10 Biggest Predictions for the Future of Book Publishing

I liked the first of these predictions:

Vanity presses and self-publishing will swell in popularity - ie writing my own blog is a form of vanity. Yeah I can live with this. If you can why not. No one has to read it and if they do then they can comment, flame and/or agree. Opinion is what we often get as news, and how informed the opinion is up to the individual and circumstances.

Prediction no 4:

"More people will be authors: ...With manuscript in hand and a story to tell, the masses may very well flood the very market that ten years ago would have never given them a voice. This leaves the literary world ripe for new ideas and innovations" Again with new technology making the ability to publish a lot easier we may very well see more stories. I can see there are several websites that allow bloggers to publish their blog in book format eg . This may well be something to leave to your children, allowing them to understand you a bit more ( and laugh ever more also!)

Which fits in with prediction no 7 "Memoirs expand as a genre:" I see lots of people in the library writing their memoirs and I wish some of my family managed to do this. They lived interesting but not spectacular lives. Once gone their memories are rarely transmitted too far down the generations which can be a pity. A bit like re-inventing the wheel each generation.

PS The recent news about Library closure and public reaction is heartening, not just because it keeps my colleagues employed but also shows the relevance of libraries and books in people's lives right now!