Nfts
The Bookseller – Comment – Could your book be an NFT?
One of the things I love about physical books is how people share them. Whether it’s gifting or exchanging books with friends, or buying old library books with the borrowers’ original stamps. I usually read physical books, but I love that digital books can find a wider audience around the world.
I have written half a dozen books that have been translated into a dozen languages, and I have fully benefited and learned from the opportunity to work with publishers at Bloomsbury and Kogan Page. Early in my writing career, I valued their expertise and support, and I would have had neither the confidence nor the experience to publish and promote a book using emerging technologies.
I’ve been writing about the psychology of digital networks, communication, and the workplace for over a decade. So I found the rise of blockchain fascinating, sometimes confusing and always exciting. This is why I chose to release the first edition of my latest book, Web of Value, as an NFT. [non-fungible token]. I wanted to use emerging technology that creates books as unique, limited edition works that integrate authorship, ownership, and provenance into the technology.
Web of Value explains the history and philosophy behind blockchain, as well as the practical applications and countercultural ideas that led to its adoption. Blockchain creates networks in which work can be traced back to its original creator, intellectual property can be embedded in source code, and buying a digital product means owning it.
So, what is an NFT?
NFTs are digital assets with software and unique cryptographic code that cannot be duplicated. Think of it as a digital token containing a unique fingerprint and digital key. Anything that is possible to record digitally can be an NFT. This could be digital art or images, books, music, identity documents, magazines or event tickets. The full text of Web of Value is stored on a peer-to-peer network. The file is encrypted. Only those who possess one of 300 unique digital keys can decrypt the data and read the book. Whoever owns the NFT has full control over it and is free to keep it, send it to a friend, or sell it on a third-party marketplace.
I wanted to use emerging technology that creates books as unique, limited edition works that integrate authorship, ownership, and provenance into the technology.
This means that there are significant benefits and opportunities to publishing a book as an NFT:
New royalty models
Rules governing copyright royalties can be automatically incorporated into each of these unique copies. As an author, I receive royalties as a percentage of the sale price from all NFT resales to third parties. This does not require complex negotiations with third-party resellers. NFTs give some control back to authors and publishers: by writing distribution rules and royalties into the book code.
Resistance to censorship
Peer-to-peer blockchain networks are very resistant to censorship. NFTs use blockchain technology which is incredibly difficult for any government or organization to censor. The data is encrypted and immutable so no one can modify the text. Immutability can be either exciting or anxiety-inducing for authors: your work can’t be censored but you can’t go back and correct typos!
Peer-to-peer connection
NFTs offer a direct connection to everyone who owns the book. This gives authors new ways to connect directly with readers. For example, some musicians who have released singles or albums as NFTs have given NFT holders access to special concerts, events, or advance releases of their new work.
Origin
Every time an NFT is traded, sold or transferred, the provenance is recorded on the blockchain. It creates a complete, uninterrupted record of every transfer of every digital book. The author can offer a copy of the first edition to someone who contributed to its writing. That person could send their copy to a friend, who could then sell it on a third-party marketplace. Every owner and transfer is recorded, making each book’s history unique and traceable back to the original owner.
But there are also challenges.
Selling books is already challenging using established technologies and channels. A book requires a lot of effort from authors and publishers, so testing new technology isn’t the right decision for everyone.
The medium was part of the message: I wanted to trace the rise of blockchain from a non-technical perspective, then explore the psychology of complex and emerging digital networks online. I wanted a real, tangible example of blockchain technology that could directly connect me and readers to the technology. Web of Value, as a book, made no sense until technology made it possible. When Alexandria Books created new ways to publish fiction and non-fiction books as NFTs, I was excited to try it.
Amelie Lasker, founder of Alexandria Books, explains the challenges facing publishers: “Web3 is still in its infancy and many of the necessary pieces are still in progress, both technically and legally. How is the definition of intellectual property changing when digital files can now be preserved forever? How do we use technology to ensure they are accessible at all times? This is both a challenge and an opportunity as we pioneer new systems.
As an author who writes about technology, I would recommend using whatever technology you want to be successful with. There is a growing interdependence between people, technology and culture: but the value of any technology ultimately depends on people and culture.