Now that books can exist in electronic form, not just on paper, and can be made available over the Internet, not just in physical stores and libraries, such assumptions are becoming obsolete.
The Internet, print-on-demand, and electronic book formats don't just change the physical form of books and the means for distributing them. They also change the nature of the content, the relationship of the audience to the content, and possibly the relationship of the audience to the author.
First, we need to begin thinking of books as living entities, that can grow over time, and that need not have a fixed form.
Creators of imaginative worlds and characters often return to them and add to them. What began as a single novel, gets expanded in a sequel, becomes a trilogy, and then just keeps growing and growing -- like Asimov's Foundation series, and Herbert's Dune. Sometimes the additions to the ongoing narrative are in the form of short stories or novellas, which get published in magazine rather than book form, and are hard to find, until finally assembled into anthologies and multi-volume sets. Sometimes, too, authors clarify their intent in articles and interviews; and critics and fans publish related articles and books, which may some day be collected. And editors assemble similar works by numerous authors into anthologies, which they issue again and again, adding to and subtracting from the content with each new edition. In other words, the creative effort grows and changes over time, but its published form has always been fixed -- like still photographs -- and reproduced thousands of times.
Making a virtue of necessity -- for there was no other way to "publish" -- we came to depend on the sameness of these literary artifacts as the basis for our common understanding and discussion of the content. In the days of Homer, when composition was oral, the content and the experience of the audience may have differed widely from one performance to the next. But for modern man, Moby Dick was the same every time, everywhere; and to be precise, scholars could specify the edition.
Now, thanks to the Internet and print-on-demand, books need no longer have a fixed form. Every electronic copy or print-on-demand copy might differ -- due to decisions of the author and also decisions of the reader/buyer. Authors could add chapters or paragraphs or sentences anywhere in their works, at any time. The work need never be "finished" so long as the author remains alive. Authors could also make everything they write available through the same online publishing/printing service, leaving it up to the reader/buyer to decide which pieces to take and how to assemble them.
For instance, Jeff Thomas has written numerous stories about the same fantasy realm, eight of which are available in Punktown, a paperback from Ministry of Whimsy Press. Say he makes those stories available online and writes half a dozen more Punktown stories over the next year and makes them available through the same service. Then a reader who had never read any of them could choose to buy the whole set of stories and have them printed and bound in a single volume. Or someone who already had the first Punktown could choose to, for a different price, just buy the new ones. And maybe Jeff makes the stories available as he writes them, rather than waiting to collect them; and adds ones he wrote earlier that have been gathering dust in his attic; and occasionally goes back and polishes one or more of these stories; and even makes available online works-in-progress that he knows aren't "finished", in hopes of getting useful feedback from enthusiastic readers.
And suppose articulate readers do send him feedback and reviews and Jeff decides to (with their permission) include their comments, articles, and even related books through that same publishing service. Then folks interested in his work could benefit from one another's insights, and he'd probably end up selling more books. Then, too, some readers might choose to include some of this criticism and fan commentary in the "book" that they choose to buy. And some readers will choose to purchase an "anthology", including not just Jeff's work, but also stories and articles that they perceive as related and would like to experience together -- like assembling your own "mix" of music, making your own music tape or CD. In fact, some readers may wish to include selected music and images along with the text they buy.
Meanwhile authors begin to recognize the value of feedback and strive to encourage it. In many cases, insightful comments are more valuable to authors than money -- both in helping them to improve their work and also in helping them reach a wider audience. So, in this environment, it makes sense for authors and publishers to offer credits and recognition in return for quality feedback and reviews. And with the resulting proliferation of reviews and reader commentary, new online services evolve that rate and aggregate the best of this writing about writing. And that, too, becomes content that readers could choose to include in the "books" that they buy.
In other words, the traditional sharp barriers between writers and readers fade. The act of writing becomes more explicitly a collaborative effort. The act of buying a book becomes more of a creative act, with the buyer choosing what belongs in the package. The "rules" of writing and publishing change radically; the concept of "book" changes radically; but the writing and appreciation of fiction flourishes.
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