Saturday, August 27, 2011

You Won’t Want to Read This, but Do

I came across a long article by Ewan Morrison in The Guardian, which asked the question: Are books dead, and can authors survive? The more I read, the more I didn’t want to keep reading. But I did. Morrison paints a very dark picture for writers, in my opinion.

He starts off by saying that within 25 years “the digital revolution will bring about the end of paper books.”

He follows that by adding that “ebooks and e-publishing will mean the end of "the writer" as a profession.”

Big sites like Amazon and Google aren’t looking for unique content from authors to make money. They’re looking for content that will draw advertisers, which is where they make their money. And that free content can come from old books no longer under copyright; from free e-books; from groups that steal content, repackage it and sell it under multiple names or even give it away; from people who plan to make money not on the book but on what they gain on the side.

He ends the article with this sentence:
I ask you to leave this place troubled, and to ask yourself and as many others as you can, what you can do if you truly value the work of the people formerly known as writers.

26 comments:

  1. Hi Helen I've posted the more or less same thing on my blog from the Author, Graham Swift it quite worrying.

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  2. I read the article and to be honest was not impressed by the scaremongering he offers.

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  3. It's just a bunch of fear-mongering b.s. As long as there are readers, there will be writers. The format is the only thing changing. Musicians haven't lost their professions just because no one is listening to 8-track tapes anymore.

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  4. I think it's scare tactics as well - or sour grapes. There will always be writers, and readers willing to buy from their favorites.

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  5. Everyone has an opinion. But what we don't have is a crystal ball. I think at some point, e-readers will reach a % and stay there. But I don't have a crystal ball either.

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  6. I think there will always be writers, but I'm not sure about the long-term forecast for us. While thousands will go to see a band performance, only tens of people or perhaps a hundred go to hear an author. While thousands or millions hear a song on the radio and then buy it, no one hears a reading on the radio, unless they hear it on a PBS-type station. The good news for writers, I think, is that Apple and others have made it much easier to buy books.

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  7. As long as there are people who want to read, there will be books. As long as there are people who want to hold a book in their hands, there will be print books. I have a Kindle and I use it a lot, but I also still buy paperback and (more often) hard copy books because there are some books I want to keep and read again and again, especially when the electricity is off and the Kindle battery is dead. Until they make a device that is completely solar powered and I no longer desire to hold a book in my hands, then will books be dead. I am one among billions.

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  8. Who does he think will write the content that Amazon and Google will sell? I'm still a paper book kind of gal, but I know young people embrace technology.

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  9. First of all, the guy's glass sounds perpetually half empty. What other kind of predictions can he make, except doom and gloom. Secondly, is he saying that, up to now, writers have actually been making a LIVING writing? I see the future for writers as a bright thing. As long as they have tales to tell, they'll have readers who want to read them, no matter what the format.

    It's like music - we began with the Victrola, moved through albums and 8-tracks, now CDs are on their way out because we can get anything we want in MP3/iPod format. The changing delivery system hasn't stopped us from listening to music - and we're even willing to re-purchase old music on the new format.

    The stories will still be told, no matter what the media.

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  10. People will still be paid to write stuff.

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  11. I'm not sure the concert/author reading comparison works in this situation. I've been to maybe 10 concerts in my lifetime and about the same number of author readings. Neither are the best way to sell product because you're limited by how many people can afford to go, have the time, and are nearby.

    As for the radio, I haven't bought a music CD in 7 years; I download songs to my computer and put them on my iPod and now iPhone, and listen to them on all three devices. I don't even listen to the radio anymore because it's always a challenge to find a station that plays to my eclectic tastes. I browse new music on iTunes, sample the songs online, and buy what *I* want to listen to.

    I do the same things with books; although, right now, I'm still 60% print.

    The internet, digital technology, and social media has taken the power from the large record companies and given it to the musicians. As writers, we are now just seeing that happen for us.

    It's an exciting time of great opportunities. Evolve or perish. =)

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  12. I think he paints a dour picture that is a bit extreme. I remember hearing that hardback books would die away when paperbacks first came out, and hardbacks are still selling well enough that many publishers release a title in hardback first, then go to paperback and then to electronic. As Annette said, the industry is changing and we who write will evolve or perish.

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  13. Amen, Gayle!

    That "evolve or perish" could apply not just to writers but to books. The thing to keep in mind is that the story stays the same, no matter what format it's delivered in.

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  14. We need to change with the times, be alert to new opportunities and not cling to the way things used to be. I'm not too old to learn new tricks...at least not yet.

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  15. You're right, Helen, I didn't want to read it. But I did and ended up agreeing with the comments here.

    There are always people who see only the dark and not the light. Really irritates me. There's as many opportunities for new types of success for writers in the ongoing changes in the industry as there are opportunities for failure. I like to think that, while the going may not be easy, at the end of the day we as writers will have far better opportunities to express ourselves than we ever did before.
    Judy, South Africa

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  16. A real doom and gloom article. I'm sort of like Pat, it will be whatever the masses let it be. Which is also scary!! LOL However, as Doris Day sang, what will be will be. One thing we will always have, I believe, and that is the love of story--regardless of what format that takes.

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  17. About a year and a half ago, I read an article in Time Magazine that spoke of similar changes. It showed a pyramid, with a tiny portion of publishers and authors at the very top, and then most of the base was free content online. They stated a similar future - more free content and fewer paid writers.

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  18. If the pyramid is coming, then there has to be something for those providing free content. Perhaps they will become well-known and get their money via paid interviews on TV. Maybe they will sell peripheral items, such as someone writing cookbooks, but making money selling pots and pans in a department store.

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  19. Hi Helen .. it's that mix again isn't it ... adding value to the content of our books, or magazines, or newsletters .. readings, podcasts, recipes, etc etc ..

    It will be interesting - but I think we're safe for 20 years or so .. cheers Hilary

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  20. A scary thought. I do agree that everything is about advertising and being perpetually bombarded with ways to spend money (I guess the authors won't be purchasing anything if they no longer have a profession).
    Let's hope that readers and authors can still co-exist in the future.
    Ann

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  21. Too pessimistic, I think. There will always be authors and books. In big languages (like English, Spanish, Russian) the book market is robust. Small languages (like the Nordic languages) have always relied on government support to sustain a decent variety of literature.

    Cold As Heaven

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  22. People made a living telling stories before we had invented paper.

    And yes, companies like Amazon and Google are looking for content that will drive advertising. But consumers are looking for something different and if we've learned anything from the mass adoption of the internet, it's that consumers get what they want - somehow.

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  23. Helen, I think the model is changing ... but there will still be successful writers ... probably in about the same numbers as there are now ... 1 in a 1000. I guess we're just masochists.

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  24. That is a scary Doomsday scenario for writers. I'm not sure things will get this bad as people will still want a good story to read, and for that, good writers will always be in demand. But to what extent is the questions.

    Let's face it, Crap Is King today. Just look at all the garbage the entertianment industry puts out there in music, theatre, TV, and books. So yeah, I believe there is some truth to all of this.

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  25. I think readers will get tired of crap and the pendulum will eventually swing back to worthwhile literature, but not before I meet the Great Scribe.

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  26. I'm not sure if we should be panicking. Perhaps the author of the article has been reading a lot of Bradbury lately or something. :) As others have said, as long as there are readers there will always be books and traditional publishing. I don't see why there has to be an either/or - both e-publishing and traditional can co-exist. It may even be in their best interests to support each other, rather than wage war.

    *trying to remain optimistic*. :)

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