Three Arguments In Favor of Electronic
Versus Conventional Publishing
To state the issue in simple terms,
electronic publishing has not, yet,
exactly taken the world by storm.
Although there are an increasing
number of electronic publishers,
access outlets, and digital authors,
nevertheless, most people are not
interested in obtaining cyber books
of either a fictional or non-fictional
nature.
Obviously, for people who do not
own a computer or do not possess
one of the new generation of
portable readers, there is not much
attraction to the whole area of
electronic books. However, what is
less obvious is why this should also
be the case with individuals who do
have the requisite technology to
actively support an electronic
publishing industry which has, from
a variety of perspectives,
considerable constructive potential.
Undoubtedly, one of the primary
reasons cited by the latter group of
people - that is, those who possess
the requisite technology - for why
they continue to purchase paper
books rather than switching over to
the pulpless format is the lack of
portability of the reading material.
For the most part, one cannot take
an electronic book to the beach, or
on a bus, to the bathroom, or crawl
up with it on the couch or in bed.
With the advent of laptops and the
introduction of a new generation of
portable readers, this reason is less
persuasive than it used to be -
although the absence of, among
other things, the desired degree of
resolution with respect to the quality
of printed material on the screens of
these readers continues to be an
obstacle to the effectiveness of this
technology as a genuine substitute
for paper products. Notwithstanding
such considerations, the fact of the
matter is that the vast majority of
computer owners still do not possess
either laptops or portable readers,
and, therefore, because of the lack of
an adequate solution to the
transportability problem, most
people continue to resist a move
toward acceptance of electronic
books.
A further reason for the failure of the
electronic publishing market to
flourish revolves around the problem
of an absence of choice. If one
cannot get what one wants in
pulpless form, then the average
individual is going to go where one’s
needs and desires can be satisfied
which, in this case, means going to
conventional bookstores that sell -
surprise, surprise - a vast array of
fictional and non-fictional works in
paper format.
Of course, one of the reasons why
interested parties cannot obtain
access to electronic versions of most
written works is that many
individuals within the publishing
industry have a vested interest in
maintaining the status quo. At the
same time, a substantial number of
writers are unwilling to free
themselves from their co-dependency
relationship with the publishers, and,
consequently, the former group are
not prepared to dive off the high
board into the largely uncharted
waters at the deep end of the
electronic publishing pool.
Having said the foregoing,
nevertheless, we believe there are at
least three arguments which
constitute fundamental reasons why
people who own computers should
begin to flex their electronic muscles
and work toward changing the way
things are done in the current world
of published works. These
arguments remain valid despite
whatever initial, relatively minor
sacrifices may have to be made in
order to bring about changes that
are both desirable and necessary.
(First reason) The Earth simply cannot
continue to subsidize publishers,
editors, authors, conventional
bookstores, paper producers and
consumers. The production of
conventional books is helping to
eliminate the forests of the world at an
unacceptable, and increasing, rate, and
not only is the whole publishing industry
culpable in this tragedy, but the buying
public also is responsible for permitting
it to continue.
Above and beyond the role which
conventional books are playing in
contributing significantly to
accelerating the arrival of that time
when all manner of trees will become
the newest entries onto the list of
endangered species, the brutal fact
of the matter is that the production
of paper, whether for books or for
other purposes, requires the use of
chemical processes that utilize and
generate toxic substances which are
being spewed into the environment
with, for the most part, inadequate
controls being applied. In fact, even
if there were a strong regulatory
presence in the paper production
process, the controls could never be
sufficiently tight or error-proof to
avoid a continuing degradation of the
environment through the bleaching
agents and other chemicals that are
being used to treat paper and render
it a commercially viable product.
By undertaking a transition from
conventional book production to its
electronic counterpart, one has an
opportunity to take significant steps
toward improving environmental
conditions, both with respect to
helping to stem the tide of tree
destruction, as well as in relation to
decreasing the amount of toxic
chemicals which are being
introduced into our habitat, along
with the homes of all other living
creatures.
