Nonfiction Books

Censorship 

             Censorship is when an higher power of some sort limits or restricts a viewing of a piece of media” A book is censored when someone in authority limits publication of or access to it”( Baran 2017, p 29). In the country we live in people believe we’re free from censorship as the so called land of the free and that extends to the books we read. Unfortunately, censorship can take many forms “Reacting to censorship presents a dilemma for book publishers. Publishers have an obligation to their owners and stockholders to make a profit” ( Baran 2017, p 29) . Unfortunately, censorship persist today just in different ways.

            In an increasingly political climate censorship takes many forms and one way of this is book banning in school. In the article ‘A Fast-Growing Network of Conservative Groups Is Fueling a Surge in Book Bans’ by Elizabeth Harris and Alexandra Alter is about how some books are being banned from schools that are about LGBTQ+ and books about problems that minority groups face. This is face by strictly conservative parents who don’t agree with it being in the school.

E-readers/ E-books

            In a modern age there are many ways to get access to books. Books should be easily accessible it’s a good source of information and storytelling.  The more modern way of accessing books are E-books.

            E-books are according to the book Media and Culture is “E-books, also known as electronic or digital books, are the digital media equivalent of printed books. That is, they are books read on the screen of an electronic device, whether a cell phone, personal computer, or dedicated e-book reader”(McFadden, Chapter 3.4). With more people having phones and computers it makes more sense to expand online. For the consumer well have you been ever reading any book and it’s getting late at night and for one reason or another  you have no light around, that’s where e-books come in. No matter where you read e-books it’ll always be on a screen so theirs no problem reading it because your screen will emit the light for you to read it.

Profits and Hyper commercialism 

As with everything in today’s society theirs always a demand for profits and commercialism books are no exception.  According to Baran (2017) “The threat from conglomeration resides in the parent company’s overemphasis on the bottom line—that is, profitability at all costs … Profit, when it gets into bed with them, doesn’t like the unpredictability of the arts” (Baran 2017, p 37). We all need to eat at the end of day so profits must be made editors are there to help make it profitable and if you want your books on store shelves, you’ll need a publisher and publishers also expect a profit from the books (also ties in with censorship as stated above).

            Book writers can use the books they wrote to make more profits in other ways. In the podcast Nonfiction Authors Podcast they talk to various authors about various topics including extra topics. The episode ‘Crystal Daye (Top Replay!): Ways to Build a Business Around Your Book’ is about how the author uses her book to make extra profits outside of just the book but still around the book written.  In other words, the book was a starting point to make more money.

            Other ways a book can make a profit from is that if book is successful it can get attention from other media for example movies. Hollywood taking from books is quite common, and a good example of it is the movie My Friend Dahmer (Meyers 2017). The movie is about Jeffery Dahmer as a teenager in high school and the troubles he went through that would eventually make him a serial killer many know him as. This movie is based off a book that goes by the same name.