Lantern Books Exec ‘Cynically Optimistic’ About the Future
On the other hand, I don’t think that we’d be in this business unless we believed passionately in writing and books and communication … and it’s a passion for us. So I would say that we are “cynically optimistic.”
But I will say … I think everyone is very anxious, because we just don’t know where we will end up. It might be the case that in 10 years’ time you can go into any bookstore, photocopying center or any mailing company, and be able to go to a booth, order a book online, get it printed out then and there, and walk away with it. And you can do that anywhere in the world. That will still be a book that’s printed, the copyright will still be protected, and the publishing company that’s produced the book … will still get some money. But it will dramatically change the nature of the industry, and I don’t know what effect it will have.
Matt Steinmetz is the publisher and brand director of Publishing Executive.