The Future of the Novel: Writers, Publishing and Technology

Published: Nov. 18, 2020, 8 a.m.

The buzz: \u201cToday, anyone with a bit of technological know-how and an internet connection can publish\u2014offering digital or physical editions, on the same online retail shelves\u2014alongside Alexander Chee, Rebecca Makkai, or Tom Clancy.\u201d For printed books, a slew of new funding, production, and distribution tools make creating and selling a physical artifact much easier\u2026The books look fabulous. This proliferation of new technology and services has altered author economics. Almost half of author earnings now come from independently published books. For the first time\u2014perhaps since the invention of the printing press\u2014authors and small presses have viable independent options beyond the \u201ctraditional\u201d publishing path with its gatekeepers. [wired.com] We\u2019ll ask Water Street Press publisher, editor and author Lynn Vannucci, ad-copywriter-turned-novelist Arthur Vibert, and CPA-turned-novelist Joe Calderwood for their take on The Future of the Novel: Writers, Publishing and Technology.