Publishing and the Internet: How the Internet is Changing the Face of Publishing

What's Next for Readers and Writers?

Consumers watched the music industry change models to downloadable music, MP3s and streaming audio. Later, the television industry changed, with analog television nearly extinct and on-demand Internet television the wave of the future. Entertainment has been drastically changed by our on-demand digital society--some say for the better, some say for the worse. One thing no one can argue is that the face of entertainment has changed because of the Internet. The publishing industry is likely next to see major changes.

The Digital Publishing Shift

Online content and media aside, readers today have a large selection of print books from which to choose, because of print/publish on demand technology (POD). This allows anyone to publish with just a few keystrokes and upload to the printer via a website offering POD services.

The downside is that POD services have led to an overall decrease in writing quality. While quality declines, prices increase. Many books retail for more than a meal out for a small family, and with a sluggish economy and high gas prices, consumers aren't inclined to shell out bucks for a book when other entertainment is readily available on the Internet for free.

Publishing Shift for Consumers

On the internet, advertising paved the way to free entertainment to consumers, while the advertisers bear the brunt of the cost. It's impossible to provide pay per click advertising in a print book, making it virtually impossible to shift the burden of cost away from the consumer.

Publishing Shift for Writers

Writers who would otherwise submit manuscripts to traditional publishers are opting to self publish through PODs, and the quality break-out authors are bypassing the traditional publishing molds. With the help of the Internet, authors who choose to print on demand have avenues for free advertising using the most effective means of selling: word of mouth.