My Take On The Future Value of Literary Publishing By Jane Friedman

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe. 

Today I am going to be giving my take on The Future Value of Literary Publishing by Jane Friedman. This essay does a great job of presenting multiple perspectives on how the internet is shaping the publishing industry. While Friedman mainly focuses on journals, news outlines, and magazines she also briefly touches on how this shift is affecting the production of novels.

She starts by addressing the fears that this change will in some way “compromise our writing and editing time to cultivate an online presence” (277). It’s interesting to hear her talk about forming an online presence as a possible burden as I so heavily depended upon the reputation of books within online circles when picking what I read. I get a lot of my recommendations from BookTube (a Youtube community that talks about books) and a lot of what they advertise is based on what publishers send them. How much does an author's/publisher’s presence online affect your decision to buy a novel? Do you get any recommendations from online? 

Friedman also brings up the shift to an online marketplace: “in 2010, about 25% of books, whether print or digital, or purchased through online channels (that means Amazon, mostly). By the end of 2012, the percentage was closer to 44%. Most industry experts estimate we are now at 50%” (279). This statistic made me wonder how much the ads we see on Amazon or Goodreads affect the books that we buy since according to this most books are bought on a website. Of the books you buy, what percentage comes from Amazon? What percentage is bought online? 

The author also points to a speech made by Morgan Entrekin suggesting that the internet has led to a crowded marketplace and has heavily decreased the value of publishing houses. Friedman responds to this by talking about how the formation of a community can help publishers and magazines maintain their prevalence within readers' lives. She argues that the creation of a brand is now a necessity: “what I’ll argue is imperative in the Internet era: community. But doing that effectively means the editors and authors have to give up some long-held beliefs and myths about online marketing and what it means to develop… Dare I say the dirty word? A brand” (280). She explains that it’s important for “every publisher to think beyond the next book on the release schedule, and consider how to engage their community in a variety of media and channels” (283). She voices that it is critical for publishers to “stop being so attached to our containers, and think more about how we are relevant to our reading community, who now turn first to digital tools for discovery, information, and entertainment” (284). Her emphasis on how building a community can lead to a dedicated readership is very interesting. How important is brand to you? I personally don’t subscribe to any magazines or journals but if you do, do you feel like they try to create a sense of community among their subscribers? 

Friedman also discusses how the content that readers are looking for has shifted from something academic to something more personal. She talks about the success of Buzzfeed and how instead of looking down upon companies that highlight the importance of the individual others should take note of their model “ because they’ve got at least one thing right: most of us want to read, watch, or feel something that has meaning and potential to provoke a life change, or help us see the world anew” (284). If I ever do end up reading articles they are normally about a subject that pertains to me or offers some sort of emotional story. What sort of content do you think you gravitate towards? Buzzfeed also tends to be a controversial news source when brought up in an academic setting. What are your thoughts on the company? 

The author drives home the fact that the internet allows for more voices to be heard and opens out 
opportunities for aspiring authors. She writes “you can identify and directly reach your potential 
audience, without needing special distribution, without needing a large advertising budget, and 
without having a print book” (285). What is your overall opinion on this shift to digital publishing?