Here at Last?
March 24, 2000
6:46 a.m.
If you believe the latest hype, Electronic Publishing has finally been drug into the 21st century by one Stephen King. It is now supposedly chic and proper to publish on the Web, wherein it had earlier been essentially disregarded as, well, a silly little folly. At least, that's what Wired reporters are saying. I find this story interesting from a lot of angles. First, of course, is the subject itself. Stephen King has proven that a known commodity can draw attention on the Web. This is neither good nor bad. It just is. But when you read the story, remember that it's being published by an on-line publication. I would be surprised if there is a serious and sudden stair-step increase in the reuptation of on-line publishing merely because Stephen King published his story on the Web. The most interesting thing I find about the story is in the last paragraph or two, wherein the person who is probably most "correct" about things gets a little throw away line. Stephen King, he says, was finally attracted to the Net because of the thousands of people trying to make it go. Those thousands have paid a price and paved a way, and Stephen King has swooped in a made a go of it. Unstated but implied is that its the message, not the media, that will make or break the E-publishing industry. Stephen King is a legitimate author publishing through the Web. Other legitimate authors will publish through the Web, too. This should be no surprise. The problem with the growing pains of E-publishing has been twofold, though. First, that it's struggled to find a business model that works. And second, that E-publications have not attracted many "real" authors. The two, of course, are not exclusive. Legitimate authors and solid business foundations make for a professional publication. Until we have professional writers consistently on-line, and consistently being read, I don't think the stigma of on-line publishing will really go away. All that said: yes, Stephen King publishing on-line can't hurt the process. The whole mess is very symbiotic and someone's gotta be first. in retrospect, it only makes sense that it be a mega-seller. Who else could afford it, and who else could actually attract such attention. When the dam breaks, others will follow. so, what I think this event really means is that serious publishers, and legitimate authors are cresting the moment in time when they are ready to give the Net a true and real test. They're going to find out the answer to that question we've all been asking--can fiction survive on-line? Not just in the form of a one-time publicity stunt, but continuously, and to the financial gain of all parties involved in its creation. Personally, I hope that answer is yes. But let's not declare victory. The article makes it sound like Stephen King's publication was the equivalent of the Marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima. In reality, it's just the first volley of the real campaign.  Where's MacArthur when you need him? Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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