New York Magazine has an interesting, if long, article online right now predicting the Death of Print Media again. While the piece makes some interesting and valid points, I think it’s probably erring a little on the side of paranoia. Print media will definitely be undergoing some radical shifts in policies and sweeping changes in the coming years, especially as digital paper and e-books continue to develop and take hold, but there’s always going to be some sort of market for solid, paper-paged books and periodicals. Stephen King’s next book will almost always be guaranteed a hardcover edition, and children’s books will likely remain traditionally printed for as long as we have paper.
Still, the piece makes some good points – the money publishers are willing to throw at some of these unknown authors and titles might make you a little sick – and is worth a few minutes of your time to look through.
“Welcome to our temporary home,� says 51-year-old publisher Bob Miller, ushering me into a colleague’s more inviting office. Inside, he and his staffers prepare to impart a cheery message: They’re going to fix publishing!
But first, a horror story. Debbie Stier, Miller’s No. 2 at HarperStudio (as this little imprint is called), has been collecting videos for their blog. “You want to see what happens to books after they go to book heaven?� she asks. On the screen of her MacBook, a giant steel shredder disgorges a ragged mess of paper and cardboard onto a conveyor belt. This is the fate of up to 25 percent of the product churned out by New York’s publishing machine.
Everyone’s eyes widen, as though watching some viral YouTube gross-out. “It’s like Wall-E,� says marketing director Sarah Burningham. “It’s depressing,� Miller adds. They had sent in a Flip camera with a warehouse worker. “You can see our books go through there,� says Stier. “The Crichton, the Ann Patchett.�
