REVOLUTION IN
PUBLISHING – THE ASCENDANCY OF DIGITAL SPACE
MY
TAKEAWAY FROM PUNE INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL (PILF)
By
VIKRAM KARVE
THE ASCENDANCY OF
DIGITAL SPACE
Last
week I had the good fortune to participate in a few interesting sessions of the
Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) held at MIT Kothrud Pune from 20 to
22 September 2013.
For
me, one important “takeaway” from PILF was that nowadays: “More people Read on Digital Screens
than Paper”.
In
the days to come, this trend will increase exponentially and we may soon reach
a stage where the “Digital Space” overshadows the traditional print medium, as
far as all forms of writing and reading is concerned, including creative
writing and literary reading.
This
predominance of the digital space is going to cause a total paradigm shift in
the publishing industry.
At
various sessions during the Pune International Literary Festival, most
publishers and editors were talking about the decreasing financial viability of
publishing on paper as compared to the electronic medium.
Many
publishers were saying that the future of publishing creative writing,
especially literary fiction, lies in the “Digital Space”.
Why
is this happening?
The
main reason is “Technology”.
Technology
has provided the hardware gadgets and software applications to optimally
exploit those gadgets.
But
most importantly, technology has liberated writers from the clutches of editors
and publishers.
CREATIVE
WRITING – Why Does a Writer Write?
Why
do you write?
If
you are a writer, you will realize that writers
write for two reasons:
1.
Some write because they want to earn
money (commercial writing)
2.
Others get the urge to write because they want to say something (creative writing)
In
your case, which is the primary reason why you write?
There
was a time when writers could earn enough money to make a living.
That
is why writers could afford the luxury of full-time writing (and not doing a
job).
But
was difficult to establish yourself as a “published author” since you were at
the mercy of editors and publishers.
And
only if you could establish yourself as a published author could you earn
enough money from your writing to make it a full-time vocation.
It
was a Catch-22 situation.
If
an editor did not print your writing in a magazine or a publisher did not publish
your book you were doomed to failure as a writer, as these were the only ways
you could make your writing reach the reader.
Either
you had to be a celebrity, or have the right “contacts” in the publishing
industry, or get that “lucky break”, or keep peddling your writing doggedly despite
getting rejection slip after rejection slip.
Publishers
evaluated writing purely from the business point of view.
Your
writing had to be “sellable”.
That
is why “commercial fiction” is most sought after by editors and publishers.
The
combination all these factors is the reason why many “wannabe” budding writers
who tried their hand at writing, faced rejection, got frustrated, fell by the
wayside, and since they could not financially sustain themselves, they had to
take up other professions.
THE ADVENT OF
BLOGGING
Everything
changed with the advent of the internet, proliferation of information
technology and innovations like blogging in the “digital space”.
Now,
“publishing” is no longer the monopoly of a handful of publishers and the
stranglehold of editors is over.
Anyone
who wishes to write can instantly “publish” their writing on blogs and showcase
their literary work to the world.
I
feel that blogging is the biggest “blessing” for those who wish to write,
especially creative writers.
Yes,
apart from social media, blogging is the most significant innovation of
information technology.
Now,
with widespread proliferation of the internet, every person has the opportunity
to write.
All
you have to do is to set up your blog (which is simple and free of cost on a
number of popular blogging platforms like blogger, wordpress, typepad etc).
Then,
you upload and publish your writings on your blog.
And,
instantly, your writing is available throughout the world for people to read.
You
feel a sense of “instant gratification”.
And
you experience a sense of creative freedom since you have full control on what
you want to write on your blog (without any external “editorial intervention”).
By
removing the opaque barrier of editor/publisher between the writer and reader,
blogging has enabled the reader to connect directly with the writer and
facilitated mutual interaction between the two.
Blogging
has proved to be a big boon to writers (who write because they want to “say
something”).
If
you are a writer, blogging is the best medium to satisfy your creative urge and
demonstrate your literary skills to the world
Blogging
is also of great benefit to readers as it has made so much material available
for them to read free of cost.
Apart
from blogs, there are many websites which contain a deluge of reading material
in the digital space.
Many
people have stopped reading printed paper and do all their reading from
screens.
Technology
has also progressed fast by leaps and bounds.
First
you had ebook readers, and then you read on screens of PCs, Laptops and
Tablets.
