Publication? As far as I’m concerned, it’s about to come out. ‘Publish’ as we know it, that is. Yes, I sincerely believe that the movement that created a publishing industry in the 18th century has stalled and, despite trying to find a new purpose in life, is about to fade away. It’s had quite a run: the business we call ‘publishing’ boomed when the novel was invented, after 1720. It would be ironic if it collapsed on the tercentenary, but that seems increasingly likely.
What might seem less obvious, as a further consequence of the rise of the Internet, is that all ancillary businesses will also disappear. By that I don’t just mean the roles of literary agent, publicist and roadie, but these are almost doomed to fail, and I don’t mean the roles of manuscript editor and book cover designer, which may continue. I am referring specifically to reviewer and reviewer ‘jobs’. Publishing might never have been taken seriously as a profession if it hadn’t managed to win over academia and the broader media, but they did, involving journalists and professors in the new business of mass-produced books. . These days, dozens of careers rest on the simple tasks of writing about new books, commenting, and expressing personal opinions. Who would have thought that people who spend all day expressing their own narrow and stubborn views would be paid for it, and even praised? Well, you better watch out: your days are numbered too.
The basic problem is that they are not, and never have been, necessary. In the joyous dance of creating new literature, there are two, and only two, main players: the writer and the reader. All the rest are parasites, sponges, or leeches (even if they are richly rewarded). The problem is that the readers do not trust themselves and have given up their power, until now. Rather than accept the fact that they, and only they, can decide for themselves whether or not they like a book, most have been happy to pass this responsibility on to others. How weird. It works like this: You ask the reader, ‘What about this book? Like?’ and they respond: ‘Well, let’s see what the others think.’ he is lazy. It is an abdication of a duty. And even if it’s been common for the last few generations, that doesn’t make it right, or even sensible.
Readers avoid this betrayal by pretending it doesn’t exist. ‘I don’t accept other people’s opinions’, they will tell you, ‘I just read what other people think and then I decide.’ Oh yeah? pull the other The fact is, as Amazon is happy to tell you, a book with a number of positive reviews will start to sell well, and a book with an increasing number of negative reviews will start to sell even worse. Now, if it’s not YOU reading these reviews and just copying his opinions and doing what they suggest, buy or not buy, who is following orders, like mindless sheep? Or is it just a few thoughtless people, a minority? Wake up, readers. Are you! It’s all you.
The most tragic aspect of this ridiculous position is that publishers have, for many years, exploited it. They seek to garner rave reviews by any means necessary (usually short of actual coin in a brown envelope passed under the table). They will try anything. It’s not just about sending preview copies to newspapers and magazines; instead of ‘preview’, read ‘FREE’, which is a nice incentive, when some of these new hardbacks retail for twenty pounds or more. (Strange how so many of them end up on eBay and other places.) Then there are the free lunches, which is fine, of course, because the reviewers are usually journalists first and foremost, so they can justify spending lunchtime with the boys and gals of the publishing industry. It is ‘research’, after all, learning about new plans, new books, new series, new authors. Great, but who pays the bill? Isn’t that a gift? There are also invitations to literary events, festivals and congresses, as well as the offer of ‘exclusive access’ to the author. Have you ever been to an event and noticed the author being rushed off stage at the end, surrounded by a group of the ‘chosen few’? It is a small clique handpicked by their editor. The objective? Maximum publicity.
Internet authors, struggling to get noticed, have resorted to some of these underhanded tactics in recent years. Deprived of the massive budgets of international publishers, however, they have tried to pay for the reviews of the small ‘electronic wizard’ websites. What happens? The editors call ‘crazy’! What, for copying them? The fact is that all reviews are ‘paid’, one way or another, and the fact that the editors have managed to corral the things they do and call them legitimate, while labeling everything the little guys do unfair, is just the thing. latest. example of the absolute dominance that the publishing industry has had over writing and books for the last three hundred years. Thank the Lord, the whole sorry mess is finally coming to an end.