Hi all hope everyone is doing well. Higher Powers have selected me to give my thoughts on this piece by Steve Wasserman on Amazon's rise to power and their role in publishing/book selling, so here goes.
First off, I found this piece painfully morbid. Maybe everyone else was already to numb to the horrors of Amazon, but for me this was a really tough essay to get through. In particular, I found the path of the death of the bookstore to be as dramatic as it was sad. Some of this is definitely due to the dramatic tone that Wasserman takes on throughout the essay:
"The bookstore wars are over. Independents are battered, Borders is dead, Barnes & Noble weakened but still standing, and amazon triumphant. Yet there is no peace (...)"
The statement is undeniably true. However, personally I'm not Amazon's biggest customer for stuff in general, and when it comes to books, I can't remember purchasing a book from Amazon for at least the last 8 years (I think there was a blog post that posed of where you buy your books, but I'll ask it again: Where do you guys buy your books?). On that note, I actually did not realize that Amazon's initial enterprise was fixated on book selling. I guess that just lends itself to how much Amazon has grown, but when I think of Amazon, book selling is not even close to my first thought (Also, as I write this there's an Amazon truck parked outside my apartment (irony?)).
Returning to publishing for a moment, the essay briefly mentioned one of Amazon's publishing endeavors that I was curious about, the Kindle Single Program. As Wasserman describes it, "[The Amazon Kindle Single program] offers writers a chance to publish original e-book essays of no more than 36,000 words". I was curious as to some of the more specifics to this program, and how it interacts with the critical questions we ask in the class: Will it sell? and Is it any good? At face value, it seems like this program would allow for rapid publishing of more literature. Since writers don't have to wait for the machinery of the publishing industry to churn, it seems like the program would allow for simply more work to reach a wider audience (provided they have a kindle). Amazon has little trouble marketing and selling things, so it's unlikely that the things they publish through the program wouldn't sell. However, I'm uncertain as to how we would answer our other question. I could see an argument that circumventing the machinery of the publishing industry also removes the vetting process for works of lesser literary merit. In short, that lowering the barrier of entry with this program means we'll have a lot of "meh" work. I think to better answer these two questions, more specifics on the program are needed. I google'd it quickly and it seems like it may be a thing of the past? Does anyone know of other Amazon publishing things in the same category?
There was a lot discussed in the essay and I certainly can't talk about all of it. I did find it very interesting that the postscriptum ended with a plea for a serious investigation. I'm very un-informed, so if this has happened/is happening, someone tell me. Otherwise, I'd be interested in what something like that might tell us. This is getting pretty lengthy, so I'll just leave with some questions I had while reading that people can answer or whatever:
How do you view print media's transition to digital? Good or bad?
Do you think Amazon has a positive or negative role in society? in book publishing? in getting people to read more books?
The essay pointed out that Amazon killed book selling and then started on killing book publishing, what industry in literature could be next?
I had a very similar attitude, as you did, toward amazon before reading this essay. I knew amazon was influential and a corporate powerhouse, but I didn’t realize how much they had actually affected, especially within the publishing industry. As to your question of print media’s transition to digital, I have always been torn on the topic. From reading this essay, the future of the print medium seems grim, but the essay did make some interesting hopes, that I am not sure played out.
ReplyDelete“perhaps the interactive features of graphic display (…) made possible by the World Wide Web will prompt new and compelling ways of telling one another stories”
Now I am all for incorporating new features to make a new experience but when it comes to reading, for me at least, nothing beats holding a physical book and actually turning the pages. I do still buy e-books because, as the essay explains, it’s cheaper. Ironically, I read this essay as an e-book version on my iPad. It even incorporated hyperlinks when referencing something. But that something was just a link to the amazon website. So, I did not buy the book from an amazon owned store, nor am I reading it on an amazon product, but just because it was mentioned, I was directed to it through my device. I will say, in regard to the quotes, the extra link to amazon did create a new compelling way of telling the story or really added anything to my experience. The last thing I wanted to do after reading this essay was buy something off amazon.
I think, as with all things, that the transition to digital books is extremely nuanced. For things like general accessibility, the transition is great! However, I think the presence of physical books is something undeniably special. I don't think the love of holding a book will decrease as technology advances--we've all grown up in an era of technology, and most if not all of us have a special place in our hearts for physical books. I find it hard to believe that e-books will entirely replace physical ones, but there certainly are fewer physical books now than there were.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mariana and Emily in that I too prefer reading a physical book. I think many of us (if not all of us) in the class will agree that reading a physical book is superior to reading an ebook. Maybe it's just an English major thing or an avid reader thing. I think because of this sentiment, bookstores cannot go extinct. I think there is always going to be a market out there for people to want physical books. While I know Amazon offers physical books too, they are still lacking the physicality of going to a bookstore and flipping through a book before you decide to buy it. I think if Barnes and Noble were to go out of business, there would definitely be a public outcry against it. Nevertheless, will it be too little too late? Will people be sad for a little while, but eventually move on and accept ebooks and Amazon?
