The Book Publishing Evolution - Can we keep up?

The book publishing industry is currently teething its way through a massive change. Changing attitudes towards reading, in addition to the rising prominence of digital publishing has given the industry a lot to react to.  A PEST analysis reflects these changes.

Politically, the rise of digital publishing has raised new issues. These are apprehensions concerning copyright and piracy. Issues such as this may cause confusion over ownership and rights. It has been known for the publishing company to own the rights to the printed work, whilst the author keeps the rights to the digital version of the work, thus allowing the author to self-publish an electronic edition. Piracy and protecting digital copies of the book are also prominent concerns.

Piracy also raises the question of the economic factors. With digital media being so easy to replicate, ownership and rights will need to be considered differently. On a separate economic thought, the rise of self-publishing may also bring economic implications for the publishing industry.  

In Strategic Management in the Media, Kung relates that; due to generational shifts in attitude towards reading, books are being read for pleasure less often, particularly within the 18-24 age range. This declining market is, of course, a threat to the publishing industry. However, new products with new technology may entice lapsed readers.

Reading was usually a solitary pastime; however, there is an increasing social aspect evolving. The Goodreads website allows readers to socially interact with other readers, and even the authors themselves in a way that were never possible before. Similarly, Wattpad produces a social dimension to the writing process; readers can communicate and interact with the text and the writer, their feedback helping to shape the text as it is actually being produced.

The environment of change may spark new ideas, innovations and markets, or just improve existing systems. As digital media rapidly changes the industry, we need to ensure that we evolve with it. 

A Changing Industry - PEST

The politics of the publishing industry are shifting, from the powerful to the everyman. While the rich aristocracy, who owned the publishing companies, formally dictated what was considered ‘good writing’ the ability to self-publish online is providing an open platform for the public. Although this opportunity is not without its problems, the legalities of ownership rights being one, this semi–amateur nature of digital publishing changes the traditional narrative of the industry.

Economically speaking, this is a positive change. For aspiring authors, or those so far relatively unknown, online publishing may be more profitable as they eliminate the middleman. Online publishing can also increase the distribution, which would increase circulation, whether it be books or magazines, this could only be beneficial to profits. The nature of digital publishing and the popularity of the e-reader has even widened the industry, with an opportunity for profit for outside companies. As our increasingly green society steps away from the paper trail of traditional publishing, and towards the economically friendly e-reader, hardware creators such as Apple and Amazon stand to gain in the digitization. It is not just the author and publisher who will make money.

With the advancements of technology in the industry, publishing is becoming increasingly social. Online publishing is impacting on the authorship of books by making it a social rather than solitary occupation; blogs that post chapter-by-chapter can allow the feedback from readers’ commentary to effect the direction of the narrative. Social media allows you to be an engaging community rather than just an isolated reader. The popularity and convenience of e-readers is no surprise considering the shift in attitude towards technology in recent generations, compared with our older relatives.

The technological advancements have without a doubt massively affected the publishing industry as it tries to adapt, and with their potential for constant improvement they seem able to change it further in the future. This effect can threaten traditional publishers and force them to compete in order to survive; such as Barnes and Noble and the ‘Nook’ (Erin Carreiro: Electronic Books: How Digital Devices and Supplementary New Technologies are Changing the Face of the Publishing Industry). For the consumer, the technology can be both positive and negative. While the technology does allow you to connect with the text and use social media to input your opinions, having a digital version with constantly changing commentary on it means you never get a complete, single version of the text. Either way, technology is by no means destroying the publishing industry, instead it is providing extra platforms through which we can interact and consume. 

For Better Or Worse: An Analysis Of Digital Publishing

It’s been 550 years since Johannes Gutenberg pioneered a new printing technique and began to publish on a mass scale for the first time. With the dawn of digital publishing a new frontier revealing itself to us. Digital is being promoted as the future of the publishing industry and as tablet computers and e-books become increasingly widespread the ways in which we devour our media is changing faster than ever before.

While this is only a brief analysis of the arena of digital publishing and it wouldn't surprise anyone if this information is rendered irrelevant in 6 months, looking at the industry as it stands provides an interesting view.

Political

As digital generated content and Internet access is becoming increasingly widespread there is a new generation of writers from all backgrounds on an international scale. These new writers can create followings and generate interest in their pursuits, whether they are political or creative. With a wider field of reporting and the repercussions of coverage can be felt in political institutions across the world. The recent Arab Spring was accelerating by the use of digital communications and localized revolutionary reporting. The flip side of this is that those with an extreme agenda have the same soapbox from which to speak.

Economic

There are a series of new revenue streams that digital publishing presents for the industry in general, which goes some way to explaining why the leaders of publishing companies are fiercely pursuing it. While 40% of tablet owners have purchased a magazine app and 25% regularly read magazines on their device, there are still considerable gains to be made in that market. Advertising has been deemed more effective if it is seen to be interactive. With companies such as Facebook have been quick to adopt purchasing software such as Synapse and Alvenda buying direct from a digital magazine can hardly be light-years away.

Social

There is an increasingly social side to the way digital content is created and eventually published. Publishing efforts from 37 Signals have pioneered the use of blogs to release parts of their book over time and in order to engage with their readers to see how they were being received.  Wayne Gladstone’s book Notes From The Internet Apocalypse was originally a serialized novella published on Cracked.com but will soon be published by Thomas Dunne books.

