Essay: Digital Disruption and The Publishing Industry: Consumer Books

This essay will be discussing the impact of digital disruption on the Publishing Industry with specific in-depth focus on the digitalisation of consumer books. Exploring areas in chorological order of where the publishing industry initially began, how it has changed over time and where it is now. The differences and pros and cons of traditional publishing and self-publishing. Then discuss what digital publishing is and how it began. Finally compare the two types of publishing and challenges that consumer books are currently facing and their effects.
What we have come to know and love as the ‘traditional’ book is only about 500 years old, but the idea for a book can be traced to Egyptian and Greek times. This was well over 5000 years ago, where the Greeks stored papyrus rolls (papers used for writing) in their big libraries as a way to deliver ideas to the public in contrast to their previous oral traditions. After the introduction of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg, mid fifteenth century, allowed religious texts to be printed on a mass scale. ‘The Gutenberg Bible became the first major book to be published in 1455.’ (Gosparkpress.com, 2019). This became the catalyst to what become ‘the first ever publishing industry as printing houses started opening in all areas around Europe.’ (Dreyfuss, 2016) From here the industry kept developing and eventually became what it is today. Books now hold much more information than only religious texts or information about history. There are three main sectors that make up the book publishing industry: consumer books, schoolbooks and academic books. Consumer books have been the driving force of the publishing in the past, as readers can relate to context on an extremely personal level; especially if the themes and context of a book whether it be fiction or non-fiction has some correlation to readers’ own lives. According to Greco, books are seen as ‘special’ with complex ideas. (Greco, Milliot and Wharton, 2014)
There are two different ways of publishing, the first is the traditional way which is where an author submits their book to a publishing house where they decide whether to publish it or not. From there a contract is drawn up and finally the publishers get the book ready to market. This process includes the editing, designing and formatting of the book. Before the rise of the internet it was the only way for authors to publish their books on a global scale. The second way of publishing, that has become more common in recent years, is self-publishing. This process differs as the author publishes their work themselves as opposed to seeking out a publishing house for any approval or help. The author is the publisher, they are themselves are in charge of the entire editing and design process after which they can also market their own book. Both these processes each have their individual benefits and setbacks.
In an article published in 2019, it was highlighted that due to the rise of the internet and other marketplaces such as Amazon the dynamics of allows authors to publish their books without needing approval from other publishers. Some other benefits of self-publishing include authors can publish their work quickly, it is the authors who are in charge of their own creative concept. ‘Many self- published authors have built up their connections due to sourcing out their own editors and designers, allowing them to build relationships and face less limitations.’ (Jones, 2019) However, there are also pros for traditional publishing such as there is less hassle for the author to find connections as their publishing house would have already built the connections through their brand. ‘Another benefit is distribution because publishing houses have the experience needed to know how to make sure a book reaches all bookstores.’ (Jones, 2019) Additionally, through traditional publishing, the author has considerably less responsibility meaning that the they don’t need to worry about the publishing process. This includes editing and design which is vital according to Clark and Phillips, “good design sells books.” (Clark and Phillips, 2008)
On the flip side, while there may be benefits to both self- publishing and traditional, there are almost as many setbacks. For traditional publishing it is incredibly difficult for authors to have much creative control during the process, that is if they get the go ahead to launch their book in the first place. In addition, the whole process is very long, and the royalty fees for the authors are lower. Equally, self- publishing also has its own drawbacks such as the author having to source out their own editors, designer and marketing teams making it more stressful for them. This is specifically difficult for a new author who may not know or understand the ins and outs of the publishing process. “Consumer publishing is the high-risk end of the business: book failures are frequent but the rewards from ‘bestsellers’ – some of which are quite unexpected – can be great.” (Clark and Phillips, 2014) The Harry Potter series is a prime example of this as Rowling’s book was rejected by many publishers before Bloomsbury published it.