ReplyDeleteWhile all of this is undoubtedly concerning, I don't think Amazon will completely take over. I think it was inevitable for print media to go digital with the technological revolution, but I still prefer print media any day. Yes, it's nice to save a few dollars on a book and it definitely benefits for those who really need those saved dollars. My room is overflowing with books and going to a bookstore is therapeutic for me. While I do own some ebooks (mostly to save money on textbooks), I have way more physical books and I don't see that ever changing.
I don't know why my comments are showing up anonymous, but this is Hayleigh Evans commenting!
DeleteI also found it really surprising that Amazon started out as a bookseller. I remember as a kid being super excited to come to the U.S for the summer and order books from Amazon (we didn’t have Amazon where I lived) but I didn’t know that novels were their main product at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI used to always buy my books at local English bookstores or order from Book Depository (they have free worldwide shipping and even though it was more expensive than Amazon it was basically my only option).
Now I split my book-buying between Amazon and bookstores in Boston (mostly Trident). I try to stop myself from buying on Amazon but sometimes the price gap is just so large I can’t help myself.
I think that the print media’s transition to digital formats has both pros and cons. I (like everyone else so far) prefer to read physical books but publishing online allows for more people to get their stories heard. This becomes especially important when considering how some authors are held back by the gatekeepers of publishing just because their point of view doesn’t align with the trends of the market.
I remember visiting America in middle school and imploring my dad to take me to Barnes and Noble, a staple childhood location for me. When I lived in Miami, all our local ones closed down, and of course there weren’t any abroad. So we went, and I spent $100 on five books. In Barcelona, pretty much the only primarily English bookstore had similar, if not more expensive, prices. Amazon, in comparison, seems like a great alternative in terms of price. However, something about living in Boston, or perhaps what I’ve learned from this class, makes me want to physically buy books from local shops.
ReplyDeleteWasserman mentions the rising appeal of e-books, though he comments on the greatest appeal coming from youth. I feel like I see mostly middle-aged people using Kindles, whereas I feel like he hit the nail on the head with depicting physical books as “nostalgia bordering on fetish” for younger generations. Though partial to physical books, there are three reasons why I sometimes read e-books: 1. An author I like has an e-book on Amazon for sale 2. It is more convenient, like for traveling (although if you read my last post you know I carry all my books with me… for convenience and comfort, I like reading e-books laying down in bed when I plan on staying up all night reading, because then I can lay on my side, not have to hold up a book, and the lights can still be off) 3. A book I really want to read has just come out and I don’t want to wait for it to come in the mail or for me to go to a bookstore (instant gratification is real!!)
I said this in my comment on Dayna’s post, and I just keep feeling worse about it, but I have a Kindle so I actually do get most of my books from Amazon. It’s not my fault! I’ve had it for years!
ReplyDeleteI think the transition to digital books and reading is good. I think it’s privileged to assume that every reader has the space and time to get physical books. You can borrow library books on e-readers now! The books are cheaper! You can open the books on your computer and still highlight and make notes! It seems a bit pretentious to care about the actual physicality of a book. That’s not what’s important. It’s the story, the words, the feeling you get when you read it, the magical places it brings you. I think any reader would agree with that, and trust me, you can definitely still get that from an e-reader.
That being said, I think Amazon is the worst and I love bookstores. I tend to try to get my favorite books as physical copies so obviously I do think there is still some magic about that, but I don’t think everyone needs to feel that way. I just think Amazon should NOT have a monopoly in any industry, including publishing/reading. I’d like to imagine that there is some other way to have digital reading that involves more sellers than just mainly Amazon, like maybe Amazon just sells the device and bookstores/publishers can sell books directly through that? I don’t really know how it would work. I’m just trying to find the balance between enjoying an e-reader while keeping the industry alive.
- Michaela
It's interesting that Amazon started out with bookselling. The last, non-school related book I bought was at Barnes & Noble last year, but all of my school textbooks usually come from Amazon. However, with some of my journalism classes we've done digging through Amazon to find potential sources (finding experts who published novels on the topic), and most of the books I've never heard of. Irony, right? Maybe it's just that I'd never heard of them and therefore couldn't pick those novels out if I had seen them in a bookstore, but at the same time, it makes me wonder how many books are solely on Amazon, kind of like what you're referencing with the Kindle Single Program. If budding writers/authors are given the chance to publish, I'm sure they'll go for the opportunity. But is it worth it publishing at all if it's on such a limited scope, even if it is through powerhouse like Amazon? I'm not sure if I'm making much sense, but the best way I can think to describe it is if you land an internship at a big company. You've landed the internship, and no one will have to ask twice when you say where you're going to work. Still, when you get there, no one really pays any mind to you, or frankly, doesn't care about you. Does Amazon really care about books anymore?
ReplyDelete