Is the Novel Dying?
A lot of writers and publishers alike are very nervous right now. It feels a little like the four horsemen of the novel apocalypse are bearing towards us. Those four horsemen would be, of course, e-books and the Kindle, Twitter, Facebook, and Google Books. In their own ways, all of these things are threatening the sale and reading (and writing) of books as we know it. E-books mean that books have to be much cheaper, and available instantly, often for free. Twitter means that no one is interested in long-form narratives anymore; if it can’t fit in 140 characters, why read it? Facebook is telling us that the only forms of communication that are valuable are those that are networked and collaborative. And finally, Google books is out to steal every last copyright out of every writer’s hands.
That would be the pessimist’s viewpoint on those four horsemen. But the other day my professor, who is a venerable and highly respected writer, commented on the apparent crisis in the literary world. He said that he found it very comforting that over a hundred years ago, in the 19th century, a novelist was horrified by the changing world he saw after the invention of the telegraph. The lightning travel of information around the globe would be, he declared, the end of the novel.
We have been calling the novel dead for centuries now, and it continues to thrive, to be read, to hold humankind’s best ideas. Convenient as Twitter is, no one wants to get their reading done in Twitter. People want stories, long, satisfying, stories, and whether they read them on a kindle or in a book, there will always be a market for them. Human civilization will have to change in a way that fundamentally puts us at odds with our true selves before something like the novel disappears. We are wired to see the world in a narrative form, and to invest our emotions in fictional characters as if they were real. Let’s hope writers can continue to make a living as they continue to provide us with something just as essential to our culture as music, dance, and dreaming.
actually, I think it’s more of an opportunity to get rid of the middle man (agents, publishers) and novelists to make all the money they have worked to earn. I think it’s time that novelists, like musicians, start to learn to use the tools to promote themselves and sell their work without the people that suck all the income and incentive out of creativity.
Git’er done!
I can understand why many people would use a Kindle (I myself would love to own one), or use twitter, E-books etc,.. But as a woman who didn’t get her first laptop until my late 40′s, I will always cherish a good book in my hands. One I can carry into a Dr’s waiting room, or lying in my bed reading to my grandchildren snuggled, one on each side of me. Nothing can compare to the suspense of what is on that next page for a child who is working through their first “long” book. Computer files crash, get deleted, and so on… But a good book can be kept, and treasured for many lifetimes.
I don’t think it’s as bleak as the four horsemen would have us believe. Writing has become more egalitarian. If you have something to say, chances are you’re going to find an audience on the internet. It may be a small audience, and it may not pay, but you’re writing, someone’s reading and you can get instant feedback.
I read something recently in Time Magazine about European fiction, how it’s not as driven by market forces as it is by creative forces (week of Feb 1, 2010). To quote “An Estonian writer is not striving to write a best seller, because what would be a best seller in Estonia?”
Perhaps the business of writing is on the ropes but storytelling and writing stories will live on.
I’m part of the ‘techno’ generation, and almost all my friends save one or two have Facebook or Twitter or something like that. But for me, I could never read online. Reading is something totally separate from a computer screen, an old-fashioned comfort. You can’t hold a screen in your hand and have the satisfaction of turning pages like you do in a book.
I’m not sure whether novels are dying out, but I hope there will be enough bibliophiles in the future generations to keep them being published!
I agree with Noelle. They are all just tools for us to use to get our creative work out there. Nothing can replace just sitting down and enjoy reading a book under a shade tree.
Yet, sadly people still try to post full reads on Twitter like people really want to read a story like that. So annoying!
depends
Adult novels are done, because adults don’t have to read, unless it is a fixation
young adults have to read and there are some wonderful novels being produced
While you can’t command the river of technology to stop, I don’t believe the novel is really dying, or even ill. Of course, as a writer myself, I have a vested interest in the art form.
Watching the hubbub over the iPad, seeing GOBBLE, er, GOOGLE’s attempt to grab up all books in the world, I am still not ready to quit. I own an eBook, and while I don’t use it as much as I thought I would (preferring paper), it is cool indeed to have over a hundred books in my hand.
All the complaining we do about the encroachment of technology on paper publishing will make no difference in the long run. A good number of people reading this have never lived in a world without computers. Time marches forward, and technology will continue and unless we have one giant EMP event, paper books will slowly become an expensive thing of the past. Novels, on the other hand, will live on and on.
http://UphillWriting.org
In the nineteenth century, it took about fifty years to double the world’s knowledge. Today, the base of knowledge doubles in less than a year. We need access to that knowledge, and paper publishing cannot keep up. That leads us to where we are today: on the cusp of total electronic distribution of words. The fact that you’re reading this now is proof of where we’re headed.
The real question is–Will it improve the reading experience? Has flickr improved imagery? We are sinking rapidly into a vast pool of mediocrity. More people join the net every minute, and along with them a preponderance of useless tripe. Will a nexus emerge to sort out this junk? Has it for music? Most musicians make their money from live performances, not CD or I-Pod sales.
And what about the bootleggers? You build a lock–I’ll make a key. These are trying times for anyone in the creative arts. It’s entirely possible we are witnessing the end of our culture.