Writer's Wednesday : Books are dead… or are they?
From Newsweek:
Books aren’t dead
The number of books in print in 2008 rose 38 percent from the year before (which itself was up 38 percent from 2006).
Where are all those books coming from? Both mainstream and self-publishers have contributed to the flood. But the real answer lies in university libraries, which are suddenly hawking publishing rights to the contents of their stacks – or at least what’s out of print or in the public domain. Latest example: The University of Michigan (partnering with Google for the digitization and with an Amazon offshoot called BookSurge for printing) plans to offer more than 400,000 titles for sale on demand. Cornell plans to do the same with 500,000 titles, and the University of Pennsylvania plans to add another 200,000. Publishing’s obituary may be, much like Mark Twain’s, premature. – Malcolm Jones
What do you think? Are books dead?
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Publish away says i but if there is no marketing to go along with it then it simply becomes a numbers game with little effect.
There will always be books – and, I’m afraid, there will always be digital media, as well. As a writer who hopes one day to publish, print on demand technology gives me the best hope, I think, for actually getting published. Consider this – a best seller might sell a million copies – that means 1 in 300 people in the US would have bought a copy of the book. 1 in 300. I don’t think that that kind of audience is all that hard to dream of – it’s less than one half of one per cent of the country. And I’m willing to bet that a number much greater than 1 in 300 is buying books to begin with.
It is encouraging news but not surprising. I remember when home videos became popular, the fear was that people would not go to the movies anymore. With Twilight New Moon raking in a bazillion dollars this weekend, it seems that fear never came to be.
Speaking from a purely personal viewpoint, I very much hope that the above article is true! I know that many of my friends cannot wait to get their hands on a Kindle or similar device. And yes, I am sure it will be easier, space-saving and just as easy to read as a book. But for me, getting lost in a book is about so much more than ‘just’ the story. It’s the feel of the book, physically turning the pages, the smell of the book, the artwork on the cover…the whole experience of reading a book is what makes it such a joy. And certainly when I am writing, I envision people reading my book as an actual book! I have tried to convince myself that an e-reader is the way to go – especially as I am running out of shelf space! – but for now, at least, I am resisting that course of action. I will probably be the person chaining myself to the bookstore as they try to demolish it! (Apologies for turning my comment into an essay!)
While I love my Kindle app on the iPhone for reading on the go, nothing will ever be as wonderful as the feel of a book in my hands. I love to sit in front of my bookshelves and look at all the books I have read and those I still need to be read. Books are such a major part of my life, I would be lost without them!
TWMark – That’s a very good point. And you’re the poster child for publishing! You’re book is awesome – and doing very well!
Lceel – I love your numbers! What a great way to look at it. Our mentor said that the #1 expense of publishing is printing – and it’s all a gamble. POD efficiently closes that gap.
Kerrie – That’s a very good point. In fact, there’s more money made and more movies watched now than when they were only available in the theater.
BubbleBoo – This is a space to converse. I’m glad for your thoughts – don’t apologize. I love the smell of books as well – they are part of the entire process.
Karin – I guess the question is whether you’ll purchase a book after reading it on Kindle or if it matters. Without the cost of printing, there’s still profit in digital. Even if the digital is given away.
Honestly? I love books. NOTHING can replace them. I have seen movies based on books and then gone out and bought the book. I. Love. Books. If they’re dead… well. So am I.
Not a Mean Girl – I’ve found that a lot of people love books – over any other form of storytelling.
Books are eternal….. they continue to live and breathe the stories that bind us…….