Writing in the Virtual World

Who can argue that the Internet is not behind the last 25 years of technological change? Beginning in the 1990s, the World Wide Web rapidly expanded and accelerated the speed of information and ideas. This led to a rapid transformation from print to digital, a faster period of change than we've ever seen before in history! In this information age, printed text is no longer the central way we communicate. Everything from our culture, to economics and technologies are now based around the Web. So it should come as no surprise that the book trade and the economics of publishing were affected as well. Many elements involved in the making of a book remain the same whether published digitally or in print, but not all the elements mirror each other through that transition.

Publishers were once the only efficient source of marketing and distribution, but the virtual world has opened up the ways authors can make their work public. While advances in the digital world have been followed by a rise in self publishing, there are definite advantages, and disadvantages, of both traditional print and digital publishing. 

• Traditional publishers have lots to offer! Traditional publishers offer capital investment in books with the potential for a big audience. Authors benefit from their specialized skill in design, developmental editing, and marketing and their focus on knowing the disciplines, formats, and markets in which you work. Another primary strength of good print publishers are their ability to move books through distribution channels to reach different types of customers, thus the author benefits from the publisher's multiple acquired relationships and expertise in sales. 

• Anyone can publish and promote their work online! In 2005, the so-called Web 2.0 opened the world of Internet publishing to everyone. Self-publishing can be done at very low cost: an internet connection along with a blog and a social media account is usually all that's required to launch a successful online presence. Authors can use digital platforms and services, such as Amazon's Kindle Direct or Apple's iBooks, to self-publish online and completely bypass traditional publishers, booksellers, and distributors. 

• Traditional publishing is more selective. In print publishing, there are many different people besides the author involved in selecting which writings get turned into books. Works are selected generally by their potential for market success. Well-known authors usually have no problem getting funded for printing, while lesser known writers or those works geared toward a smaller market have a harder time making it through. 

• Digital publishing competes with free information. With new Internet and digital technologies, content can be more easily accessed and readily available online. While some argue technology could be liberating and empowering, the idea of free information leads others to argue that those who create are merely providing free content to internet companies and making it harder to make a living getting paid for their work. Newly self-published texts must get to their intended readers to gain a large readership, and the popularity of your service with the subscribers is what determines whether any publication is economically viable. Authors usually have to come up with the money themselves to meet the requirements of vendors and readers. A writer usually pays to distribute in new channels, and big online distributors and booksellers such as Amazon make it expensive to do business with them. To a writer, the challenge is to keep your audience reading, so that the royalties will outweigh the storage charges. 

With all the disadvantages to authors navigating writing in today's world, writers today could find themselves confused or overwhelmed by the publishing industry. Many who have a book idea may hesitate to write thinking of how to "get it out there” first. However, the artist can now be the publisher and go directly to the audience. Take advantage of digital platforms for immediate widespread distribution. Yet don't abandon traditional practices and venues to publish. Use both print and digital media for what each medium does best.

Sources:

The Multifarious Book, Joseph Esposito. The Scholarly Kitchen, 1 Aug. 2017.

Tools for Thought, Howard Rheingold, 1999

Getting the Word Out, edited by Maria Bonn and Mike Furlough

Technology of the Book.com Michael Greer

Greer, The Technology of the Book (mobile text)