Horror Books and the Independent Press
03/09/2014 21:33
The independent press is rising again! Yes, we can all celebrate, for it is long overdue. Smaller time books publishers are receiving attention never once possible thanks to a particular medium that has opened countless doors for countless people: the internet. Truly, the internet has given us access to the talents (or lack there of) to any individual with a computer, a keyboard and an internet connection. Some may try to suggest that it's also a cause of over saturation for debut novels, but those individuals miss the very evident upside to the internet revolution.While it's true the internet does allow people with less talent and experience to receive recognition for their books, this is not such a bad thing! Over saturation in actuality raises the bar, it forces writers to create more original, interesting and well written stories. Thus, in the realm of books, the bar has been raised for everyone. You know, despite many of our strong urges to resist intertwining business with the art world, no one can deny: competition is good for everyone.
It forces good writers to become great writers, and boy, do the readers benefit. We're seeing books and stories come out in such high caliber and in such high abundance that many avid readers like myself have a back log of works they're anxious to read! This, my friends, is an excellent sign.Sure, everyone has dreams of becoming the next Stephen King, and while competition being so high makes that difficult for many writers, it also means that the industry will boom. Why? With higher quality work and a larger market, there will undeniably be more consumers. This, in my opinion, will launch the books industry into a new state of success. Further, no one can deny the success of recent horror films like Stephen King's "1408" and "The Mist" have boosted sales of books. With a film based on Clive Barker's story "The Midnight Meat Train" in the works and a "Dark Tower" movie being created, it's clear that Hollywood is very enthusiastic about the horror genre.
What does this mean? It means that more and more individuals will become interested in the horror genre, and when they pass by that bizarre looking books section they'll become drawn to it. It's undeniable that Hollywood, however grudgingly, will contribute to the sales of books.So in the end, the internet really has become a positive force for the independent press. No longer do smaller publishers need to struggle to get into the bookstores and eventually more than likely fail. Especially with the emergence of ebooks and ebook readers, horror books paperbacks publishers are likely to see a success that would not have been possible otherwise. Indeed, I think we should all be thankful to the doorways that the internet has opened for us all, and what it will bring in the future.
It forces good writers to become great writers, and boy, do the readers benefit. We're seeing books and stories come out in such high caliber and in such high abundance that many avid readers like myself have a back log of works they're anxious to read! This, my friends, is an excellent sign.Sure, everyone has dreams of becoming the next Stephen King, and while competition being so high makes that difficult for many writers, it also means that the industry will boom. Why? With higher quality work and a larger market, there will undeniably be more consumers. This, in my opinion, will launch the books industry into a new state of success. Further, no one can deny the success of recent horror films like Stephen King's "1408" and "The Mist" have boosted sales of books. With a film based on Clive Barker's story "The Midnight Meat Train" in the works and a "Dark Tower" movie being created, it's clear that Hollywood is very enthusiastic about the horror genre.
What does this mean? It means that more and more individuals will become interested in the horror genre, and when they pass by that bizarre looking books section they'll become drawn to it. It's undeniable that Hollywood, however grudgingly, will contribute to the sales of books.So in the end, the internet really has become a positive force for the independent press. No longer do smaller publishers need to struggle to get into the bookstores and eventually more than likely fail. Especially with the emergence of ebooks and ebook readers, horror books paperbacks publishers are likely to see a success that would not have been possible otherwise. Indeed, I think we should all be thankful to the doorways that the internet has opened for us all, and what it will bring in the future.
