I remember Len Riggio, founder and Chairman of Barnes & Noble used to say that people buy far more books then they ever read, which was good for business. Those books piled up by the bedside table, filled home dens and offices, and gathered dust, profitable dust. Then came audiobooks, great for those long drives to Vermont. And finally, reluctantly, the publishing world was pulled into the digital age.
Barnes and Noble experimented with the early days of on line books, with eBooks and the eReader from Microsoft. That was in the late 90's, but it never took off. But now it looks likes books may be ready to go digital in a much bigger way. New digital devices, readers as they are called, have emerged from Sony and Amazon. On line readers configure text on line so it is easier on the eyes.
About three years ago, I got asked to join my colleague, Sol Nasisi, on the board of his business, The Next Big Writer.com. I was shocked how quickly the site gathered steam among amateur writers who would pay $49.95 a year in order to have their work reviewed and critiqued. A unique credit system allows reviewers to earn credits that allow them to post more of their own work. There is a free site, too, called Booksie, that attracts a younger more hip audience and is big on genres like sci fi and fan fiction.
And this week, it seems the business press caught on.
Kim Blanton today published an article entitled Author, author with the byline:click here to view the story
The Web offers a ready outlet for aspiring writers who want to
get their work out in front of professionals for critiquing,
publishing, and promotion.
She not only mentioned TheNextBigWriter and Booksie but also featured many of the writers from the site.
The article discusses how publishing, like music before it, is going
digital and explores some of those consequences. To me, it includes
new ways for traditional publishers to find talent (via writing
communities, social networks, etc.) as well as ways for authors to
publish and promote themselves.
Books are clearly lagging music in terms of their migration to a
digital, portable medium, but it’s coming. All I need to do is look at
my kids and how comfortable they are on a computer and with electronic
devices to see that soon paper books will be seen as luxuries - like
real wood in cars.
That’s my opinion at least. If you disagree, feel free to say so below.
Thanks for the information. I agree that books will have to go digital. It seems like the future. It has happened to music. It will cause all kinds of interesting changes in the publishing industry, for the better I am sure.
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Thanks Fred. I appreciate your reading my blog. I am curious to know how you found it. I'll be updating it soon and hope you will subscribe.
Kind regards,
John
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