To be sure, the production of
computers and computer related
technology also is releasing toxic
chemicals into the environment, and
this issue needs to be addressed as
quickly as possible by both
manufacturers and consumes of
these items. However, we believe
that when one starts analyzing the
ecological account ledgers, the wiser
environmental decision will involve
having many electronic books being
run through one computer or
portable display reader, rather than
having one human reader running
through many paper books, because
when one multiplies this individual
case across millions of products and
consumers, one ends up with a lot
more destruction and pollution in
conjunction with conventional
publishing than one does in relation
to electronic publishing.
(Second reason) Although human
beings have an unfortunate talent for
finding ways to exploit one another
under all manner of circumstances, the
transition from conventional publishing
to electronic publishing could help form
a buffer of sorts - at least for a time -
against various kinds of exploitation
which are going on at the present time.
This exploitation concerns both
consumers and writers.
The price of books is skyrocketing.
This is true even with respect to
paperbacks, and this involves
considerable irony given that,
originally, one of the main reasons
for introducing paperbacks was,
purportedly, to make all manner of
books available to the reading public
at reasonable costs.
Electronic publishing has the
potential for substantially cutting the
price of books. If publishers don’t
have to publish in any conventional
sense, and if distributors no longer
have to worry about freight costs or
paying custom clearance agents, and
if bookstores do not have to worry
about underwriting upwardly mobile
rents for acquiring the space
necessary to store and display books,
then there is absolutely no reason
why the price of books should either
continue to rise or be excessive in
character as is the case at the
present time.
Furthermore, the sad fact of the
matter is this: the people upon whose
back this industry rests - i.e, writers -
receive very little of the total
monetary value associated with the
publication of a book. When one
factors in the cut of agents, lawyers,
editors, publishers, distributors, and
bookstores, most writers are given
the slimmest of percentages of the
overall flow of cash which has been
set in motion by her or his efforts,
and they frequently are told that they
should be satisfied just to be getting
their creative or scholarly efforts
before the reading public.
There are, of course, a few
exceptions to the rules governing the
rate of return an author or authoress
might expect for the publication of a
given work of fiction or non-fiction.
However, more often than not, these
glamour figures of the literary world
are merely the exceptions which
prove the rule, for even in their
cases, although they receive
advances and fees for writing books
about which most writers can only
wistfully dream, in reality, they still
receive only a very small proportion
of the money which is generated by
the publication of a successful book.
When one eliminates, for the most
part, the costs of publishing,
distribution, retailing and so on, then
the cost of books should not go
anywhere but down. If this occurs,
the only factors which ought to
govern the price of such written
materials is fairness - fairness to the
consumer and fairness to the writer.
(Third reason) The final reason for
why there should be a transition from
conventional methods of publishing to
electronic publishing is somewhat
related to the argument outlined in (2)
above, but this third reason needs to be
understood on its own terms. This
concerns the tremendous influence, if
not control, which the publishing
industry now exercises over what sees
the light of day with respect to the
reading public.
Agents, publishers, editors,
distributors and bookstores all make
choices concerning what sorts of
materials will be taken on as
"clients". Yet, even from a purely
commercial point of view, many of
these decisions are bad ones.
If these people really knew what they
were doing, then every book would
be a best seller and there would be
no book project which would slip
through anyone’s hands only to
become a best seller through some
other venue. In reality, most of the
books that surface commercially not
only fail to achieve any degree of
success, many of them are headed
for an ignoble end in remainder bins
and specialty discount stores.
The only people who can be faulted
for this state of affairs are the people
who made the decision to publish
such works in the first place.
Obviously, these people do not know
as much about the needs and
interests of the buying public as they
often try to convince themselves and
others that they do.
These movers and shakers of the
publishing establishment can, of
course, claim that certain works
have literary merit even though they
were not commercially viable, and,
therefore, were worthwhile
‘experiments’ that served a noble
cause. More often than not, however,
this sort of excuse serves only as an
attempt to justify failed decisions
which frequently were made mostly
for considerations other than
possible literary merit although this
latter factor may have influenced the
final decision to some small degree.
Of course, publishers will point to
this ‘lets throw the dice and hope
that the right numbers show up’
aspect of the industry to be precisely
the reason why things cost so much
and why one must as careful as
possible with respect to whom one
permits to be published. Among the
many projects which are tried, there
are only a few successful ones, and
agents, publishers, editors, retailers
and literary critics are doing their
best to find these hidden, rare gems -
something which takes time, money
and expert discernment.
