DISTRUPTION
BY JAY ALLAN
Disruption.
It’s one of those words that has acquired new meanings in recent years—or, at least, it has greatly extended the bounds of its old ones. A few decades ago, it was mostly a negative term, signifying interference with the way things were supposed to be. Technology changed that, or at least the prime movers of the information revolution did, even as they shattered the notion of what supposed to be meant.
To be a disruptor began to mean something different, something forward-thinking. Still unsettling, of course, to some at least. Those in industries being upended were suddenly presented with a choice that seemed something like adapt or die. But for many of us, disruptions of this sort can be welcome. They offer new choices, open new doors. They bring freedom and prosperity with them.
E-books are just such a disruptor. They carry clear, simple advantages to the reader. They’re cheaper (usually) and always available for immediate download. The ability to carry a thousand books in a backpack (or even a pocket) is an extraordinary convenience. They can be read on multiple devices in different locations. Even for those who prefer to read in print, it is hard to dispute the utility of being able to pull out your phone and read a few pages when your paper copy isn’t handy.
These are all obvious benefits, of course, but they are far from a complete look at the true value proposition of this revolution in reading technology. To see the whole picture, we need to jump to the other side of the information exchange, from the reader to the writer … and to the effect of bringing these two symbiotic organisms together in ways that were never possible before.
When I was younger, you went to the bookstore to buy books, and you pretty much chose from what was there. If that was a mall store—as it was for most of us back then—and you were a science fiction fan, that probably meant you were relegated to a couple of small bookshelves somewhere near the back. For the most part, that was the universe of what was available, and your next favorites invariably came from that small selection.
The books on those shelves were chosen by a few publishers, and in turn, of course, by whoever did the ordering for the bookstore you were frequenting. For the most part, the options were the same everywhere. This was frustrating for authors as well as readers. Generations of new writers dashed themselves on those rocky shores, vying for the overtaxed attention of a few editors who served as the effective gatekeepers of the genre … and untold legions of readers never even knew what they might have read but didn’t have access to.
Even the writers who made it through the difficult journey to emerge amid that precious shelf space seemed somewhat removed. If mega-bestsellers were your thing, you might see your favorite authors on television or read magazine articles about them. But those of us drawn to science fiction—and the authors we loved—existed somewhere below the horizon of the mass media. For the most part, all you knew about a writer was that he or she had a new book sitting on that faux woodgrain shelf.
E-books and self-publishing changed all that. Suddenly, any author could publish a book and offer it to readers. That was no guarantee of success, certainly, but it was a chance. And thousands took it, kicking off a new golden age of sorts, one which has the genre seeing perhaps its best days ever.
Readers, too, could now seek out what they wanted, with a degree of specificity and focus they couldn’t have imagined back in the days of knocking around that old mall bookstore. Do you like your science fiction gritty and dark? Or utopian and optimistic? Want politics in your next read, and if so, what kind? Or do you want it kept away with the proverbial ten-foot pole? Brutal empires? Enlightened republics? Whatever you want, there’s no problem. It’s out there now, and no more than a mouse click away.
I experienced all of this firsthand as an author, releasing my first book in 2012. I did it almost on an impulse, and I was stunned by the response. The military science fiction and space opera stories I loved had long been neglected by the publishing industry, and when Amazon’s Kindle kicked off a new avalanche of book titles in these sub-genres, I found out I was far from alone. Readers came from everywhere, snatching up the kinds of space adventures they’d long wanted but could rarely find.
Not only were there more titles, but suddenly the authors became a lot more visible through online reviews, author blogs and web sites, widely publicized email addresses. I receive mail from readers every day. I love it. Who would I want to hear from more than those who read and love my books? And who would I more naturally turn to for input regarding what they like and what they don’t in my stories?
Nowadays, the problem is likelier to be too many choices instead of too few. And that is a problem with easy solutions. To take a look at these, let’s steer this trip back through time for a moment. Among my many interests in fiction and non-fiction genres, I confess to a weakness for pulpy old stories … things like the Lensman books. They’re dated, no question, and I completely understand anyone who can’t get past the 1930s or 1940s worldview or the overly descriptive prose in them. But for those who can, there is an astonishing amount of pure creativity on display, and a lot of fun, too.
What does this have to do with e-books and disruption? Well, for one thing, when these older stories were published, there were numerous science fiction magazines; so many, in fact, that many a writer’s primary focus was selling stories to these publications. Many novels were serialized in the magazines and weren’t even published in book form for years after (if ever). So, when a reader went to buy the next copy of Astounding or Weird Tales—or perhaps to read the new installment of Galactic Patrol, or one of the other novels of the day—he or she also got a healthy dose of stories by other authors, and perhaps the chance to find a new favorite.
Those magazines mostly died over the years, victims to changing tastes and distribution methods … and cheap paperbacks, as well. There are a few left today, but nothing like the number available to my grandfather’s generation. As publication markets dwindled and larger imprints came to dominate the distribution channels, we ended up with that kid in the mall store, his eyes darting over a few hundred books as though they were the sum total of all science fiction creative talent in the known universe. And somewhere—in a thousand somewheres, actually—there were writers too, no doubt, holding great stories in their hands, exciting narratives that kid could only dream of reading. But never would the two sides meet…until now.
Amid the e-book revolution of the past few years, anthologies like At the Helm go a considerable way to replacing those long-dead zines. The volume you hold in your hand, or more accurately, inside your phone/kindle/tablet, is the second At the Helm, and, like the first one, it contains the work of a whole group of authors, science fiction adventures of all kinds, easily accessible and inexpensive. Just enough to get a taste, and decide whether you like an author enough to seek out his or her other books. Maybe you’ll just enjoy a few interesting reads and be done with it. Or, possibly, you’ll find a new favorite, and you’ll race to seek out his or her other works … and, when you’ve worked your way through those, wait anxiously for that author’s next release.
This is the essence of the e-book revolution to me, and it is a roadmap to navigating an immense and tricky new universe. Are books published now that shouldn’t be, volumes too incomplete, too poorly edited? Yes, almost certainly. Readers need to comb through books, seeking the ones that meet their standards and target their interests. But is the tradeoff worth it? To open the channel between hundreds of great writers and untold thousands of readers? Absolutely.
The future of science fiction is brighter than ever, courtesy of, appropriately enough, technology itself. All engines, forward at full thrust.
Jay Allan
April 25, 2017