Abstract

Is digital publishing leading to a paradigm shift or only replicating the print publishing systems in digital garb? This appears to be a key concern of the Chinese publishing industry in the Internet age. In the time of e-books, dynamics such as self-publishing, digital distribution, and the Internet economy have the potential to challenge the established business models, regulations, and publishing culture through disruptive innovation ranging from disintermediating and reintermediating publishing communication, to empowering authors and readers in connected and distributed ways, and monetising content resources in new channels. While digital publishing has tremendous disruptive potential, there is still uncertainty about the transformation and evolution of publishing in China, as it is deeply influenced by the special Chinese contexts. Just some of the characteristics include: strong government control, the monopoly of state-owned publishers, the prevalence of print reading habits, and a traditional book culture as opposed to the open, connected, and distributed Internet culture. In this chapter, I will review disruptive innovation in the e-book industry and the cultural impact of the e-book in both the production and consumption sides of publishing in China. I will explore the complex interplay between disruptive innovation and contextual factors through examining three case studies in the e-book field: Qidian (Qidian Zhongwen wang 起点中文网), the literary self-publishing site; China Mobile Reading Base (Zhongguo yidong yuedu jidi 中国移动阅读基地), an e-book distributor that produces material for mobile phones; and Duokan (Duokan yuedu 多看阅 …

Date

2019

Authors

Xiang Ren

Journal

Publishing and culture

Pages

199-219

Publisher

Cambridge Scholars Press