3 ms·

Going through an editorial process is an additional gatekeeper that the Internet removed, yes.

• adrianN 9y ago
  But the editor is paid for making your book more sellable, so in theory the Internet removed a barrier for a more diverse set of opinions in publications.
  • tenpies 9y ago
    I think we just traded a bad system for a worst one. Could you imagine what would happen if Nabokov attempted to release Lolita in 2017 using a blog? Google/Facebook would ban him before he even got chapter 2 posted and there would probably be a SJW brigade trying to dox him so they can destroy his life. Same goes for any book that is even mildly controversial. At the end of the day all these platforms are advertising delivery mechanisms and controversy is just not advertiser-friendly.
    • mirimir 9y ago
      Well, he published Lolita through Olympia Press. According to Wikipedia, it was "Paris-based", and "specialized in books which could not be published (without legal action) in the English-speaking world". The equivalent today would arguably be a Tor onion site. Or perhaps Freenet. Sure, Google and Facebook would ban him. But then, in the 1950s, American publishers did ban him. Until the 60s happened, anyway.