So today I read to so VASTLY different views on "publishing" books that I began thinking about what has changed for me in terms of publishing and reading. I wondered if my own needs, as a CONSUMER had changed. In fact, I know they have.
I started the day reading my Domino Project newsletter from Seth Godin. I am a huge Godin fan and rarely feel his commentary is far off the mark. He is a writer. He is a publisher. More importantly he is passionate about getting his messages into his customers hands. And now he has partnered with Amazon, who like it or hate it, has had a huge impact on our world of books and reading. Today he commented on pricing. Along the way he made some interesting about books and how as consumers, we have always had to bend to the "will" of publishers. Very satisfying quick read.
Finished my daily mandatory reading and went on the big newspaper headline perusing. And, aha, another article on publishing in the New York Times opinion pages. As I read through the article, Read On, I was astounded at the contrast in CONSUMER perspective of the industry in the NYT commentary to the Godin view. In this case, the CONSUMER is the reader. Sure, the article does point out that the industry has done much better than the recording industry at managing the move to "e-", but not sure the additional patting on the back is warranted. Let's admit it, another industry would be hard pressed to fail as big as recording companies did. This tone from NYT should probably be no surprise. It comes from a media giant who publishes a Bestseller list for the very objects that are produced from this industry. [Interested in how The New York Times Bestsellers REALLY are or are not determined? Read this...] I am dissapointed that I read the whole article on how much better the the industry is doing, and yet the writer shared no opinion on why it exists in the first place? Instead we get this:
Do we read different then we used to? As a CONSUMER, have I changed? I have been a user and fan of Amazon's recommendations for a very long time. I placed my first Amazon order in 1997 (bought The Grotesque by Patrick McGrath) . I have rated 889 books. Was poignant to see Brown Bear, Brown Bear marked with 5 stars in 2002. Year Natalie was born. Cancer Vixen in 2003. (Love you Julie!) Did I really read all of those Jean M. Auel books? And yes, I did give Middlesex a single star. First book that as an adult I did not finish. But what really strikes is how many of these books would NOT have been books that I would have bought at a traditional bookstore. Joyce Carol Oates? No way. Loved Carl Hiaasen, but had never heard of James Lee Burke. Had a rule about reading Oprah's Book Club (I didn't, it was the principle), but finally read She's Come Undone after it stayed at my number one recommendation for three book orders. Turned out it was one of my top 5 books. So Amazon expanded my base of books, though I may or may not have read more. Browsing recommendations versus browsing by the covers seems like a way to improve the overall quality of my reading. And it did. I tried new things (Naked by David Sedaris in 2000) and while not all were hits (didn't I mention Middlesex?) I certainly changed from my mostly Science Fiction genre to a broader swatch of literature. I get that I probably would have changed my reading materials without Amazon, I mean how many times can you read The Hobbit after you turn 30? But Amazon pushed me a bit out of my comfort zone. For that I am appreciative. [On a side note, it was weird to see that I only placed two order with Amazon in 2003. A new vacuum and Middlesex. I'm just sayin'...]
I was not ready to go to eBooks. Tom had one way before I did. I didn't like the idea of giving up the tactile experience of reading. I've always associated good book reads with the experience in which it was born. Reading The Reader by Bernhard Schlink in a Florida hotel room waiting on Y2k to hit? Contextual. Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton on a deployment visit to Argentina? Realistic. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell read in little snippets during "lunch at the desk" years at CareSource? Life changing.
But, I took the plunge. And I am amazed at how quickly I adapted. I love that all my favorite books can be with me (note this is only the case since the Kindle was upgraded to allow folders). I can mark up and highlight to my hear's content. And the convenience of using the device for reading technical text files for computers and photography subjects is fabulous. I now can read 3-4 books at the same time. I used to max out at 2. But since they are with me, I can switch from my only-when-I-have-10-minutes book to my read-each-night-until-I-fall-asleep book. And that topic-for-which-I-should-have-paid-more-attention-to-in-high-school-government-class can be easily traded for the wish-i-remembered-if-I-liked-it-the-first-time book. And it's still as tactile as it used to be. I don't use a kindle cover except when I pack it in a bag. So my reading in bed experience is still the same really.
I am positive that I am reading more than I used to. And yes, some is short, which is great when my attention span will be short such as when I have 10 minutes until the microwave timer goes off. But I just re-read Watership Down by Richard Adams in about 10 little sessions. I think I was able to discern the main points regarding teamwork and leadership. In fact, it kept my frustration of reading about yet another bunch of males who don't recognize their need for females until it is too late. Ah, but I digress...
eBooks are here to stay. But what will it mean to the publishing world? What value does a publisher add to the acquisition process? Can they assist me in finding new and interesting things to read, or can they only direct me to the books they want me to read because THEY determined they were good books (again, Middlesex????)? I have a friend who is a fabulous writer (you know who you are!) and it would be great if she could easily be published. I am sure she aspires to have a NYT #1, but wouldn't it be even better to publish a book quickly and cheaply so that it can be priced and sized for us to try it? Then, when we love it, we can move on to her tomes!
Whatever happens I know that I continue to be a book lover. And I love that my daughter is a book lover. So here is to books:
I started the day reading my Domino Project newsletter from Seth Godin. I am a huge Godin fan and rarely feel his commentary is far off the mark. He is a writer. He is a publisher. More importantly he is passionate about getting his messages into his customers hands. And now he has partnered with Amazon, who like it or hate it, has had a huge impact on our world of books and reading. Today he commented on pricing. Along the way he made some interesting about books and how as consumers, we have always had to bend to the "will" of publishers. Very satisfying quick read.
