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spellbanisher · 02-21-2011, 05:13 PM

James_Wilde is off on his chronology, but his point is still essentially correct: for most of human history there were no commercial writers. I think the printing press was invented in the sixteenth century in Europe (the Chinese had a printing press much earlier) and there wasn't any real commercial market for books until the nineteenth-century. There were a few writers before the nineteenth century who made a living off their writing such as Aphra Behn, Ann Radcliffe, and Rousseau. Most other writers were rich, had patrons, or were part of some institution such as a university or the church. There were of course playwrights, but they made their money from the performances of their plays. It wasn't until the industrial revolution and the emergence of a literate and large middle class that writing became a viable full-time profession.

i think technology and the cost of books probably was another factor in the emergence of commercial writing. This is just speculation, but if publishers could use new technologies to mass produce books, they could sell the books for a price than is cheaper than the costs the pirates incur. I say this because in the eighteenth century piracy was rampant. Writers could only make money off the first printing of their works; after that, numerous pirated editions would appear. Writers such as Voltaire tried to combat piracy by releasing new editions of their works every couple of years. Voltaire released so many editions of his works that many readers swore that they would not buy any more of his books until after he was dead. My assumption is because there were so few people who could read before the nineteenth century, books were a scarce and highly valuable commodity for those who were literate. Compound this situation with the fact that most governments severely restricted what could and could not be published, and you had conditions that would have been propitious for pirates.

James_Wilde is also correct in noting that the twentieth century commercial writing market is unlike any previous time in history. Even in the ninteenth century books were popular only in a few urban hotspots. The book market exploded in the early twentieth century when the first generation of people who had access to public education became adults.

The pinnacle of the book market in terms of prestige and profitability was the 1920's. But people bought books in the 20's for reasons other than reading. Books gave rooms ambiance. Having Joyce on your shelf said you were a literary rebel. Twain indicated you were a cynic, the classics(meaning works from Ancient Rome and Greece) that you were old-fashioned and sophisticated. Books were chosen more for their covers and colors and binding and smell and connotations than they were for their content. in the 1930's movies would surpass books as the most popular cultural medium. Today the most popular cultural medium is internet porn.

02-21-2011, 05:13 PM	#166
spellbanisher Guru Posts: 826 Karma: 6566849 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Bay Area Device: kindle keyboard, kindle fire hd, S4, Nook hd+	James_Wilde is off on his chronology, but his point is still essentially correct: for most of human history there were no commercial writers. I think the printing press was invented in the sixteenth century in Europe (the Chinese had a printing press much earlier) and there wasn't any real commercial market for books until the nineteenth-century. There were a few writers before the nineteenth century who made a living off their writing such as Aphra Behn, Ann Radcliffe, and Rousseau. Most other writers were rich, had patrons, or were part of some institution such as a university or the church. There were of course playwrights, but they made their money from the performances of their plays. It wasn't until the industrial revolution and the emergence of a literate and large middle class that writing became a viable full-time profession. i think technology and the cost of books probably was another factor in the emergence of commercial writing. This is just speculation, but if publishers could use new technologies to mass produce books, they could sell the books for a price than is cheaper than the costs the pirates incur. I say this because in the eighteenth century piracy was rampant. Writers could only make money off the first printing of their works; after that, numerous pirated editions would appear. Writers such as Voltaire tried to combat piracy by releasing new editions of their works every couple of years. Voltaire released so many editions of his works that many readers swore that they would not buy any more of his books until after he was dead. My assumption is because there were so few people who could read before the nineteenth century, books were a scarce and highly valuable commodity for those who were literate. Compound this situation with the fact that most governments severely restricted what could and could not be published, and you had conditions that would have been propitious for pirates. James_Wilde is also correct in noting that the twentieth century commercial writing market is unlike any previous time in history. Even in the ninteenth century books were popular only in a few urban hotspots. The book market exploded in the early twentieth century when the first generation of people who had access to public education became adults. The pinnacle of the book market in terms of prestige and profitability was the 1920's. But people bought books in the 20's for reasons other than reading. Books gave rooms ambiance. Having Joyce on your shelf said you were a literary rebel. Twain indicated you were a cynic, the classics(meaning works from Ancient Rome and Greece) that you were old-fashioned and sophisticated. Books were chosen more for their covers and colors and binding and smell and connotations than they were for their content. in the 1930's movies would surpass books as the most popular cultural medium. Today the most popular cultural medium is internet porn.