What’s
To Come of Publishing in 2012!
The predictions are in for the year
2012. Looking at the past and present of print media, the industry is on an
upward rise of e-books, self-publishers, price fluctuation, and major
publishers making evasive changes. In looking at an article by Laura Hazard
Owen, the author depicts the print industry as one that will be lead by digital
formats. The author illustrates this concept by showing how consumers in the
future will be more reluctant to focus on the quality of e-books and that their
would be more innovative and proactive self-publishers.
“I hope we’ll see self-published authors
experimenting with pricing as well, and pricing books higher in some cases.
Ultimately, I’ll use the q-word here: I hope that readers will see the value of
paying more for books of higher quality-books that are shaping the
conversation, books that they want to read again and share with others-in
digital formats.” (Laura Hazard Owen, 2011)
Another
article by Jeremy Greenfield also describes the print industry in the future to
come as one that will have an abundance of self-publishers using digital
formats. It is said that the industry will turn to have more tech savvy workers
such as app developers, e-book designers, and minimizing the sales and
marketing departments. This is because with digital formats, the product is now
easier to go through in-house production and distribution. For example online
distributors such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble online presence are changing
the way authors and writers look for distribution. This change in distribution
will also cause major publishers to loose sale revenue in print publication.
This is because as one side changes in infrastructure and production it creates
a cause and effect to revenue sales. Mike Shatzkin,
book-industry expert, stated, “Print sales are going to decline and e-book
sales are going to rise and that is going to result in organizational changes.”
In addition, Greenfield makes mention of flexibility in contractual
agreements between authors and publishers. It is stated, that a flexible
contract would allow authors to earn more financial reward for the intellectual
property. David Weinberger, a senior researcher at
Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, an Internet research lab,
stated “As the social and reputational value of works’ presence on the web
increases, authors will become more frustrated that works are tied up by
copyright licenses that cease to bring them any more financial reward.”
These predictions about the
print industry are great opportunities for authors and self-publishers. Production
costs are going to continue to decrease because of operational changes. In
return authors and self-publishers will have more control of pricing for
e-books or digital formats of print media. These changes will also force major
publishers to change the standard of how a book must be presented. The
advancement of technology has made the years to come and exciting time for the
print industry.
By: Troika Hanna
Work
Cited:
Jeremy
Greenfield, Digital Book World, Ten Bold
Predictions for Book Publishing in 2012.
Laura Hazard
Owen, Paid Content The Economics of Digital Content, What’s Coming in 2012:
Book Publishing. (2011).
Retrieved
May 16, from, http://paidcontent.org/2011/12/27/419-whats-coming-in-2012-book-publishing/
Picture courtesy
of: http://style-matters.com/blog/agent-publishers-and-the-self-published-writer.html
Advantages
of Self-Publishing
An overview of the article: Advantages
& Disadvantages of Self-publishing
When looking at print media in the year
2012, there are more self-publishers prevalent than there was years ago. This
means there are more resources available and support in the publishing
industry. As a self-publisher an author or writer has the ability to work at
his or her own pace, total production is under the authors’ or writers’
control, and there are no contractual stipulations that concern royalties or exclusive
rights. These advantages allow a self-publisher to compete against major
publisher companies. The majority major publishing companies are not able to
make evasive changes in production as of a self-publisher. In addition, major
publishing companies are more reluctant to make the common flaws of redundancy
than self-publishers. Self-publishers are mostly innovative, free of
restrictions, and able to maneuverer easily through multiple formats. Studies
have also shown that with the support of print-on-demand (POD) and social
media, self-publishers are able to market and distribute more efficiently than
that of a major publishing company.
Subsequently, one major challenge for
self-publishers is credibility. In an article on Lulu blog, it speaks of how
self-publishers have a hard time distributing their product in storefront companies.
“It is difficult to get shelf space in a
brick-and-mortar store like Barnes & Noble if you self-publish” (Nick,
2009). “Some people still stigmatize
self-publishers” (Nick, 2009). This article illustrates that even though
there are great advantages of self-publishing, that there are still some
challenges that prevent mass growth.
By: Troika Hanna
Work
Cited:
Nick,
Advantages & Disadvantages of Self-publishing, (2009).
