The Publishing Industrial Complex

The commercialization of literature has reached an all-time low. This has been the case for a hot minute now and people have been talking about it but with the advent of everything that is occurring the international scene, it is an important conversation now more than ever. 

If you're part of a reading space or community, or heck you just like listening to people talk about books, it is impossible to miss the criticisms that have been flinging left and right about the state of contemporary literature. This critique does not stem from a particular genre or author, no. It's roots have taken hold to big publishing houses, literary censorship, marketing and lack of creativity. This is a problem. And when it affects a whole field, best believe it will have consequences for you too. 

Publishing as a field has been in a slump because for every one or two well-written books, you get fifty of the same half-effort, poorly written novels that exclusively either romance or fantasy (or both). Now as someone who loves reading both of these genres it has been an absolute misery to see the drop in quality from thought out, properly paced and genuinely enjoyable works to just opportunistic, copycat cash grabs. Because that's what they are, a way to get a quick buck. I'm not knocking on the people who write or read these books because we all have our likes and dislikes. I'm channeling my anger towards the publishing houses who mass-produce these same books without any thought and make it so that every book in a particular genre read exactly the same. To assume that readers will cough up anything you shove down their throats and in doing so make something that is otherwise a respectable genre into something so unbelievable bland and formulaic? That to me is simply insulting. Companies and literary houses that work on the sole purpose of profit perhaps need to understand that variety is what breeds interest not duplicity. And it will only take so long before your consumer base realizes that and hence banking off on trends for something as vast as reading will never work in their favor. Supporting authors from all backgrounds, all walks of life with different stories to tell is where literature shines. It is so obvious that we blindly ignore it. Perspectives are what make storytelling. If everything is the same, then reading no longer holds its primary purpose: to educate. To read is to learn. Ironically enough that is the opposite of what is happening. 

What happens when the sentiment then becomes that one is too educated from reading? Censorship. People talk about how there is a too much fearmongering these days. Be it about the politics of the world, human rights, climate change, etc, the general consensus is that there are things to worry about and the people who disagree on this topic. They say that history is simply following its due course and that everything will be fine. Because why wouldn't it? Censorship of books is done to prevent the people from learning about concepts or ideas that might 'endanger the current society' or make them openly question the government and their policy. This is a tactic that has taken place in multiple countries across different periods of time. There is no debate on this. It is a tool used to prevent the spread of information that is against a ruling, thriving ideology. So when this technique is being used in our contemporary world and when people use the phrase 'history is doomed to repeat itself', it is not fearmongering to take caution. It is a sign of control. It is people showing you that they are taking your choice to access certain media that should otherwise be available. Literature just like media speaks for people when actions cannot. Censoring and banning of books like what has been going on in the U.S and many other countries is damage that cannot be easily undone. Hence why physical media and piracy are so relevant so consistently. 

It's also getting harder to have books that do not fit a particular mold or are critical and analytical of systems, classes or concepts because most writers do not have access to huge publishing houses that can reach a bigger audience due to their notoriety. The smaller publishing houses are being hunted out of existence and their distributors are leaving them to fend for themselves. With no real income and no way of getting income via distribution, it becomes an impossible situation to continue operations and house indie and upcoming authors who very well be the next big thing. And as I've mention above about the bigger literary houses, they either want the cookie cutter commercial stuff or require that you are an already successful author. Quite the catch-22. 

Though I myself have also quite often blamed BookTok and Bookstagram (I hate these words) and the internet in 'corrupting' the literary space, it is important to note that it is an algorithm. It works to pump out whatever is currying favor with the public. And if that happens to be thrillers, then thrillers are what will be marketed to you. This is not to excuse the cacophony of opinions on social media but it cannot be solely blamed for all the problems that occur in an industry. Which is something that people often forget. Though reading is a hobby and a lifestyle for some, it is actually corporate based and not just some invisible fairy-like creature that drop ships books to tickle your fancy. While the world wide web has it's part to play, publishers are the ones who actively keeping this system going. You can say that they are simply doing the logical thing and following what works but what people like to think is 'appeasing the consumer' is quite plainly just greed. Hold your tech billionaires responsible for pandering and shamelessly marketing and creating an endless feedback loop but hold corporations responsible too. If you think Facebook wants to control your voting choices, best believe your publishers want to influence what you read. And when grubby little mega corporations like Amazon decide to dip their hands into publishing it becomes more so apparent. 

Cause guess what? They don't think for the little guy. They fend for themselves. This means self-published authors under Amazon don't necessarily even own their work if the big guy decides he's feeling a little silly. It's never worked swimmingly in the past, no reason to be an optimist now. 

All of this without even mentioning AI. Sounds like I'm introducing a villain, because I am. For everyone who thinks that disapproval of AI is due to fear of robots replacing humans, take several seats. Not because that statement is false but because it's much more complex than replacing humans, its stealing from humans. Surprise, surprise, AI doesn't just know information instinctively, it collects data. So when you ask it to help you with writing a book or just actually write a whole book on its own, it doesn't create something original (as original as something can be anyways). It simply copy pastes an amalgamation of everything it can access. That means other authors are being screwed over because someone somewhere thought 'it can't hurt to have a little help'. Quite literally the ultimate copycat and it does so while contributing to global warming. The end result of all this isn't even a good work of art. Not to say the ends would justify the means but my lord. Doing that much of nothing to receive nothing and make the climate worse? You're better off writing your own book because even if it's bad at least it's authentic bad. At least it doesn't lead to inadvertently becoming a cartoon supervillain. 

This is not to say that the book industry is an inherently toxic place. In fact, reading has increased a lot more due to social media and that it always a wonderful thing. This is nothing against readers and writers. This is about how pushing tropes and punishing authors will not lead to a sustainable environment that actually encourages writing and reading. Unfortunately more often than not, these issues hurt indie authors who do not have sufficient income or influence to properly fight back against unfair trade practices. It's important to call out stupidity before it becomes the norm. 

Speaking of stupidity, let's also talk about media literacy, specifically in literature. Some people just refuse to read. And by reading I mean complete a sentence. I've seen this with literary discourse time and time again where an individual will state their opinion and the commenter will start yapping in opposition. Sounds normal right? That's what a debate is. But it becomes very apparent that this person has not actually read what the first person had stated. They simply responded because I guess being a contrarian is more crucial. Discussions are meant to enlighten people on multiple ideas and even correct opinions or add to arguments. If people are not allowed to constructively critique then there is no progress. And if people don't try to comprehend what they are consuming and don't allow for other interpretations then hey, maybe literature just isn't for you! The readers, the audience, the voracious consumers of knowledge also need to get a reality check too. Media literacy isn't dead. It's a stale mindset that causes tone deaf and polarizing opinions on media. People who refuse to accept anything other than their reality. That isn't a lack of literacy, that's a choice. Of course, there are exceptions to every case and let's not generalize, but let's not make huge assumptions from a bubble. 

So hold everyone responsible. Yourself, fellow readers, authors, and print houses. Support indie authors and libraries and bookstores. And most importantly, keep educating yourself. People build people. People build businesses. Businesses make money. But people decide if they keep making money. People need people. So if you're going to help a business make money, at least be aware of what that entails. 

Books are good and are essential. If we want them to continue holding that purpose then change is required. Capitalism will always exist in such structures but it does not need to be rewarded for its lack of innovation. Just a food for thought (for bookworms).

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