Reading Survives Technology

It’s been just over 30 years since I attended my first Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) convention. With more than 12,000 authors, editors, publishers, and agents swarming the Denver Convention Center, it was a writers’ dream. A dream that has lost its luster in recent years.

Today, there is no CBA, no annual summer convention, and few traditional publishing opportunities for unknown writers. The two largest Christian retailing chains have closed (although one remains alive via online sales). The Christian bookstore trade magazine I used to write for is also gone.

So, when I saw the news that the Assemblies of God is resurrecting its use of Gospel Publishing House (GPH), I sent up a silent cheer. GPH was one of many names I saw in Christian writers’ guides when trying to find my footing as a freelancer.

While I never connected with GPH, it was still a viable market outlet—and such outlets have diminished in the modern, cyberspace-dominated world.

I wasn’t aware that the AG had switched its publishing name to My Healthy Church in 2010. But as one that had been around for nearly a century, Gospel Publishing House carries a ring of familiarity and panache. It feels like welcoming an old friend back to a shrinking party.

Demise of Paper

One reason for my cheerful reaction to the GPH news is that I saw it less than a month after a disheartening announcement: Small publisher Bethany Press (BP) was closing its doors at the end of August.

At first, I mistook BP for the much better-known Bethany House Publishers, a division of Christian powerhouse Baker Publishing Group.

Still, the reason for the disclosure was a bit disconcerting for anyone who prefers real reading to the high-tech kind: BP’s inability to secure an adequate paper supply.

According to the release, for more than 15 years the company relied on a paper-supply program. Its primary vendor maintained inventory of various grades and roll sizes at a Chicago-area warehouse.

However, recently the mill producing BP’s primary supply cut production by approximately 50%. Although it explored alternative sources, lead times required for new mill production and inventory shortfall meant a four- to five-week gap in paper supply. That left the company in an unsustainable operating position.

You may be shrugging, “So what? What does one minor publisher disappearing mean?”

A lot. I once thought electronic readers would offer a low-cost and even free source of reading, only to discover it’s not quite that simple.

This recent story in World magazine explained why: libraries have to pay publishers higher fees for e-books, so the wait to read one can last for months.

Unaware of the reason for long delays, earlier this year I twice canceled holds on e-books because of the wait. Then I checked the local library and got in line for the actual book. Both times, I had it in less than three weeks.

Essential Survival

In a nutshell, this explains why I want to see paper books survive well into the future. Not just because it is quicker to locate one, but because I find the old-fashioned way of reading far superior to electronic versions.

One time my Kindle came in handy. I wanted to read a book by the former managing editor of a magazine I wrote for; the e-book was the only one available in my city.

The other time I read a book by a favorite author, I disliked the experience so much I haven’t used my Kindle for a long-form work since. Long live the printed book!