Digital Authorship: Publishing in the Attention Economy
- Submitting institution
-
Manchester Metropolitan University
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 257804
- Type
- A - Authored book
- DOI
-
10.1017/9781108649537
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- ISBN
- 9781108444484
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- January
- Year of publication
- 2019
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
0
- Research group(s)
-
E - Media
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- The research explores how digital media has altered the publishing landscape for authors, whether new, mid-list, or bestseller. The book begins by assessing current approaches including theory centred on Brandt’s examination of writing through digital means, Laquintano’s exploration of “mass writing”, as well as Dietz on contemporary publishing, Bourdieu on cultural production, and Derecho on fan writing. It examines specific original case studies as exemplars of “success” (Hugh Howey, Amanda Todd, E.L. James, Andy Weir, Robin Sloan, Noelle Stevenson, Scott Sigler), and industry trends based on sales and bestseller lists (Amazon, Publishers’ Weekly, NY Times, National Indie). The key conclusions are that the publishing industry has been “disintermediated” by digital media: digital publishing and internet distribution has enabled writers to skip the middle-person (the intermediary) and reach their readers directly. Despite the notable early successes, the indie publishing market has equalized, and there are far fewer “breakout” successes now than there were in the 2007-2010 period when the Kindle/Kindle Publishing Direct entered the publishing scene. The author draws on this research to argue that the most promising area for new talent and new forms of fiction comes from fan fiction. Despite its maligned reputation, which the book analyses and discards, fanfic constructs unique narrative structures that attract highly attentive readers. The high engagement of readers with fanfic suggest it will have a large impact on authorship, reading, and publishing in future. The book was published with Cambridge University Press as part of their Elements series. It has both a print and an electronic version; the e-book was made freely available during the first month after the book’s release, and in marketing campaigns since. Though early, it has already led to requests for keynote presentations at symposia, and been recommended as a key text in the area.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -