Writing 200 Blog Post 17 - Publication

What are your thoughts on the predicted demise of traditional book publication? Rely on this week’s reading—or other information you’ve uncovered—in your answer. And, do these seismic changes make you despair as a writer, or do you see changes in publication as a boon for new writers?

Taking a cynical view of technology for the sake of a presentation a couple weeks back has given me a different light on this question. My group argued that the greater accessibility given to modern authors—meaning essentially everyone since the advent of the printing press—has had a negative effect. I don't actually believe this; I'm of the pretty basic opinion that hearing a wider range of voices is a good thing. In fact, taking this cynical view as a devil's advocate gave me a more positive view of the advances in publication in recent years.

For one thing, there's the bias we've heard about in publishing houses. Whether it's identity-based biases (like giving awards exclusively to white men from Western countries) or even those based on the publishing tradition (like not taking risks on books that break too many conventions), publishing still isn't equally accessible. New technologies like online review aggregators and the easy, cheap self-publishing outlets have made this barrier to entry significantly lower, and as the decisions on which books make it are further democratized, perhaps the cream will rise to the top.

Then again, maybe it's better to leave the early decisions to experts. After all, the books that make it into readers' hands will always be determined somehow—if not by publishers, then by librarians, booksellers, influencers—even the algorithms that determine which influencers individuals see, and which books appear on online marketplaces. Is casting the decision into the hands of an amorphous, inscrutable social web really superior to leaving it to a respected institution, albeit one that has some issues? Or is the devil we know better than the devil we don't?

Whatever becomes of traditional publishing, I don't think the shakeups in the years ahead will be any greater than those in the past. And, as has become far easier to recognize in the last few years, history is constantly being made. Writers will survive, and if the past is any indication, more and more will continue to emerge.