Tablets are another matter altogether. They play straight into the worst of what Carr describes.

The challenge for ministry seems to be to figure out how to adapt to the change you describe.

It’s mostly the authors that are hurting now. And that’s the problem, because writers have no effective union, no one to advocate for them, and a pretty poor bargaining position against a mammoth publishing company. Further exacerbating things, writing is one of a few isolated professions – acting maybe, playing on a professional sports team- where there are enough people who would write for free. It used to be that producing a book cost a huge amount of money- much like a movie or a sports team, constraining the number of professionals the industry can afford and forcing publishers to be very selective. But e-publishing’s changed that. They don’t lose money on publishing a book on a bare bones budget, so why not publish everyone and see what happens? Since people will do it for free, there’s less incentive to drive author compensation up, and that’s the margin that’s currently being squeezed. Publishers have more incentive to put very little money into editing or carefully scouting and developing talent. Marketing may or may not be justified- put that onus in the hands of the amateur who has 400 Facebook friends, doesn’t she?

And suddenly writing a book is in danger of becoming very much like selling Cutco knives to your family, friends, and your friends’ family’s friends. If something does take off, well, isn’t that nice. The system is still set up to profit from the next J.K. Rowling. But if not? The publishers more than make their money back in publishing many more books of dubious quality for minimal expense.

And again, just speculation (but I find it so interesting!) She thinks the future is for publishers to completely disappear. They’re not needed and they’re not effective. The rationale for having them absorb the initial risk and expense is gone now that there is much less of both. Writers- especially those whom people want to read- will simply begin publishing all on their own. Because 10% of a $25 book is the same thing as $2.50 of a $2.50 book you put out yourself. Meanwhile, editors and marketers will be a service offered ad hoc by different entities that authors may or may not employ.

Anyway, who knows. Neither of us is much of a fortune teller. But there are certain things I love about everyone being able to publish a book that becomes instantly globally and cheaply available. It’d be nice if the unpalatable parts you discuss end up just being growing pains en route to giving authors much more control over their final product’s content and price, and their own income.

But I do like my kids, so I can’t really complain. 🙂

I guess it’s hard for someone like me who still believes in the power of a good book to figure out where she fits in all this. I’m sort of a stickler with my kids and reading. They are not allowed to read a book on an electronic device until they’ve read at least three paper books, because I think there’s something a little more magical about the feel of the paper between your fingertips.

I’ve been trying to get a novel published for two years now. I pitch and I query, and I receive such frustrating feedback as, “This looks great. Well written and researched, and a great story. Unfortunately, fiction isn’t selling right now so we will regretfully have to pass.”

So I keep plugging away, building my platform and my base, thinking up new e-book ideas, and hoping that maybe someday the surge in good literature will resurface. Until then, I’ll keep writing and reading, and sending out those query letters. I don’t want to get rich writing – I just want to get lost in the beauty of the written word. There are too many stories in my head for me to ignore.

Thank you for sharing this article.

I’m still blushing…all the way to India. Will you be my publicist?
Philip

The Logos Bible Software that you mention is a great example. Many users on the Logos forums have five thousand (or more…I’ve seen up to fourteen thousand claimed) resources in Logos. How many of those do you think they’ve actually read? They collect books, victims of Logos’ excellent marketing, without bothering to read almost any of them. They think that simply buying the book will make them smarter. (I’ve asked.)

It is madness.

Thanks so much for sharing your sobering perspective about the changing landscape of publishing. The weekend just before you posted this I attended a seminar on blogging where one of the organizers was an author who now makes his living blogging because, frankly, there’s more income in blogging (for him). Of course, in order to make money blogging you have to get into email lists, affiliate links and a lot of other strategies. Personally I’ve decided to try that route as well with my own blog. Do you think maybe the “author” of tomorrow will simply be a different animal altogether, yet still be every bit the thinker and communicator as someone like C.S. Lewis? Maybe the type of author who could focus solely on his writing craft is going the way of the scribe but is making way for a new type of writer who is somewhat of a solopreneur wirer/artist/digital strategist? Would you agree or am I just trying to be overly-optomistic about my future career opportunities?

Thanks again for sharing your insight,

Richard Jacobson

Richard, someone can actually generate income by blogging? More power to him. I can’t prophesy what the writers of the future will look like, but I do worry about all the distractions of social media that prevent the kind of meditative, creative concentration that we’ve known. A few geniuses may be able to navigate the buzzy new world with the same depth, though not many. Nicholas Carr makes a compelling case of the need for caution in “The Shallows.”