Online publishing will do to traditional publishing what online journalism has done to traditional media.
The traditional publishing industry publishes two kinds of novels: beach and bookshelf.
Beach novels populate the bestseller lists. They’re digested easily at the beach, no matter how often you check out the babes or hunks strolling by, no matter how many piña coladas or brews you’ve imbibed. Digested is the right word. People enjoy a meal but don’t much ponder or contemplate it, especially after it’s over. Beach novels are pleasant enough reading, but the world little notes nor long remembers them. Google a bestseller list from ten years ago. The titles have had the same staying power as sitcom episodes from that time.
You will, however, recognize the authors. Most of them are still cranking out the beach books on current bestseller lists. The publishing industry term for beach books is genre fiction—thrillers, historical, romance, etc. The categories are rigid and woe to the writer who strays outside them. Beach books are undoubtedly the most profitable part of book publishing.
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