Crap, now I wish I published this one earlier, rather than sitting on this since December. Here’s why:
Wired Article: Free is the Future of Business
Let’s get this out in the open: Chris’ argument is not entirely convincing. But it’s a pretty scary summation for industries like software, music, movies, and writing, which rely on revenue multiplication through distribution of low-cost or nearly-free end-products.
And yes, I just said writing.
“But books is expensive!” the dinosaur writer says. “They ain’t no cheap end-product.”
Yes. But books really shouldn’t be looked at as the end-product of writing. If you look at it one way, words are the end-product of writing. And there ain’t nothing cheaper than moving a bunch of words around online. Over a hundred million blogs prove that point plenty-good-fine, thanks.
In this new freeconomy, some bands have adapted by giving away music and making money on concerts. And some software developers give away software (open source) and charge for service and customization.
So here’s the question for authors: what is our concert?
“Huh?” dinosaur writer says. “What do you mean?”
I mean this: what can we, as writers, offer beyond the words? A book? That’s not a mass media play, especially in the age of the $30 hardcover and $20 trade paperback. An ebook? Wake me when the magic free ebook reader that saves the market arrives. Hint: ain’t happening. We’re gonna end up mobile-centric, and if longform text isn’t well-served on that platform, well, there you go. A reading? Oh, that’s funny. By and large, we’re writers, not performance artists. Service and customization? Well, I hope not. I can’t really imagine how that would translate, beyond hokey “I’ll write your kid into a book for $XXX” ploys.
There is, however, one thing we do have beyond words: ideas. Buried in all those words are great characters who people want to meet and stunning new worlds that people want to explore. And, when you look at it, the leading-edge ideas come first through writers. Science fiction films don’t break new ground–they follow the paths led by writers ten, twenty, fifty, or even a hundred years ago. Games aren’t the place you find original, stunningly new concepts, either. They’re typically rehashing tropes of decades past.
And this is what we have. We, as writers, create the ideas. We set the path.
And that means we may be better off than any other creative group. Because we don’t have a single monetizable output–we potentially have many. We can weave our ideas into dozens of different forms, and create entirely new mythologies that are embedded in the world. Writing’s revenue stream doesn’t have to start and end with the printed book. Potentially, we’re looking at residuals, tie-in sales, ad revenue sharing, licensing, and new models we haven’t even imagined yet.
Musicians have concerts. We have worlds.
Let’s go create!
February 28th, 2008 /