Modernity and Print III

Summary:

• Between 1890 and 1970, the book publishing industry experienced a siginificant expansion. It is said that during this time publishing became a commercial venture rather than an artistic one. Most publishing companies in the 1800s had been owned by families, but now with the involvement of rich, private investors, a shift in ownership from families to public corporations took place. At this time, the publishing of textbooks also flourished because of higher demand.
• For most of the 19th century, American authors could not make a living from writing but as their audience grew with the start of the 20th century so did their profits, especially after World War I, when several authors rose to fame and began to earn more for their writing, like F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Authors also benefited from copyright legislation that was introduced. Young publishing houses promoted new business methods in advertising and actively fought censorship laws for their benefit.
• WWI disrupted publishing in America but at the end of the war there was a boom in the popularity of reading and publishing. American books started to dominate international markets. Government funding for education contributed to increased literacy , which created new consumers for books, especially in the case of college students and textbooks. During this time we see the rise of the paperback, produced to accommodate troops fighting overseas who favored cheaper and smaller book options.
• Consolidation of smaller publishing houses into large ones became common, especially through action from conglomerates that resulted in great economic impact. Widespread consolidation concerned publishers but ultimately allowed readers to have a more and better options for literary materials. 

Comment:

It's interesting to see how the paperback changed the literary landscape in the United States  --for the better, in my opinion. Production of paperbacks not only helped ailing publishing houses but also made literature affordable and accessible. Paperpacks were cheaper to produce and could be sold at a lower price than average. This resulted in higher sales and allowed soldiers to bring books with them and carry them while stationed overseas. From a psychological point of view, this was probably a welcomed change by the troops, who could now easily distract themselves from the horrors of the war, albeit momentarily, by immersing themselves in a novel.

Question:

Compared to the early 20th century, how different is it now for authors to be able to make a living from writing? How do the struggles faced by writers back then compare to contemporary authors? Have digital technologies and self-publishing influenced writers' ability to produce literature and profit from it?