Open networks, open books: gender, precarity and solidarity in digital publishing

Abstract

The nature of work is changing, from secure, full-time jobs to a 'risk regime' characterized by alternative work arrangements and a pervasive sense of insecurity [Beck, U. (2000). The brave new world of work. Polity: Malden, MA]. While these conditions resemble those long endured by cultural workers, scholarly exploration of these similarities has stalled: Digital optimists extoll the value of self-enterprise, while critical cultural scholars decry such claims as a smokescreen for deteriorating labor conditions, which inevitably promote insecurity (or 'precarity'). This paper attempts to end the stalemate by proposing three measures of insecurity and applying them to a group of cultural workers-romance authors. Through a survey of 4270 romance authors, I show their median income nearly doubled after the rise of digital self-publishing, while other authors' incomes dropped. Interviews with 78 authors and editors suggest this resilience relates to professional tactics developed in the 1980s amidst pervasive gender bias. Specifically, romance authors developed an 'open-elite' network, an arrangement historically associated with innovation, which was later amplified by interactive communication technologies [Powell, W. W., & Owen-Smith, J. ( 2012). An open elite: Arbiters, catalysts, or gatekeepers in the dynamics of industry evolution. In The emergence of organizations and markets (pp. 466-495). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press]. This research contributes to debates around self-employment, cultural work and precarity. It shows increased insecurity is not inevitable in the risk regime, but rather that specific professional practices, enhanced by ICTs, can increase workers' resilience.].

Multi-platform practices among digital patronage creators

“…Digital platforms have facilitated a shift away from creative work and toward creative entrepreneurship (Glatt and Banet-Weiser, 2021; Hesmondhalgh, 2020; Larson, 2020; Lingo and Tepper, 2013; Neff et al, 2005). Creators are responsible for far more than content creation; they are expected to function as entrepreneurs who possess ‘meta-competencies [including] broad creative skills, commercial acumen, and the ability to work across multiple media platforms’ (Lingo and Tepper, 2013: 341).…”

“…Creators are responsible for far more than content creation; they are expected to function as entrepreneurs who possess ‘meta-competencies [including] broad creative skills, commercial acumen, and the ability to work across multiple media platforms’ (Lingo and Tepper, 2013: 341). Some studies frame this new entrepreneurism optimistically and highlight creative autonomy and independence from traditional intermediaries (Larson, 2020; Lingo and Tepper, 2013). But most research stresses the lack of benefits and the financial risks that creators face without secure employment, as well as the long hours and erosion of work/life balance (Alacovska, 2018; Baym, 2018; Brzozowska and Galuszka, 2021; Eurofound, 2015; Guarriello, 2019; Hunter, 2016; Neff et al, 2005; Scolere, 2019).…”

“…In the second model, store-based revenue, creators erect a digital storefront, either on their own website or through a digital platform, and sell products – both physical and virtual – to consumers. As none of our creators referenced this model, we do not go into detail about it here (see Larson, 2020, for an introduction to the self-publishing market).…”

Marching to Her Own Beat: Asynchronous Teamwork and Gender Differences in Performance on Creative Projects

“…Creative project teams are typically dominated numerically by men, and the expression of creativity, which is associated with assertiveness and confidence, is seen as a stereotypically masculine trait (Dellas and Gaier 1970; Smith, Brescoll, and Thomas 2016). Women are thus typecast into subordinate roles in such teams (Bell, Hughes, and Owen-Jackson 2013; Clawson 1999; Larson 2020) and their contributions are undervalued relative to their men colleagues (Heilman and Haynes 2005).…”

#Ownvoices, Disruptive Platforms, and Reader Reception in Young Adult Publishing

“…This, according to some reviewers, is a clear denial of social and economic justice which undercuts the veneer of open-minded allyship in progressive consumers, and within the industry itself. In this way, the article contributes to a growing critical interrogation of the power relations that underpin the publishing industry and are enacted through publishing processes [2,3].…”