Technological

The reading experience has been enhanced by the dawn of this new technology. The time spent reading magazines rises with digital publications, the average number of minutes spent on Vanity Fair rose from 65 minutes to 200 when the audience used a digital copy. Since their release in 2010 over 100 million iPads have been sold worldwide and this is a considerable audience for any publisher.

Legal

With digital content being so easily exploited, copied and reproduced there are a number of legal issues revolving around the rights of digital content. Acknowledging the right of workers and professionals is one key aspect of this but also the rights of the purchaser. Looking at the widely reported story that Bruce Willis was to sue Apple in order to leave his considerable digital music collection to his daughters raises an interesting question, who actually owns downloaded content? In reality customers never actually buy a lot of digital content, rather they purchase the license to use it. The same is as true for ebooks and magazines as it is for music. There may be a digital artifact on your kindle but we cannot say that you “own” it in the traditional sense of the word. As such that feeling of “buying” something may be misplaced.

Environmental

A great deal has been made about the benefits of digital readers to the environment. If there are less trees being felled for magazine paper then there will be a positive impact. However, the natural resources that have to be harvested and mined for the creation of tablets and various e-readers could have a negative impact on the environment. Books and magazines are easily recyclable whereas technology is particularly hard to dispose of and can lead to terrible amounts of waste and landfill.

Even this blog (which was meant to come in at a tidy 300 words) cannot fully incorporate every aspect of the burgeoning digital publishing industry, but hopefully it has demonstrated that in this relatively infant medium there is plenty of potential for great success.

Digital Media in the Publishing Industry

Reading alone has become as old-fashioned as print itself. Thanks to the growth of technology, readers are now seeking to form online communities around their favourite authors and books. The politics of piracy that have plagued the music industry with the growth of digital has been suggested as a similar threat to the print industry. However, by embracing  this change, we have created a whole new way of enjoying books, not threatening them. Ranging from the ‘sticky websites’ Hollander uses to describe online forums and websites, to everyday social media, the e-book allows its readers to post information, thoughts or even share books themselves online, transforming the art of reading into a new, sociable experience

The current economical climate goes hand in hand with technological aspects of today’s society. Reduced print circulation and general income alongside price rises has forced the publishing industry into seeking innovative ways to get their materials read, and still make a profit. Online publishing reduces the costs incurred when producing material in print. Digital media is not only cheaper than print, it is more accessible and user friendly. (World Newsmedia Innovation) The convenience at reading materials on the go can result in clawing in an unexpected  reader, in addition to saving on expenditure.

Furthermore, the social habits of consumers has changed considerably in this new digital age. Hollander also discusses the constant need for innovative concepts and ideas, leaving customers craving the next big thing. This fast-paced, instant culture has developed a need for us to have the newest craze as soon as possible, and this is what digital was created for. E-books mean that customers no longer have to wait, or leave the house to buy the next best seller: it’s already there. 

Technology is the driving force behind the key changes in the publishing industry. The need to create new technologies, or to use existing ones in an innovative way has become the focal point of our society, the publishing industry no less. In a world where nothing exists if not on a screen, books have had to reinvent themselves to reach a wider audience. The invention of e-books, in addition to online publications has not only kept the industry up to speed with the rest of the world, but it has also created a new way to access our most valued materials.

Self-publishing; a threat or an opportunity to traditional book publishers?

Recently I spoke to an old acquaintance who asked me the question you ask most people you haven’t seen in a while. ‘So Kirsten, what is it you do nowadays?’.

Well, I study book publishing.

Upon this reply I often receive a skewed look. Have I not chosen a remarkably poor subject? With the decline in book stores, the increasing popularity of self-publishing, the e-book, and Amazon, the popular belief is that books are dying out.

Nothing seems further from the truth. From 2009 to 2011 there has been an increase of 13.46% of ISBN registrations (The UK Book Publishing Industry in Statistics 2011). This suggests that every year more and more people decide to write a book. However, my audience is right that all these factors have put the publishing industry in an awkward position.

In days gone by there was only one way for an author to get published. They sent their manuscripts to publishers who separated talent from rubbish. From the talent pile a selection was made and converted into books. From this small selection readers chose their next book. However, with such an increase of writers the pile of content which needs to be divided into talent and rubbish has grown to a disproportionate size. Publishing houses no longer have time or resources to carefully sift through the pile – some have even gotten rid of this so-called ‘slush pile’ altogether.

As a result authors (who often have an unwavering belief in themselves) feel unheard. They have started looking for other ways to distribute their work, and the internet has readily provided for their needs. At small cost authors now self-publish their content onto the web, and to the surprise of the publishing industry they also found themselves a readership which even markets their work for them through word-of-mouth. As supply of small titles is growing, giving readers much more choice, the demand of the big titles is waning and book profits are going down.

Despite all this, the publishing houses remain. Only they have the marketing and distribution resources to reach the major audiences. Let’s not forget the real hype around Fifty Shades really only started when E.L. James was snapped up by Cornerstone and the big retailers starting selling her paperbacks and e-books. Instead of being daunted by this development, the publishing world should be excited. Let the reader dictate what they want to read, and closely monitor what is ‘trending’. It should be easy to spot a bestseller from a mile off.

Publishers may be set in their ways and slow to adapt, but they’re certainly not dying. They are simply changing. So a poor subject? Not so sure. An exciting one? Definitely.