Social storytelling platforms are transforming publishing

Social media has spread its wings and changed the world of literature. The arts of authorship and publishing have been reshaped by the rise of a new idea: digital, social reading. What before was facilitated almost exclusively by publishing houses has now become accessible to all. Through apps and online platforms, anyone anywhere who has a device with a keyboard and access to the internet can publish their writing online.

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While reading literature was once largely a solitary activity, social media has allowed it to grow into a social one. Platforms such as Penana, Milyin and, the most popular of them, Wattpad, have popped up and blown the world of writing and reading wide open. Wattpad is a global online platform for digital social storytelling where anyone can write and publish their works online, and where readers have access to a massive database of free stories that have been created and uploaded by others.

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This development can be viewed as a threat to the publishing industry, but it can also be viewed as a pointer to how publishing could adapt and change with the growth of social media, technology and globalisation. Digital reading and writing platforms have interesting implications for what the future of publishing and authorship could look like.

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The globalisation of publishing through online platforms increases access to reading materials. Reading is no longer limited by the availability of a physical book or e-book in a particular area or country. Reading is also not limited by the resources to lay out money for a book or magazine as most such platforms are free. Access to a device and the internet are enough. The platforms make it easy for readers to access a huge variety of perspectives, cultures, ideas, formats and innovations, whether or not these appear in local bookstores or libraries or have been published, digitally or in hard copy, by traditional publishers.

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Authors have much more power over their creative works than they ever have. Online platforms allow authors to put their creations out into the public domain without having to go through traditional channels like publishers or agents. Authors are free to independently publish and market their books, build their fanbases and even earn money through advertising revenue. If they desire, authors can demonstrate the success of their publication before taking it to a publisher for conventional publishing. Of course, some works published directly by hopeful authors on online platforms could greatly benefit from the expertise of professional publishers!

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Digital platforms fundamentally shift the relationship between reader and writer. Algorithms for online reading and writing platforms allow the audience to decide what they want to read, whereas what was published was previously determined primarily by publishing houses. It is true that publishing houses are also guided by reader response in the form of sales and reviews, but this comes long after the investment has been made whereas storytelling platforms generate response in real time. Platforms like Wattpad have a serialised format where chapters can be posted at regular intervals. Readers can comment line by line or comment on the chapter as a whole. Where the writer-reader relationship was previously one-directional in nature, with the author communicating their ideas to the reader, now it is bi-directional: readers have opportunity and power to influence the story. Readers can offer words of encouragement or criticism, and can even make suggestions for where they would like the story to go next. This development transforms writing into a more reader-centric and collaborative activity, which has rarely been seen in literature previously.

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While the prospect of online, collaborative writing and reading might sound intimidating, it already exists in many forms such as Wikipedia, which is a large-scale collaborative project between many international editors and moderators. Digital storytelling platforms are still used almost exclusively by younger age groups (under 35 years old), but the ideas and concepts presented by them can be used by traditional publishers. The value offered by publishing houses remains critical. There is still a massive market for books written by established authors that have been professionally reviewed, edited and published. While publishers produce both hard copy and online editions, physical copies continue to thrive, partly due to the phenomenon that readers often like the tactile experience of reading a physical book, and partly due to the persistent technology gap between developing and developed countries. Internet-based platforms have many limitations, including accessibility, reliance on a power source, obsolescence of particular devices and durability, as well as the fact that databases become easily saturated. Publishing houses can work in conjunction with the rise of online.

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By Jemma Meintjies

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