What Counts as Published?

As I discussed on Monday, this week is Publishing Week. This means that this week’s posts will be about publishing. On Monday we learned that the field of publishing is always changing because of the technologies that we use. While we once relied on communicative methods such as tying rope or writing on papyrus, we now have paper, and technology like laptops and tablets.

Graphic by Rachel Lewis.

Graphic by Rachel Lewis.

As technology has shifted, so has our understanding of what it means to be published. While, in the past, being published was limited to small numbers of people due to the cost of printing and the desire of the elite to control the dispersion of information, we now have more accessible technologies that make publishing something that many are capable of.

However, with more accessible technologies and more people getting published, it is worth asking: what does it mean to be published? When we think about publishing, we tend to think about literature. However, is a Tweet published? Is a blog post? A manual or a how-to guide? Does being published in an online literary magazine give less credibility to a writer than if they were published in a print journal?

Graphic by Rachel Lewis.

Graphic by Rachel Lewis.

Something we discussed at length in ENG 311: Publishing is self-publishing. As you can see in the graphic above and to the right, traditional publishing requires gatekeepers like publishers, agents, and editors. However, self-publishing erases those gatekeepers (unless the writer chooses to seek out an editor) and allows writers to publish their own work using a company like Blurb, Lulu, or Amazon. This can be seen in the graphic to the left, which illustrates the many different ways that people can now be published.

This really frustrates some people because they feel that it demeans the publishing process – if just anyone can get published, does it have any real value? On the other hand there are those who say that the publishing industry has become too money-driven, and so self-publishing makes it possible for people to get published even if their work is not “trendy.”

There are so many questions to be asked, but it all comes down to your own understanding of what makes a text published. To come to your own opinion, it may help to learn more about the history of publishing. For that, tune in to our guest post on Friday by Rachel Fishman.

 

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