Friday, January 24, 2014

Technological Conundrums

The rise of technology has always directly influenced the world of literature. We began with crude paints on the walls of caves and now it's the norm to have a digital device that can hold thousands of books. For hundreds of years after the improved printing press was created by the German printer Johannes Gutenberg in 1450, the hardback and later the paperback book were the main options for literature. The printing presses were perfected and literature became more available to the public as advances in technology reduced costs and educational opportunities increased as the western world's culture developed and changed. Then in 2007, the Amazon Kindle was released; for the first time it was possible for an average person to have a device that could hold hundreds, thousands if you so willed, of books. It didn't take off immediately, however within a few short years the e-reader has thrown the literature world upside down.

There are pros and cons to having an e-reader. I, myself, have the most basic Amazon Kindle. I resisted getting one for about four years until I realized how convenient they could be. Instead of having to lug around two or three 500 page plus novels, I can pop this slim piece of technology into my purse and carry around a digital library. But I've found that even with the Kindle, I still buy hard copies of my favorite authors' new releases. What I do love about the Kindle is that there is easy access to many free books that include classics as well as new authors. It's also much lighter than Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. 

The release of the e-reader hasn't only thrown the product side of publishing for a loop; e-readers have also opened up a whole new path to publishing for those individuals who wish to become authors. It used to be that you'd send out a hundred copies of your manuscript to agents, hoping that they'd decide your novel was worth something and find you a book deal. Or if you decided to self publish, you'd end up spending hundreds of dollars printing your books and then trying to market them to your local bookstores. Now, with the release of e-readers self publishing has become much easier and has really sped up the process. Once your manuscript is edited and formatted, you can have your book ready to be purchased within 24 hours if you decide to self publish! Quality can range from superb to downright awful. When you buy a book at a store, you know that there were at least three various editors overseeing the book's many stages; with an e-reader you don't get that guarantee. An e-reader author may not have been able to afford a great free-lance editor and perhaps they used their neighbor's daughter who's going to college and needs a few extra bucks. The result is that the quality of the books you can get on the e-reader can range. However because the publishing companies have seen the trend of the public moving towards e-readers, they've began releasing digital copies as well as hardback. So obviously not all works on e-readers have the chance of being horrendously edited.

There are those who also fear that the e-reader will replace hard copies of books. I can fully understand that, but I don't think it will actually happen. While some publishers have reported a drop in sales when it comes to paper backs, hardback sales have stayed steady they also report. Also one benefit of the e-reader is studies are showing that kids and young adults are beginning to read more. It makes sense because the new generation is so entwined with technology, if we want our children to read we may just have to introduce it through the devices their eyes are already glued too. Personally, I would love to raise my future children on hard copies but I can understand that if you are having to pack a huge bag for them for travel, who wants to add three or six more books for them?

I don't see the e-reader as being the end of the physical books, but I do see them being the cause of a drop in local bookstores. In the last seven years, in my area, I've seen four bookstores disappear. I think our culture's move to more of an online market has had a large hand in it as well, but for sure the release of the e-reader has definitely affected local stores. Barns and Nobles is barely holding on, the release of the company's own e-reader has helped keep them going where as Amazon has never been doing better.
Honestly in the end, I like both books and the e-reader. I do primarily read hard copies, keeping my Kindle for travel and or access to quick, free books. I think Stephen Fry nailed it on the head when he said: “Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.” There will be the crowds that always pack into the elevator, or in this case e-readers, but for those of us who still crack open a book it's refreshing.

Besides, it just means shorter lines at the bookstore.


-B

P.S. I wonder what will come after e-readers as technology advances?

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