“Novel Rejected? There’s an e-book Gold Rush”

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The article,“Novel Rejected? There’s an e-book Gold Rush,” was an amazing article that gives more insight to the world of both publishing and e-publishing. One thing that I find interesting that wasn’t mentioned in the article is that e-publishing allows the stories to be back in the hands of the reader. When one company owns most of the book companies in the United States then only one voice is being heard. With e-publishing many different voices and types of story can be heard. Even regular self-publishing has added books to the world that would not have been there before. Look at Exterminating Angel Press and their mass array of books such as, “The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy and the History of Comic Book Heroines,” that speaks on a topic that other publishers don’t want but the people want to read.

If the articles that we have read for this class prove anything it’s that the reader is gaining more and more control over books and the types that are being published. E-publishing allows this in a more instant form that saves on paper and seems to give writer’s a fairer shake than if they went the regular publishing route (only if the books sell of course). By allowing the writer to have up to 70% of the sales price it allows a writer the ability to actually survive off their books instead of only getting 10-15 % through a normal publishing which barely makes them able to pay bills.

E-publishing and self-publishing in general are changing the world of publishing for the future. For now, it seems to be a good change as it offers the readers the ability to dictate what is written and published instead of just one company of the same old ideas wants to publish. As we have seen with writers like J.K. Rowling big publishers often pass up blockbuster ideas multiple times before they are “found” or are shelved for good. Imagine what books have been passed up that could have been spectacular because the publishers didn’t see the point.

This type of publishing also allows the writers more control over what they are able to write which I believe is a wonderful thing. Writers are creators and when the creation is stunted by what publishers want then the writer will have a difficult time creating, but if left to their own devices the writers might just make a masterpiece.