Writing the FutureChanges and challenges to the writing and publishing industry

Why is this important?Millennials read more than the previous generation

Almost two million new books have been published this year alone!

And, above all, I believe that everyone has a story in them that’s worth telling.

How to tell the story?

Telling stories is probably humanity’s earliest and oldest form of entertainment. That, or kill and plunder in the neighboring village…

Today, we have movie theaters, plays, TV shows, comedians, and many other forms of entertainment

What do they all have in common? At some point, writing was involved!

I Would Like To Cover

How the publishing industry has changed

The rise of self-publishing

Bookstores vs. e-books.

Amazon, friend or enemy?

What does the future hold?

PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS!!!I know I’m probably the only person here who even cares about this subject, but could you please humor me, at least?

How The Publishing Industry Has Changed

“In the beginning…”

As I said earlier, stories have been told since we learned how to speak.

The first story ever printed on to paper is The Tale of Genji, from 11th century Japan.

The invention of the printing press was the first “big shift” in how stories were published and preserved.

It allowed book publishing to become a faster (and profitable) business

After the printing press

The publishing industry evolved very slowly.

Things slowly evolved to a more monolithic consolidation which continues today.

Very few independent bookstores, large retail chains such as Barnes & Noble, “The Big 5,” etc.

Things were good, and the publishers lived in peace…

Internet

After the Internet

The internet changed everything!

Publishers were slow to adapt, however

Writers now had a way to get their stories distributed without having to go to a publisher!

This guy actually explains it a lot better than I could, so I’ll fill up two minutes with a video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVF2L_KfkM

The Rise of Independent Publishing

Self-published works used to be considered second rate and inferior

Until recently it was also a very expensive process

However, with the internet self-publishing has become much easier and more profitable

Self-publishing has many benefits!

It is faster than traditional publishing, and it gives the writer a lot more control

Plus, self-publishing lets people discover amazing & funny works that wouldn’t have been found any other way!

Okay, you can tell your story… but should you?

Self-publishing sounds like a good thing, right? Well… maybe not

An argument against independent publishing is that it makes really poor quality work

In a sense this is true

It’s never been easier to get your story out there, literally ANYBODY can get published.

And I mean anybody!!!

Do not read this!!! It is an embarrassment

All this garbage builds a rather convincing argument against self-publishing

Yes, that’s dinosaur erotica

Yes, that’s dinosaur erotica

Now, to be fair, Twilight isn’t self-publishedBut 50 Shades was. It was a fanfic too!

My Opinion

I think that, while self-publishing does produce a large amount of garbage, it may not necessarily be garbage.

Other than Twilight, there’s something redeeming in any story, no matter how bad.

One man’s erotica is another man’s romance novel, or something like that.

Bookstores vs. eBooks

Are ebooks going to replace bookstores?

My opinion? Bookstores are going to disappear, but they’ll never go away.

BookstoresAs of 2012, there were 12,703 bookstores in America

The highpoint was in 2007, when the bookstore business made $17.18 billion. Ever since then, it’s been in decline

Between 2002 and 2011, the number of independent bookstores has dropped from2,400 to 1,900.

Borders, a major big chain bookstore, went bankrupt and closed down over 600 stores

Main causes of decline: Borders going out of business, competition with Amazon and other online retailers, etc.

eBooks

Captured $3.2 billion worth of the market in 2011, and has been on the rise ever since

Projected to make $10 billion by 2016

Increased 210% and sold 30% of all adult fiction between 2010 and 2011

Main causes of this rise: Amazon (again), and over 28% of Americans owning an e-reading device

My Opinion

Ebooks are going to overtake and replace bookstores, but bookstores will never go away for good.

Why? People are always going to want a real book

Also, independent bookstores are making a small comeback, as the big chains are struggling.

Bookstores will be making moves to find niche markets (ie: Hipsters) that will want real books that they can’t find or don’t want online

Amazon, friend or enemy of writers?

One of the top sellers of books in the technological age

Almost 50% of book sales annually!

Almost every publisher and book in the world can be found on Amazon.

A bookseller’s cold warVery hard to explain this one…

Basically, Amazon is holding some book publishing companies ransom. They “ask” the companies to lower their prices every once and a while, so Amazon can buy them for cheaper

Hachette, another bookseller, refused to lower their prices. So, Amazon made it as impossible as they could for customers to buy Hachette books.

http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/t1nxwu/amazon-vs--hachette---sherman-alexie

Personally, I think that Amazon could be a big help to independent booksellers, and the publishing industry in general, but not like this.

What Does The Future Hold?

(The presentation’s almost over, get excited!!!)

Self-publishing is going to increase as more and more people write. As far as quality goes…?

Bookstores are going to find newer niche markets and survive on that.

Amazon is only going to get bigger, until something better comes along.

Works Citedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVlPWozwtGEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVF2L_KfkMhttp://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/t1nxwu/amazon-vs--hachette---sherman-alexiehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker/2014-book-publishing-indu_b_4533411.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-coker/10-reasons-self-published_b_4915694.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2012/07/12/what-is-the-future-of-publishing/http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-pros-and-cons-of-self-publishing-traditional-publishinghttp://www.businessinsider.com/publishing-industry-revolution-is-helping-indie-writers-2014-7http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/10/28/self-publishing-and-direct-sales-pros-cons-and-problems/http://www.scribendi.com/advice/traditional_versus_self_publishing.en.htmlhttp://www.salon.com/2014/06/17/amazon_is_not_your_best_friend_why_self_published_authors_should_side_with_hachette/

Works Cited (continued)http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/self-published-authors-are-destroying-literaturehttp://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-10-1Abookstores10_CV_N.htmhttp://www.medicaldaily.com/millennials-read-more-books-more-often-previous-generation-still-dont-think-libraries-are-302836http://www.worldometers.info/books/http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/12-stats-on-the-state-of-bookstores-in-america-today/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/57631-where-the-stores-are.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/13/50-shades-el-james-highest-earning-authorhttp://www.taleofgenji.org/summary.html