Now
you have Smartphones.
Nowadays,
people spend more time reading books on Smartphones than they do on tablets,
ebook readers, PCs and laptops.
New
sophisticated “eReader” applications for reading books on electronic screens
are being developed in a big way to offer a superior reading experience on
handheld electronic devices, especially mobile smartphones and “phablets”.
Handheld
digital screens are edging out paper books
With
increasing trend of reading on handheld digital screens (especially
smartphones), paper books are being edged out of the market.
The
shutting down of many bookstores (including the iconic Manney’s in Pune) and
downsizing of bookshop chains (which restrict their stock to recent commercial
fiction) bears testimony to the increasing ascendancy of the digital space vis-Ã -vis
the traditional print medium.
During
a discussion at the PILF, someone said that even the popular “secondhand”
bookstores were winding up as more and more literary works were digitized and
were freely available online on the internet.
WAY AHEAD
What
does this all mean for budding creative writers?
If
you are a new writer then it is better to forget about “publishing” your
writing in the print medium.
You
will be better off if you start blogging your writing in the digital space.
At
the recent Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) I met a columnist who
used to write columns on topical issues for print newspapers.
He
told me that owing to financial considerations, newspapers were becoming
thinner, both smaller in size and with lesser number of pages.
Also
more pages had to given to commercial features which financially sustain the
newspaper like advertisements and sponsored features (“paid news”).
The
result was that there was less space for content of columnists and writers.
So
the columnist was repeatedly told to keep reducing the length of his article
and make it shorter and shorter, till the word count became so less that it was
not possible for him to properly express what he had to say.
Finally,
things reached a stage where the e-version of the newspaper (in digital space)
would carry his full article and the print version would be abridged to fit
into the miniscule space available.
So
now, the columnist has started blogging where he can write in an unrestricted and
unrestrained manner.
Let
me tell you about another friend who is a voracious reader.
He
travels extensively all over the world as a part of his work and he spends a
lot of his time waiting at airports, in hotels or in commuting to and fro to
airports.
Earlier
he used to carry a book to pass time during these long waits.
Now
he carried his Smartphone – he can multitask, he can network, and also read a
wide variety of things via the web since internet connectivity has become so
easy and accessible.
He
regularly reads my blog wherever he is in the world, and he can access literature
and information from websites and also read a variety of blogs and writings of
his interest.
WHY YOU MUST
BLOG
Suppose
you observe something which stirs emotion within you and you experience an urge
to express your inner feelings and say something, tell others, so you write
about it – say, a short story.
In
the “good old” pre-internet days, you would send your piece of creative
writing, your story, to a magazine for publication.
And
then, the agonizing wait would begin.
Some
decent editors would acknowledge your contribution, and then let you know of
acceptance or otherwise.
Others
would not even have the courtesy of acknowledging receipt of your story.
Sometimes,
there would be so much delay by the time your story was published that you
yourself would have lost interest or the story would have lost its topicality.
It
was similar with a manuscript of your book, if you were a new budding author.
Everything
depended on the whims and fancies of the all-powerful editors and publishers.
Most
unsolicited manuscripts were consigned to the slush-pile and forgotten.
Hapless
authors who wanted their writings to see the light of day had no choice but spend
time and effort to make the rounds of editorial offices, swallow their self
respect and be ready to be pushed around.
Not
anymore.
The
advent of blogging has changed everything.
Now,
the moment you finish writing your story, you can upload it on your blog, and,
hey presto, your story will ne instantaneously available worldwide for all to
read.
Readers
will connect with you, just like my friend can read my blog posts on his
Smartphone, wherever he is in the world, the moment I post them on my blog.
It
looks like: BLOGS ARE IN and BOOKS ARE OUT
Or
to put it more aptly:
DIGITAL SCREENS ARE IN and PAPER BOOKS ARE OUT
Is
the end of traditional publishing industry imminent?
Maybe
not the “end” but the decline of print medium has certainly started as more and
more people start reading on convenient handheld digital screens rather than lug
around cumbersome paper books.
There
is a revolution brewing in publishing.
The
ascendancy of digital space is an undeniable reality.
VIKRAM KARVE
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll
If your are a Foodie you will like my book of Food Adventures APPETITE FOR A STROLL. Do order a copy from FLIPKART:
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About Vikram Karve
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
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