Though there isn’t a specific date that can pinpoint the origins of digital publishing, it can be traced back to when the first computers started emerging. ‘Bhaskar highlights ‘digital technology only went mainstream…in 1977 after the Apple II computer and the 1981 release of the PC’ (Bhaskar, 2013) This kickstarted digital publishing, but without any internet the potential was limited, until the ‘World Wide Web was created in 1990’ (Bhaskar, 2013) Further down the line, ‘electronic books aka e- books become known and were thought to not only alter the industry but come to replace everything in 1999’ (Gomez, 2008) The traditional book publishing industry was still thriving and keeping its sales up, this was until 2007. Amazon launched their first e- reader specifically designed to target avid readers but also the rest of the world. Three years later in 2010 ‘the kindle became the most popular e-reader in the world.’ (Bhaskar, 2013)
Now due to almost having access to the internet and being active users, over half the world’s population are able to purchase and download e-books. (Clement, 2020) In contrast to buying physical copies, which in turn results in the publishing industry faces obstacles in its sales of consumer books. Furthermore, with digital publishing there are a few trends that provide reasons for the success of it. Firstly, impulse buying plays a role in sales as the books app on Apple has a multitude of e-books for lower prices than paperbacks. This also directly links to collecting where readers buy a block of different books but may not necessarily read them all.
with the story, by posting comments of their thoughts and reactions. In a sense this almost provides a safety net for the author if they decide to self-publish or a publisher if they seek out the book, if there is already a strong fan following and reception of the book. Additionally, the distribution process also becomes vastly simpler if there is already a solid fan base, the access to internet and technological devices.
However, it isn’t all glory for digital publishing as there are legal concerns as copyrighting work on platforms such as Wattpad can be quite difficult. Copyright is the ‘legal right to control the production and selling of a book, play, film, photograph, or piece of music.’ (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2020)
Since the writers on the site are amateurs there are a lot of stories which are incredibly similar, especially when a story goes viral but hasn’t been published. Since copyright doesn’t protect ideas, it can be difficult for writers on the site who haven’t gained enough ‘clout’ for their work, but another person uses their idea and happens to be better at articulating it or creating a better plot. Without a copyright in place and the difficulty in which it is to trace the original work online authors and publishers face a huge challenge.
Due to all these advanced pieces of technology, the publishing industry has advanced and developed. Where in the past everything had to be printed on paper and all distribution, marketing and editing happened by hand and through word of mouth, now technology allows a quicker process. Since the rise and key role that the internet plays in our current lives and society, there has been an increase in digital publishing. Greco claims that “print is dead, replaced by innovative enriched digital products that contain “text” and audio and video.”
(Greco, Milliot and Wharton, 2014) By this he is referring to the vast growth of the digital industry and how this may be the future of publishing. ‘n the last ten years there has been a ‘decline in physical book sales in the UK by 6% while digital book sales have risen a whopping 305%.’ (Publishers.org.uk, 2014) This has led to the digital disruption that the publishing industry is currently facing.
With digital publishing there are four stages within the development process. The first being operating systems and control, then digital production methods. Third is customer and marketing initiatives and finally digital products. (Thompson, 2005) In terms of distribution there is a clear correlation with the huge rise of sales of e- books compared to physical copies. This is mostly to do with how much easier it is for readers to have access to e- books. As well as the fact more authors are turning away from the traditional publishing approach and becoming self- published and online. Bhaskar n his work outlines that in current society ‘everyone is or can be a publisher on the internet.’ (Bhaskar, 2013) Though not all may be good, the internet is a platform where anyone can share their work. Thanks to digital printing, it has become much easier to publish books and far quicker. From one input (a manuscript) there can be multiple outputs (paperback and hardback books, e-books) these e-books can be further developed into multiple formats to be compatible with various devices such as: kindles and the iPad.’ (Hall, 2013) Additionally, as far as content is concerned, there is a lot of precious time that can be saved through digital publishing.
Things such as copying become effortless and instantaneous and there is no print cost that would be a downfall of traditional publishing.