The Story Beyond the Book - The Role of Digital Communities for Book Discoverability and Literary Diversity

During the print era, publishing was marked by the constraints of the book as a physical object with publishers as the industry's gatekeepers deciding which manuscripts would reach the public. In contrast, the age of Web 2.0 is defined by an abundance of freely available resources for information and entertainment. The problem is no longer of the scarcity of content, but rather the attention paid to it. With more and more books published each year by both independent publishers and large publishing conglomerates, and increasing competition from other media formats, the question has become how and where readers discover new books. Focussing on the English Language Trade Market, this thesis reviews market dynamics both in the traditional publishing environment and the online environment, arguing that the discoverability problem limits the diversity of the literary landscape. This issue can be traced back to big publishing's increasing emphasis on author brands as well as the...Show moreDuring the print era, publishing was marked by the constraints of the book as a physical object with publishers as the industry's gatekeepers deciding which manuscripts would reach the public. In contrast, the age of Web 2.0 is defined by an abundance of freely available resources for information and entertainment. The problem is no longer of the scarcity of content, but rather the attention paid to it. With more and more books published each year by both independent publishers and large publishing conglomerates, and increasing competition from other media formats, the question has become how and where readers discover new books. Focussing on the English Language Trade Market, this thesis reviews market dynamics both in the traditional publishing environment and the online environment, arguing that the discoverability problem limits the diversity of the literary landscape. This issue can be traced back to big publishing's increasing emphasis on author brands as well as the infrastructure of social media which not only adheres to the 'Winner-takes-all' principle, but also caters to the commodification of their users, favouring form over content.Show less

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The Story Beyond the Book - The Role of Digital Communities for Book Discoverability and Literary Diversity