The Structure of the Book Publishing Industry in Canada Pub 371 (Fall 2017)
Linnea Dan Vy Vo
Taking inspiration from programs like Canada Reads with the aim to get Canadians across the country to explore new works of literature, It's Lit is a book subscription box for Canadian Millennials. In partnership with Indigo, this campaign will release nine types of boxes based on genre, three times a year. Each box contains a book or eBook or audiobook, a magazine, and a personal note from a Canadian celebrity or influencer who either is in the line of work relating to the specific genre, or enjoys the book. The idea for this program was built on the basis of getting more Millennials to read new material and get excited about books.
Keywords: Millennials, Indigo, Subscription, Celebrity
Ah, Millennials. Canada (and the Internet!) is full of them, and these 18-32 year olds are building the future of this country. Bookmarkthis, a global marketing company that focuses on understanding local cultures, says, “Canadian Millennials are setting trends, disrupting various markets, and generally changing things up”. These days, I have observed that it is often difficult for university students to read for pleasure because there are so many distractions. There are textbooks and class readings that get them reading large bodies of text, but what about reading for fun? With social media being such a big part of our lives, it is often easy to fall into the trap of screen-time. Part of the problem as to why many Millennials seem to not be reading is due to the lack of successful book marketing. To support solving the challenge of marketing Canadian literature to Millennials, I have created a business plan: a book subscription box with features taken from the publicity tactics of publishing industry professionals, and examples taken from the work of Claire Squires, Danielle Fuller, DeNel Rehberg Sedo, and various sources regarding the publishing market.
I set out to find out what the statistics say about Millennials and reading. I was surprised with my findings. According to an opinion article published by Forbes earlier this year, “Millennials read more than older generations do- and more than the last generation did at the same age” (Howe, 2017). I find this difficult to agree with because I have not witnessed my generation taking a huge interest in reading. However, MillennialMarketing.com presented a similar statement from a study done by the New York Times that equipped me with some statistics: “those over 64 (spend) by far the most time reading per day: 1 hour and 24 minutes. But 15-24 year olds spend an average :50 minutes a day reading and pursuing other interests. This is much higher than 25-64 year olds who spend just 32 minutes.” Millennial Marketing went on to explain what they meant by this: “…Millennials read differently. They are reading for information, so they read with purpose and are very good ‘scanners’…(they) are capable of taking in a lot of visual information at once, probably more than older generations, provided it is presented in an attractive and easily digestible way.” By reading, I believe the staff writer is taking in account all of the text a person consumes in a day. This can range from reading a traditional book, a magazine, or the text from an app on their phone. This article did not address the reasoning behind what the average Millennial is reading, so it was difficult to decipher what they were referring to. However, the claim that reading is not lost among this generation was a recurring theme I found online. In the summer of 2016, Fortune published an article titled “Millennials Want to Make Books Cool Again”. The staff writer interviewed a bookstore manager in the States, and she explained that there is “a hipster movement to get back into reading…it’s almost cult-like.” For me, this conjured up an image of a small coffee shop in Gastown, where clusters of Vancouverites all sporting similar horn-rimmed glasses sip on soy lattes while reading Lolita, are typing up blog posts on their MacBooks, or making a new playlist on their iPhone. There has been a resurgence of young customers and more sales of physical books, especially with the release of book turned movie franchises ‘Hunger Games’ and ‘Divergent’. YouTubers with millions of followings like Shane Dawson and Tyler Oakley have started writing books as well, and those titles are always a smashing success due to the author’s existing fan base. Another recurring claim that I saw in multiple articles is the idea that Millennials are choosing to read books to save money, as it is a cheaper form of entertainment, and therefore they are supporting public libraries across North America. This is a claim that I am unsure of, so I reached out to two libraries that I occasionally visit: Brighouse Public Library in Richmond, and the downtown branch of the Vancouver Public Library. I sent them an email inquiring if they have seen a decline in visitors since the early 2000’s and inception of social media. They wrote back to me, stating that they do not keep the records of how many Millennials visit the branch regularly, as they don't record those statistics. The Guardian in Europe wrote “in the past five years, 343 (public libraries) have gone. Librarian numbers are down by a quarter, with 8000 jobs lost. Public usage has fallen by 16% and spending by 14%.” This means that Millennials are not frequenting their public libraries as much as they did before. The main idea I got from completing research is that while we may not have to worry about Millennials not reading anymore, there are not any programs to encourage them to read new works of literature and get excited about reading in general.
What has been done to promote reading in Canada? Fuller and Sedo (2006) discussed Canada Reads, a program with the aim “to get Canadians across the country to read the same book”. A critic wrote “isn’t it somewhat totalitarian to urge everyone in the country to read the same book?”. The problem with Canada Reads aiming to pick Canadian literature so that all of Canada can read together is that not everyone will enjoy the same book. It lacks individuality, and people prefer to have choices. Fuller and Sedo agree. The two argue that this initiative “creates new readers of Canlit, and that, in doing so, the program becomes the latest chapter in the history of support that CBC Radio One has given to Canlit publishing, but (they) also demonstrate that CBC’s cultural nationalist project imbricates ‘Canada Reads’ within twenty-first-century globalized publishing structures that favour a handful of highly commodified texts and writers” (Fuller and Sedo, 2006). Many readers had an issue with Canada Reads being put on by the CBC network, as the “corporation’s ideological and structured position within the ruling relations of power and trouble the CBC’s relationship to its audience...” (Fuller and Sedo, 2006). I think it was clever for this program to employ a celebrity panel to support the selection process. Having the opinions of celebrities and social influencers is still just as powerful today, especially amongst Millennials. With the inception of social media, many of us follow our favourite celebrities on Instagram and Twitter. We value the opinions of these individuals, and definitely would be interested in what they have to say about what book is on their bedside table. However, Fuller and Sedo (2006) bring up this issue: “the show is in danger of reinforcing both the ‘blockbuster’ culture of contemporary publishing and media-generated cult of celebrity at the expense of its public-service mandate to inform and educate its audience.” There needs to be a strong emphasis on authenticity if celebrities are ever involved. We need to be able to pinpoint the connection between an influencer and the product they are promoting. Does it make sense?
North America has a long history of collective reading; Oprah’s Book Club is a classic example. However, the issue with a television series in this day and age is that Millennials do not watch a large amount of live television. Instead, they choose to record their favourite programs and watch when they can, or turn to Netflix and YouTube. A form of media they do follow without any problems is social media. Social media is a disruptive force right now even in the publishing industry. Therefore, social media would be one of the more powerful ways to send a message. One of the big issues that Fuller and Sedo (2006) emphasized is that “while (Canada Reads) creates commercial benefits for some book publishers and writers, it neglects others.”
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© Linnea Dan Vy Vo, 2017
Available from: http://journals.sfu.ca/courses/index.php/pub371/issue/view/1