There were a few comments posted after the article and here are my responses (with the original posts for reference).
Phobos06 wrote:
I prefer paper books. If I could have an actual durable paperback book which could be filled with words and never run out of batteries I would be happy.
I'm also concerned that the switch to digital books will mean that libraries will cease to exist. Already some publishers have agreed to having libraries lending ebooks but the publishers created the stipulation that an ebook can only be taken out so many times. This is absolutely unacceptable.
I'll stick with paper for the time being. I'm no old fogey either. I'm 30 and I like reading my books on the printed page.
@Phobos06
While I am concerned about many of the same things (I prefer print books, and I think about the future of libraries), technology will and must change everything. It's almost impossible to imagine a high-tech world with Victorian trappings. Impossible and ludicrous.
This means the instituions we love must change also, or cease to exist. Libraries in particular stand on the edge. For them to remain a part of our communities, they will have to find a new model of operation. Perhaps, as they are slowly going here in Yorkshire, UK, they will be more like public reading / meeting rooms with multimedia facilities for general use and, oh yeah, you can access books while you're there. Details of that latter part will require a lot of thought with the constant rise in e-books, but I'm confident an intelligent solution will be found (am I too optimistic?)
In short, we are at a period of great change and it means everyone: public services, companies, governments, the individual, will be forced to rethink models that have grown to be comfortable.
JC Army wrote:
Okay, Mr. Godin, but here lies my personal dilemna. I have written a 100,000 word novel, have tried to find an agent (all I have found that match my type of writing/novel are all full and not accepting any more material). I tried to find a reputable publisher, but alas, they are "not accepting unsolicited manuscripts". I have had some literary friends read my novel and they did love it, offered constructive criticism, etc, but here I sit unpublished. So, I begin to wonder, is my novel actually garbage? But then I read some stuff that IS published by some big fancy publishers and I think THAT stuff is garbage (The Time Travelers' Wife comes to mind, but I digress). I guess I'm stuck in the mindset, that if my novel IS garbage, I don't want to publish it just for the sake of accomplishing a lifelong dream of mine. I want it to be GOOD and I fear I need to hear that from the big publishers in order to feel worthy of becoming a published novelist. I have given up so to speak and am not sure what route to take. I like my novel, I love it's message but I'm not liking how painstaking it is to BE PUBLISHED - not just to get it published. I have always thought that anyone can publish something - just go to any old book publisher and they'll print it - I don't want that. How can you possibly try to market your work when you're focussing on earning a living and raising a family, all the while your manuscript sits in the drawer awaiting the occasional rejection letter from publisher after publisher? Sigh. Maybe someday.
@JC Army
One word: confidence. What you are looking for is validation from the big gatekeepers of the industry. But the future will be full of self-published books. Much of them bad, but enough very good. The onus is becoming more and more on the author to not only manage their career and publicise their book, but to make their book the best it can be on their own.
At the moment, the layers of gatekeepers are multiplying: publishers (editing and marketing departments), now very commonly: agents, and even agents to get you agents. This almost seems like a bubble in the publishing industry as e-books, internet and greater self employment regarding small publishers and editors, means the only thing currently supplied by the big publishing houses is the name (yes, and distribution for the dead-tree versions). This is why publishers are scrambling to develop a new model to ensure their continued existence.
I like to think of this brave new world as a return to the roots of capitalism, in a way. Currently, all industries are controlled by the multi-nationals (the publishing industry is controlled by the big six). But with internet, self-publishing, e-books, if you're book IS good and readers like it (and you do the work to get the word out), then it will sell regardless of what any manager says. And we're back, at least for the moment, to the power of the people. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Edwin
