If It's Not on a Dead Tree, Does It Count?
Monday, March 23. 2009
Adrian Dayton, via Twitter this morning: "Lol, just talked to a publisher- both his distributors have gone out of business. He told me point blank to skip traditional publishing."
Yeah, I've been seeing this particular train coming for quite some time. I've felt for the past year or so that I'm racing against the clock to finish my novel before the publishing industry goes completely belly-up. Why? Because I have this odd compulsion to see my words inked onto dead trees.
Honestly, the problem is this: The publishing industry is still clinging to print, and hasn't made the leap to digital. And I don't know that they'll be able to do that anytime soon. For print novels, there are established ways to measure success: specifically, sales (whence come royalties) and rankings (like the New York Times Bestseller List). I don't believe there are universally accepted analogues to these measures for digital publishing.
I could be wrong, having never signed a book contract before. I'm sure there's language in every contract nowadays to cover electronic rights. But I'm equally sure they're an afterthought, and the main focus of the contract is still on print media.
When we get to the point that there are digital-only publishing houses, and non-print works can appear on the NYTBL, then I think print will truly be dead for the novelist. I'd embrace that change, actually. I'd much rather buy my books over the 'Net, and take advantage of local print-on-demand services for when I need to take a book to the beach with me. But a lot of things have to change before that can occur.
For example, Barnes and Noble would have to go out of business...or at least, seriously alter their business model.
The biggest problem, though, is the fact that anyone can publish her work digitally today at almost no cost. In the absence of print novels, we could quickly see a glut of "inventory" out there on the Internet, with no way to tell what's worth spending one's time on. It's the information issue all over again.
The solution would be for the major publishing houses to make the switch to digital, keeping their imprints, logos, and popular trust. So then it would mean something for my novel to be accepted, edited, and published by, say, Tor Digital. Assuming there is some Verisign-like way to ensure that I'm not just claiming an imprint I don't have.
I'm sure all this will happen; it almost has to. I just hope it waits until after my first novel is published, or happens well before. I don't want to get caught in the middle of a paradigm shift—that's never a painless experience.
Adrian Dayton, via Twitter this morning: "Lol, just talked to a publisher- both his distributors have gone out of business. He told me point blank to skip traditional publishing."
Yeah, I've been seeing this particular train coming for quite some time. I've felt for the past year or so that I'm racing against the clock to finish my novel before the publishing industry goes completely belly-up. Why? Because I have this odd compulsion to see my words inked onto dead trees.
Honestly, the problem is this: The publishing industry is still clinging to print, and hasn't made the leap to digital. And I don't know that they'll be able to do that anytime soon. For print novels, there are established ways to measure success: specifically, sales (whence come royalties) and rankings (like the New York Times Bestseller List). I don't believe there are universally accepted analogues to these measures for digital publishing.
I could be wrong, having never signed a book contract before. I'm sure there's language in every contract nowadays to cover electronic rights. But I'm equally sure they're an afterthought, and the main focus of the contract is still on print media.
When we get to the point that there are digital-only publishing houses, and non-print works can appear on the NYTBL, then I think print will truly be dead for the novelist. I'd embrace that change, actually. I'd much rather buy my books over the 'Net, and take advantage of local print-on-demand services for when I need to take a book to the beach with me. But a lot of things have to change before that can occur.
For example, Barnes and Noble would have to go out of business...or at least, seriously alter their business model.
The biggest problem, though, is the fact that anyone can publish her work digitally today at almost no cost. In the absence of print novels, we could quickly see a glut of "inventory" out there on the Internet, with no way to tell what's worth spending one's time on. It's the information issue all over again.
The solution would be for the major publishing houses to make the switch to digital, keeping their imprints, logos, and popular trust. So then it would mean something for my novel to be accepted, edited, and published by, say, Tor Digital. Assuming there is some Verisign-like way to ensure that I'm not just claiming an imprint I don't have.
I'm sure all this will happen; it almost has to. I just hope it waits until after my first novel is published, or happens well before. I don't want to get caught in the middle of a paradigm shift—that's never a painless experience.
Yeah, I've been seeing this particular train coming for quite some time. I've felt for the past year or so that I'm racing against the clock to finish my novel before the publishing industry goes completely belly-up. Why? Because I have this odd compulsion to see my words inked onto dead trees.
Honestly, the problem is this: The publishing industry is still clinging to print, and hasn't made the leap to digital. And I don't know that they'll be able to do that anytime soon. For print novels, there are established ways to measure success: specifically, sales (whence come royalties) and rankings (like the New York Times Bestseller List). I don't believe there are universally accepted analogues to these measures for digital publishing.
I could be wrong, having never signed a book contract before. I'm sure there's language in every contract nowadays to cover electronic rights. But I'm equally sure they're an afterthought, and the main focus of the contract is still on print media.
When we get to the point that there are digital-only publishing houses, and non-print works can appear on the NYTBL, then I think print will truly be dead for the novelist. I'd embrace that change, actually. I'd much rather buy my books over the 'Net, and take advantage of local print-on-demand services for when I need to take a book to the beach with me. But a lot of things have to change before that can occur.
For example, Barnes and Noble would have to go out of business...or at least, seriously alter their business model.
The biggest problem, though, is the fact that anyone can publish her work digitally today at almost no cost. In the absence of print novels, we could quickly see a glut of "inventory" out there on the Internet, with no way to tell what's worth spending one's time on. It's the information issue all over again.
The solution would be for the major publishing houses to make the switch to digital, keeping their imprints, logos, and popular trust. So then it would mean something for my novel to be accepted, edited, and published by, say, Tor Digital. Assuming there is some Verisign-like way to ensure that I'm not just claiming an imprint I don't have.
I'm sure all this will happen; it almost has to. I just hope it waits until after my first novel is published, or happens well before. I don't want to get caught in the middle of a paradigm shift—that's never a painless experience.
Craig on :
I currently use digital versions of text books for my online classes and, frankly, it is a pain in the butt to read and to skim for information. I end up printing out what I need which is no easy task either, not to mention cost effective. The digital version of my text books don't cost any less than the print versions, either.
I have had my hands on a Kindle and the experience reasonably approximates that of reading a novel, but I refuse to pay $300 for the privilege to download a $7 paperback from Amazon for $10.
Brent on :
Craig on :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFh5axDKWU
Craig on :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q946sfGLxm4