Publishing books

The book industry is well known for being extremely exclusive and hard to break into. Although it feels like almost anyone can get a book published and circulated because of pop fiction books such as Twilight and Harry Potter, actually getting published and making it into the big leagues for writing often feels like taking a chance at winning the lottery. Something I’ve wanted to do my entire life was to be a published author; however, the more and more I learn about the publishing industry the more I’ve come to realize that it may actually be very difficult for me to break into the business and actually get people interested in my books. Other than the gradual yet noticeable decline in the sales of paper books and the increasing sales of digital books, the book industry often feels like a popularity club. I’ve read amazingly written books that were never on the New York Best Sellers List and may never be placed there because of the pop books that publishers often try to sell because they think it will be the best option for their sales. However, there is a new way to get noticed in the world of literature and that is through the use of the internet.

Now, I’m not saying that every book that hits the top of the list is just a mediocre book that only got a spot because of its popularity. Many great books are or were on that list and that’s what makes it such an useful tool for finding good books. Currently, the number one selling book for the seventh week in a row is John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars which, seeing as he’s a relatively unknown author to many people who don’t read teen fiction, is something that he can be proud of. Many of his earlier works are a few of the books that I’ve read that blow books like Twilight out of the water in dealing with issues that a teenager can relate to. Some of these books however, never got the recognition that the book The Fault in Our Stars received. This is partly because he is slowly becoming more well known than before, but it also has a lot to do with a new way books are being advertized and sold to people across the world. Not only is John Green a writer, but he also has a vlog show on Youtube called “Vlogbrothers”. In 2007, John and his brother Hank started this show to try and communicate without using text for an entire year. Their fan base grew almost overnight and ‘Nerdfightaria’ was created. It is because of this fan base that John’s books got most of the attention that is given to them now. Nerdfightaria is the fan base that follows the lives of John and Hank Green. Along with the brothers, the Nerd Fighters, who are made of awesome instead of things like blood and bone, fight for the end of world suck.

Before the creation of the Vlogbrothers, Nerdfigharia, and Nerdfighters in general, John had published a book titled Looking for Alaska which was found and loved by a few people but never got the same attention that some of his later books did. Once his show took off however, a group of people who liked the same books were finally able to talk about them and enjoy them in the chat room ‘Your Pants’ created by the brothers. This set off a chain reaction that caused the two brothers popularity to sprout and take off and along with it, John’s books.

What John and other authors, such as Stephen King, started was a way for fans of books to get together and promote their books without the need of a publisher. Although John still has his books published through the Penguin publishing company if he were to switch completely too online books only he wouldn’t lose a single fan considering most of them are already online anyway. It is because of these advances in the internet and technology that allow readers to become more in tune with their favorite authors and connect more with people who might have missed the opportunity to read the book otherwise.

This all gives me a sense of hope that when I’m ready to publish my novels in a few years there is a chance that I will be able to do so without having to fight my way through publishers and ultimately have my books just sit on shelves without anyone reading them. The internet and people like John Green have opened up new ways of communicating about novels that don’t involve the bureaucracy that comes with publishing companies.