Friday, March 6, 2009

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

The future of publishing. If I had any concrete idea of where it was headed, I would sleep better at night. We're living in a rapidly changing world (come to think of it - has anyone ever said, "The times I live in are pretty mellow. Not a lot happening."?), where the continued advancement of technology alters the landscape we inhabit every day. Reading Groundswell has helped lower my panic level about how quickly technology changes by reminding the reader to focus on the relationships underlying this technology. And I think that's an important lesson to remember. The face of publishing may alter completely within the next ten years, but the foundation will remain: people will want to read, people will want to write, and people will want to facilitate this exchange. There is comfort in that thought. The avenues for reading, writing, and publishing will undoubtedly change, and it will be vital to stay on top of these changes, but the end result is the same.

I think the online world of publishing will, like everything else online, continue to grow, as companies work to rival Amazon's business plan. More authors will choose to self-publish as POD technology becomes less expensive, more pervasive, and easier to use - publishers will do the same. Small presses will perhaps flourish in the future. They're small enough to have the nimbleness to accept and incorporate new technologies that larger publishers don't have. They can also build rapport with local communities and support authors on a more personal level that will encourage both authors and buyers to support them. This is already happening now, but as we progress, I see the big-time publishers increasingly becoming lumbering giants, staggering along in the wake of those who can keep up (if the majority of their websites is any indication).

E-books are definitely the wave of the future (a tear), but printed works will never go out of fashion (hurray!). Reaching consumers (marketing) will be moved almost entirely online, as that is where almost everyone is, or will be. Manipulating online media tools appropriately will be integral to any successful publishing enterprise.

We are becoming a SuperOnline culture, and I don't see this changing anytime soon. We will increasingly communicate, read, and buy on our computers. This doesn't necessarily have an adverse affect on "literature" and "culture." There will always be innovators, creators, thinkers. Where technology and books are concerned, they become evermore intermingled.

1 comment:

  1. I don't worry about so much of our culture going online, but I do worry about the power going out more than I used to.

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