which was noticed by some notable publishers (Tim O’Reilly) for my niche, technology.
The market for used books, which the internet aids a lot, hurts the business model of many publishers. Even Amazon is now selling used books, for which the original publisher gets nada. The effects would be similar to a large public lending library.
The market for used books, which the internet aids a lot, hurts the business model of many publishers. Even Amazon is now selling used books, for which the original publisher gets nada. The effects would be similar to a large public lending library.
philipw2 Says:
“The market for used books, which the internet aids a lot, hurts the business model of many publishers. Even Amazon is now selling used books, for which the original publisher gets nada. The effects would be similar to a large public lending library.”
I’m not sure that’s the right way to look at it. An existing market in used books makes it much more attractive for a customer to buy a new book, since it will have resale value. Here are links to a) an article by Hal Varian in the N.Y. Times on this subject and b) an abstract of an academic paper on the subject that Varian cites.
a) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/technology/28scene.html?ex=1280203200&en=33765024cbf62d4c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&NYT_REG_SUCKS
b) http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=584401
philipw2 Says:
“The market for used books, which the internet aids a lot, hurts the business model of many publishers. Even Amazon is now selling used books, for which the original publisher gets nada. The effects would be similar to a large public lending library.”
I’m not sure that’s the right way to look at it. An existing market in used books makes it much more attractive for a customer to buy a new book, since it will have resale value. Here are links to a) an article by Hal Varian in the N.Y. Times on this subject and b) an abstract of an academic paper on the subject that Varian cites.
a) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/technology/28scene.html?ex=1280203200&en=33765024cbf62d4c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&NYT_REG_SUCKS
b) http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=584401