Originally Posted by netscorer
I think there would not be a problem finding a book that is consumption-ready. Just like today, people mostly buy books either by author's reputatation, word of mouth, or going to portals, like Amazon, where bestseller lists and reader reviews are available to anyone who can lift a mouse.
Editors, proof-readers, translators, critics would still be present - just look at how Wikipedia explodes with content that, in many cases, better fool-prooven then British Encyclopedia.
Again, the main need for publishers in the old world order was to sponsor a book (since paper publishing costs were and still are enormous) and provide initial marketing. Nowadays, IMO, most of them are simply leeches on the society, putting profits in many cases over the quality of the content they are releasing. One thing that tickles me to no extent are the prices on classic books, that are long as in public domain. There is no author interest - only publisher's greed that keeps the prices on these books too high.
|