If the Publishing Conglomerates Go Out of Business Should We Care?

If the Publishing Conglomerates Go Out of Business Should We Care?
Some thoughts by Wolf Larsen

In today's New York Times (June 2, 2014) there are interesting articles about the world of books in the business section. Of course, it's in the business section, because books are big business.

Of course, you've all heard about the conflict between certain publishing conglomerates and Amazon.com. The publishing conglomerates, for the sake of public opinion, are trying to present themselves as David versus Goliath. Perhaps, there may be some truth to this. But frankly, as far as most writers are concerned, the writers themselves are little Davids and the now five publishing conglomerates are five Goliaths.

The publishing conglomerates complain that Amazon.com is only motivated by business concerns. However, are publishing conglomerates much different?

Should writers take a side in the struggle? I don't know, what do you guys think?

I remember what it was like before Amazon.com, and before the Internet. Back then, there were even fewer options for the independent (self-published) author. The development of the Internet, and the creation of Amazon.com, has been a big help to the independent author.

Of course, there are dangers that Amazon.com may become a dictatorship in the publishing business, because of its increasing power as a middleman in the book market.

Of course, we all disagree about lots of things when it comes to writing. And that's good! The more disagreement there is amongst us about what writing is or should be, the greater the variety of writing that will exist as a result. And the more variety of writing there is, the more variety of writing there is for readers to choose from!
But, almost all of us have something in common. The publishing conglomerates are not our allies. In fact, they are obstacles to our goals as independent authors. Right?

Maybe not. Many self-publishing companies that make it possible for us to be an independent author are actually owned by publishing conglomerates.

One of the New York Times articles about the publishing industry stated that self-published authors are perhaps a bigger threat to the publishing conglomerates than Amazon. Is this true? The publishing conglomerates, with their self-publishing sections, can make money off of both authors and readers. In addition, with self-publishing, the big conglomerates don't need to hire editors. In other words, with self-publishing the publishing conglomerates simultaneously make more money per book, and spend less money per book.

Interestingly, Amazon doesn't really need to sell books anyway, as books are now only a small part of Amazon's business.

What I'm now thinking, and this is the important part, is what do we need Amazon and even the self-publishers for? Imagine if readers could download our books straight from our websites, for example, without the middlemen. The price of books could go down to two or three dollars, or whatever the author felt like charging. Since royalties are between $1-$3 per book, why charge more?

By cutting out the middlemen, which in this case is the big publishing corporations and Amazon.com, both the writers and the readers come out the winner. The readers spend a lot less money per book. In addition, bringing the price of books down to $1-$3 per book will increase readership tremendously! More people will buy more books than ever! Books will be more accessible to the poor than ever before! This will be great for literary culture, and may help eliminate some of the snobbery still found in the literary world. And it will also be great for the bottom line of writers! The vast majority of writers will have a larger audience than ever, and more of them will be able to survive off their writing than ever before.

Best-selling authors might tend to prefer the status quo, as a small number of writers are doing well under the status quo. But on the other hand, even the best-selling author might do better by eliminating the middlemen. That's because the price of his books will go down from $10 or $20 to a dollar or two, thus readership would probably go up up up! Method of payment could be PayPal or something like that.

Readers and writers have everything to gain.

Once an author dies perhaps his book can become free. What does the author care after he dies? The readers have everything to gain from such an arrangement. What do we need publishing conglomerates for? What do we need Amazon.com for?

(Something should be done, by the way, to make sure that a writer's work doesn't die with him. God only knows how many great manuscripts wound up in the trash bin when a writer died.)

Anyway, the publishing conglomerates might go the way of the horse-and-buggy makers. People may talk about their emotional attachment to a traditional book that they can "hold in their hand." But who's going to want to fork out 10 to 20 bucks for a book when they can get an e-book for $1-$2 off some author's website? This is the future perhaps, especially as advancements in technology make computer screens increasingly easy on the eyes.
Maybe we're not there yet, especially regarding the computer screens being easier on the eyes. Many people claim that a Kindle is as easy on the eyes as a book. I'm skeptical. But progress is being made. And when all computer screens are as easy-to-read off as paper you can pretty much kiss traditional books goodbye. Traditional books will go the way of the CD. And once that happens it will be possible to eliminate publishing corporations, and even Amazon.com, as middlemen.

 

Books I can feel. I can store them where I like. I can re-read them at my leisure. I can loan them. They're mine, mine, MINE! Alright, I'm calm now. Not being one á them-there riters, I'm not familiar with the relations writers have had with publishing companies, so obviously I'm answering as ----hmmm--just an old guy who relishes the feel and smell of books. Lots of them. I'm interested in seeing what some writers have to say. Things change for sure---nature of human endeavors.

Good question, Wolf.

 

Two points I want to make (and yes, I know about this controversy from the Colbert Report, lol).... first, I agree a million % with the above quoted post. (Only I'm not an old guy but a semi-old girl, lol!).... The one thing I "collect" (not intentionally, I just buy A LOT of books!) is books. I have more books than I know what to do with. In any case, I'm never going to stop buying books and I miss all the small, independent bookstores.

THAT SAID, as someone who ever since a small child, wanted to publish a novel, I do know and agree that amazon has made it MUCH easier to self-publish and start to get your work out there.... drastically increasing your chances of ever being "discovered".

That said, yea, I agree w the OP that it's not really David Vs Golith. They (publishers and amazon) are both/all large companies. It's really about what is best for the writer. (and the reader!!)

 

Thanks AT. I'm still pissed that I can't go to a video/DVD store just down the street and rent something. My point is---I hope the hell the same situation never develops with BOOKS--where we'll be forced to read stories off a MACHINE!! Only!!

 

Haha yea, I know. I mean there's redbox but redbox really doesn't compare to all the stuff you used to be able to find in the brick and mortar video stores. Sad.

I don't think that will happen with books. At least I hope not. I don't think people will let it. But I will say... we are already partially there. There are really not that many book stores left anymore.

 

I've never done a Redbox. I liked to browse movies ---foreign, cult etc. The same with bookstores. I fear change is a' çomin.' Seems to happen to many things we take for granted.

I can see it--guy in an alley-"pssstt --hey buddy--wanna'buy a book?"

 

:smilielol5:



(Haha, thanks. That was my first laugh in many hours. Needed one.)

 

GOOD!! I'm off. See ya'later.

 

:seeya:

 

("...well just let them slog it out still, but either way it's not really a battle of amazon verses those publishers there but something more fundamental than that now, simply the reader isn't reading, and whereby any author who sits back waiting for readers to come to him either through amazon or those publishers again will be facing diminishing returns by it, why so..., ..." the goblin stopped to look over what he had written, and then replied to himself aloud "...because the reader doesn't want just to read something anymore, no he wants to be able to reply back now, where I hope you'll agree that the likes of this forumland here, of that twitter there, and that facebook too, are no match the penmanship of books, but that since the book offers no interaction today the "elephant in the room" is that the readership of forumland twitter and facebook together is vastly bigger than that of books, but that most authors for their part are simply loathed to adapt their approach to online here, no they still dumbly think that amazon or publishers will save them then...", in fact, the goblin didn't read anything by any author that he hadn't first conversed with and whose posts were uninspired, sighing "...posts are like one's ambassadors where an author without posts is like a painter without sketches, so one looks at their posts first whereupon one next googles their username/authorname, and where if one then draws a blanc, or just sees their dunce link to a downloadable pig in a poke, then one skips it for a real author who is accountably online here...")