In effect, although many industry
people might deny the following,
nevertheless, what is actually
occurring in many facets of book
publishing and selling have little to
do with the problems of identifying
quality amidst the rubble. In reality,
there is a very strong system of
censorship - sometimes intentional
and sometimes unintentional - that is
being exercised concerning the ideas,
perspectives and values which are to
be introduced for public
consumption. Unfortunately, there
are many biases, prejudices, fears,
jealousies, and pressures, as well as
much pettiness, governing decisions
at all levels of the publishing
industry.
One also must keep in mind another,
somewhat after-the-fact, influence
that, for similar reasons, plays a
significant role in this kind of
censorship - namely, the newspapers
and journals which review and
publicize some published works, to
the exclusion of others. Quite
frequently, the central factors
underlying the determination of what
does and does get reviewed or
pushed, or how it gets reviewed or
publicized has little to do with the
quality of the written work.
Electronic publishing has a potential
for breaking the strangle hold which
the traditional publishing industry -
from agent to reviewer, from editor
to retail outlet - has on ideas and
information. To be sure, the
de-regulation of the publishing
industry might permit more works of
lesser quality to surface than is now
the case, but this is highly debatable
since a great deal of material of
questionable quality already is being
released with the blessings of the
publishing industry.
In any event, the people who are
most affected by a relatively
reasonable free flow of ideas -
namely the buying public - should be
the ones who decide what will and
will not be commercially supported.
Such decisions should not be left to
faceless people - namely, the movers
and shakers of the publishing
industry - who have a vested
financial interest in limiting the
discussion of ideas to only those
which they control and wish to
champion.
One should ask oneself why the
conventional publishing industry has
not, for the most part, helped to
make possible a smooth transition to
electronic publishing when doing so
carries with it so many benefits.
Indeed, if the publishing industry
were to get behind such a movement,
then even the current problems of
lack of choice and portability would
soon be solved.
Noble experiments could be run with
fewer adverse ramifications.
Overhead could be reduced. Savings
could be passed on to customers,
and, yet, profits still could be made.
When there is such an upside to
establishing an electronic publishing
industry, why is the conventional
publishing industry keeping its
distance. The only reason that seems
to make much sense is that if the
current industry were to support this
kind of changeover, it would be
putting in motion a dynamic which
might result in a substantial lost of
control - both financially as well as
conceptually - for those who
currently set the commercial table
for this industry.
The advent of the Internet - and with
it the possibility of establishing a
viable electronic publishing industry,
provides a tremendous opportunity
to take important steps to protect the
environment, while, simultaneously,
lowering costs, providing writers
with a fairer return for their labors,
and removing substantial obstacles
that prevent many people from ever
be able to make a contribution that
has a chance to gain access to the
public debate of ideas and values.
When the cost of publishing a written
work and the cost of promoting that
work are reduced to such an extent
that people with only very modest
financial wherewithal have at least a
chance - something which they did
not previously have - to compete -
even occasionally - on equal terms
with the power brokers of the
publishing industry who do not yet
control all of the search engines,
directories, free for all listings,
banner and link exchange programs,
free classifieds, and personal surfing
habits of the populace, then one has
a situation in which the democracy of
individual choice has the potential
for assuming ascendancy over those
who would wish to dictate what
people can and cannot read by
"virtue" of controlling the access
routes to public consciousness.
When Adam Smith wrote The
Wealth of Nations he believed one of
the most important sources for the
generation of many kinds of wealth was
a function of a lot of small,
independently operated businesses
competing against one another in a way
that collectively would enhance the
quality of items and the distribution of
wealth which might be made available to
a community or a nation. The Internet
has the potential for incorporating and
utilizing many of the principles explored
by Adam Smith in his book, and
electronic publishing is just one
dimension of that potential.
If the people who surf the Internet in
North America - which is estimated
to be around 55 million and growing
- were to exercise the power that
they have before them in the form of
their computer, they could begin to
insist - through what they purchased
via the Internet - that electronic
publishing replace the conventional
means of publishing written works.
The long term benefits of
undertaking such a transition would
far outweigh any minor sacrifices
that might have to be made in the
short run while the desired changes
were taking place.
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