Finished my daily mandatory reading and went on the big newspaper headline perusing. And, aha, another article on publishing in the New York Times opinion pages. As I read through the article, Read On, I was astounded at the contrast in CONSUMER perspective of the industry in the NYT commentary to the Godin view. In this case, the CONSUMER is the reader. Sure, the article does point out that the industry has done much better than the recording industry at managing the move to "e-", but not sure the additional patting on the back is warranted. Let's admit it, another industry would be hard pressed to fail as big as recording companies did. This tone from NYT should probably be no surprise. It comes from a media giant who publishes a Bestseller list for the very objects that are produced from this industry. [Interested in how The New York Times Bestsellers REALLY are or are not determined? Read this...] I am dissapointed that I read the whole article on how much better the the industry is doing, and yet the writer shared no opinion on why it exists in the first place? Instead we get this:
The resilience of the book business may be because of demographics. Like jazz, which is less prone to illicit downloads than hip-hop, books cater to older, less Internet-savvy customers. Publishers also avoided the recording industry’s mistake of wasting precious time suing customers and have rightly focused on promoting cheap and easy ways for them to download books legally.So publishing is working because my mom buys books? Because she can't figure out how get the free versions of bitTorrent I guess! And then there was this:
Some argue that the short texts usually found on the Internet are changing readers’ habits, perhaps reducing our attention spans.I read Ken Follet books and I am pretty sure that it's required attention span of 120 hours is a bit excessive. Why are full size novels more popular than short stories? You can never just buy a single short story either. Remember Stephen King's foray into the small, bite-size, publishing world? Everyone loved it. Of course, it was a return to the "serial" style. I agree that blogs, news readers, and other internet tools have faciliated readers in quickly covering many topics with a short amount of detail. But most of this reading is non-fiction. SO the observation might only apply to readers who read a larger % of non-fiction as oppossed to fiction-generally readers. Al this makes me wonder if the experts at The Times includes anyone who has actually been buying and consuming books in the last 14 years.
Do we read different then we used to? As a CONSUMER, have I changed? I have been a user and fan of Amazon's recommendations for a very long time. I placed my first Amazon order in 1997 (bought The Grotesque by Patrick McGrath) . I have rated 889 books. Was poignant to see Brown Bear, Brown Bear marked with 5 stars in 2002. Year Natalie was born. Cancer Vixen in 2003. (Love you Julie!) Did I really read all of those Jean M. Auel books? And yes, I did give Middlesex a single star. First book that as an adult I did not finish. But what really strikes is how many of these books would NOT have been books that I would have bought at a traditional bookstore. Joyce Carol Oates? No way. Loved Carl Hiaasen, but had never heard of James Lee Burke. Had a rule about reading Oprah's Book Club (I didn't, it was the principle), but finally read She's Come Undone after it stayed at my number one recommendation for three book orders. Turned out it was one of my top 5 books. So Amazon expanded my base of books, though I may or may not have read more. Browsing recommendations versus browsing by the covers seems like a way to improve the overall quality of my reading. And it did. I tried new things (Naked by David Sedaris in 2000) and while not all were hits (didn't I mention Middlesex?) I certainly changed from my mostly Science Fiction genre to a broader swatch of literature. I get that I probably would have changed my reading materials without Amazon, I mean how many times can you read The Hobbit after you turn 30? But Amazon pushed me a bit out of my comfort zone. For that I am appreciative. [On a side note, it was weird to see that I only placed two order with Amazon in 2003. A new vacuum and Middlesex. I'm just sayin'...]
I was not ready to go to eBooks. Tom had one way before I did. I didn't like the idea of giving up the tactile experience of reading. I've always associated good book reads with the experience in which it was born. Reading The Reader by Bernhard Schlink in a Florida hotel room waiting on Y2k to hit? Contextual. Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton on a deployment visit to Argentina? Realistic. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell read in little snippets during "lunch at the desk" years at CareSource? Life changing.
But, I took the plunge. And I am amazed at how quickly I adapted. I love that all my favorite books can be with me (note this is only the case since the Kindle was upgraded to allow folders). I can mark up and highlight to my hear's content. And the convenience of using the device for reading technical text files for computers and photography subjects is fabulous. I now can read 3-4 books at the same time. I used to max out at 2. But since they are with me, I can switch from my only-when-I-have-10-minutes book to my read-each-night-until-I-fall-asleep book. And that topic-for-which-I-should-have-paid-more-attention-to-in-high-school-government-class can be easily traded for the wish-i-remembered-if-I-liked-it-the-first-time book. And it's still as tactile as it used to be. I don't use a kindle cover except when I pack it in a bag. So my reading in bed experience is still the same really.
I am positive that I am reading more than I used to. And yes, some is short, which is great when my attention span will be short such as when I have 10 minutes until the microwave timer goes off. But I just re-read Watership Down by Richard Adams in about 10 little sessions. I think I was able to discern the main points regarding teamwork and leadership. In fact, it kept my frustration of reading about yet another bunch of males who don't recognize their need for females until it is too late. Ah, but I digress...
eBooks are here to stay. But what will it mean to the publishing world? What value does a publisher add to the acquisition process? Can they assist me in finding new and interesting things to read, or can they only direct me to the books they want me to read because THEY determined they were good books (again, Middlesex????)? I have a friend who is a fabulous writer (you know who you are!) and it would be great if she could easily be published. I am sure she aspires to have a NYT #1, but wouldn't it be even better to publish a book quickly and cheaply so that it can be priced and sized for us to try it? Then, when we love it, we can move on to her tomes!
Whatever happens I know that I continue to be a book lover. And I love that my daughter is a book lover. So here is to books:
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry --
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll --
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human soul. ---Emily Dickinson
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