Hey Professor,
I realize the formatting is off, but here is the first rough draft. Again, I didnt see requirements until it was too late so please let me know if I need to re-do it.
Thank you- Rachael
Rachael Eddinger Eddinger,1
Professor Amber Maiden
ENG 111
March 10,2015
Technology and the Written Word
“Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.”
― Stephen Fry
Oh technology, how I despise you at times. You have infiltrated my home, my school and now my library? I have accepted that you are an inevitable part of my life, but stay away from my books.The books that whisk me away to other worlds. Worlds where I have lived so many different lives.Worlds where I’ve known true love, despair and heroism. My books are my life-line. I know many may say that the books are still there. In fact, they are more accessible than they have ever been. While that may be true, you’ve taken the beauty of the printed word and turned it into something cold. I fear that I will no longer be able to feel the page between my fingers as I anxiously flip to the next portion of whatever story has my undivided attention at the time. No, now you have taken my books and turned them into something else entirely. Online readers cannot be truly swept away by a good story with the constant interruptions caused by social media, email and all of that other online garbage. So technology, stay away. You can have all the other stuff, but leave me my books.
While I’m sure that I am not the only one who thinks this way, there are many who would heartily disagree. Today’s technology has opened many doors for authors, readers and publishers alike. Authors can now write, market and publish their work online. Readers are able to find and buy any book they could ever dream of online. Publishers now have a larger, more accessible forum to find talented writers. All of this is good, right? Sure, it’s easier, but what is it doing to us as a whole? How have these e-books affected us economically? Will they render printed versions obsolete? Every area
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of the written word has been affected by technology. However, I wonder just how many people have looked extensively into the subject. Considering this is a research paper, I suppose finding the answers to these questions falls on me. So, let’s begin shall we?
The first area of this subject that I’d like to explore is publishing. Publishing has undergone some major changes in this technological era. Peter Osnos, an editor and writer for The Atlantic, had this to say about publishing in today’s world, “The biggest change in publishing, as with society in general, came with the arrival of computers.”(Osnos, The Atlantic) He is absolutely correct. While the computers of the ’80s weren’t a major threat to the publishing industry, what they are contending with today may be an entirely different story. The internet has opened up a world of possibilities for potential authors with the invention of blogs, websites such as Wattpad and most importantly, selfpublishing
websites. Sure, a lot of writers who try to self-publish see just how difficult the whole
publishing process is. However, that hasn’t stopped them from doing it. There are only 2,652 publishing companies in the United States. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, the job outlook for editors from 2012-22 is negative two percent. Dreaming of working at a publishing house? Considering this number even includes editors who work from home, you can go ahead and toss that dream out the window. I wonder how much technology had to do with that? I do have to praise technology on it’s affects on self-publishing, however. “EXLUSIVE Bowker data (released in advance of official reporting) shows that self-published output has grown by 422% over the past five years and is up 58% in the last year alone.”(Vinjamuri,Forbes.com)
Self-publishing can either work out fabulously or fail epically. Many writers who are self-publishing their work could use the help of an editor who could vastly improve their work. “ Publishers were unhappy with selfpublishing because readers were drowning in cheap, unedited books.”(Vinjamuri,Forbes.com)
Surprisingly enough, despite the complaints of poor grammar, this growth in self-publishing has
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actually helped publishers in a way. Authors who have successfully self-published a best-seller are being recognized by traditional publishers who fear missing out on the next big thing. “IndieReader, reports that at least 18 self-published authors have signed traditional publishing contracts over the past year.”(Vinjamuri, Forbes.com) Apparently when E.L. James’ self-published series-Fifty Shades of Grey- swept the nation, publishers began taking self-publishing much more seriously. So therein lies the real question. Will self-publishers render traditional publishers obsolete? Or will they simply adapt
to the challenges caused by the ever-improving technology available today?
The next major thing in this subject that technology has majorly effected is the face behind thebooks: the writers. The websites ,and apps, available for writers have impacted these books in an undeniably huge way. Whether you decide to write a blog, create a story on Wattpad or find freelance work on Elance, the opportunity to write is definitely there. Merely a decade ago none of this was possible. Hunting for freelance work was both time-consuming and many times, fruitless. Writing a story that reached thousands of people in a very small amount of time was quite literally impossible.
