The Future of the Printed Word

Jul - 22 - 2009Filed in: Publishing | Writing
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While following a link from Nathan Bransford’s blog, I found this article from The Brooklyn Rail about the future of the printed word. It’s a fascinating reflection of what I talked about in yesterday’s post. The logical evolution of the publishing world is the emergence of small presses that serve niche markets with a trusted and high quality product. Here’s an excerpt:

“What must be a dramatic realization and spell the death of print for corporate publishers (and some in the media) is not that anyone can publish a book in this day and age, but that any unheeled upstart can publish a better-written, better-designed, and more worthwhile book better than Random House. They’re doing it all the time.

The corporate ideology has run its course the bevy of awards (including Nobels and Pulitzers), the best-sellers, and the critical acclaim of the work being done consistently by independent presses, print can succeed on a responsible scale. These are the small, spunky houses unafraid to publish new ideas and new writers and work of substance, holding steady in their responsibility to the reading public as purveyors of culture. While this seems revolutionary in modern times, it was the dominant manner of thinking a half-century ago. It could be so again.”

Go read the whole article.

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