Blogging was not a term recognized in every day conversation. These changes have been extremely beneficial for the writing community. Between Tumblr, WordPress, Weebly and a few other sites, there are millions of blogs. That’s right millions! I’m sure Jane Austin and Mark Twain are turning over in their graves. Writing for mass amounts of people wasn’t so easy back then. While I’m sure we have all marked accessibility down as a positive of technology, in any field, there are many negative affects of this accessibility. As Vinjamuri stated in his article for Forbes.com, “..readers were drowning in cheap, unedited books.”(Vinjamuri, Forbes.com) This is so true that I feel like jumping up and down
screaming “Yes! Someone, for the love of all things holy, edit these blogs and stories!” Some authors fail to realize that simply because they can post their work online without editing, doesn’t mean that they should. So many good stories have been ruined by the lack of readability. This is one of the downsides of Wattpad. I am a huge fan of this site. However as an a avid user and passionate reader it
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pains me to see good content destroyed by terrible grammar. With all of the technology available to aid writers in spotting and correcting these mistakes, it is a pity that more don’t use it. Of course with every negative there is almost always a positive to counteract it. “One of the greatest benefits of Wattpad is a direct connection between writers and 30 million readers, all over the world.” (Wattpad) From personal experience, I can tell you that while not everyone on Wattpad takes advantage of it, there are plenty of editors throughout the site. Considering there are 30 million readers, I would be highly disappointed if there were no editors to be found. All of this technology has played an exponential part in the evolution of writing. There are far too many aspects of writing for me to mention in one paper, so I will move on to my last point.
The most important part of this industry is the readers. They are the ones who determine what book will be a best-seller. They are the ones who decide the fate of these books. Will they become a national phenomenon? Or will they forever sit on a shelf covered in a layer of dust? Readers and writers are interdependent. Writers rely on their readers to give them feedback on their work. Authors who chose to base their entire career, their life, on writing depend on their readers to put money in the bank and food on the table. Readers trust their favorite authors to provide them with an escape, information or even an exciting adventure. They believe in a writer’s ability to dole out an amazing piece of work that will keep them riveted throughout it’s entirety.
So what has technology done for the average reader? It has given them the opportunity to read stories written by their peers. It has made buying their favorite books easier through E-books, Kindle and such. “Amazon said it sold 143 Kindle books for each 100 hardcover books last quarter. (Last month alone, it sold 180 e-books sold for every 100 hardcover books sold.)”(Yarrow,Business Insider) This number wasn’t surprising to me. With all of the technology available today, why wouldn’t readers by books online? It offers the luxury of having a library right there at your fingertips. This has been the most important thing technology has done for readers and this industry as a whole. It has ruined book
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stores. It has diminished libraries. However, it has also made reading an even more accessible pastime.
After extensive research into this subject, I discovered there was not as much data as I had hoped to find. However, it doesn’t take a large number of statistics to see how much technology has affected this industry. While I do see all of the positive affects, I still believe the negative outweigh them by far. The sloppiness of self-publishing, the questionable reliability in blogging and the lack of editing on sites like Wattpad have all been contributing factors in one of the most negative things of all. They have changed the way many readers think. Will we, as readers, settle for imperfect writing and bad story-lines? Will we let the never-changing romance stories take over? What happened to the great
minds of people like C.S. Lewis, or J.R. Tolkien? Do you really want my opinion on technology? Technology is a leech. If it was an isolated incident, it wouldn’t be very harmful, simply irritating. However, the more areas of our life we allow technology, the more it will drain from us. Technology ,in this industry in particular, has and will continue to affect the quality of books that will be produced in the future. It is my belief that the future generation will read less and less quality material. Technology is going to continue to corrupt the minds of younger generations until there is no semblance of
individual thought remaining. I, for one, refuse to relinquish my books. Technology may be a part of every aspect of my life, but it will never replace the classic stories that I have proudly stored in my home.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
Rachael Eddinger
Professor Amber Maiden
ENG 111
March 12,2015
Works Cited
“All You Need Are Words.” Write on Wattpad. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.wattpad.com/writers>.
“Book Sales Statistics.” – Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Book Store Sales Numbers Annual Update. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.fonerbooks.com/booksale.htm>.
“Occupation Profile: Editors – Virginia Education Wizard.” Occupation Profile: Editors – Virginia Education Wizard. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
<https://www.vawizard.org/vccs/CareerProfile_stateInfo.action?socCode=27-3041>.
“Summary.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/editors.htm>.
Vinjamuri, David. “Is Publishing Still Broken? The Surprising Year In Books.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 04 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidvinjamuri/2013/10/04/is-publishing-still-broken-the-surprising-year-in-books/>.
Yarow, Jay. “How Many Kindle Books Has Amazon Sold? About 22 Million This Year.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 20 July 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-amazon-kindle-e-books-outselling-hardcovers-isnt-that-impressive-2010-7>.
The Nova Rhetorical Style 