How the Internet Has Affected the Writing Community

As is true with most things, the Internet has impacted the writing community in both good and bad ways. Let's take a look at both the good and the bad that has come about through the explosion of online publishing.

Pros of Online Publishing

1. The Internet creates a level playing field for writers. Although titles and degrees may help land certain writing gigs, most writers, even without credentials, can publish their work online. This gives all writers a chance to be heard.

2. Writing is immediately or very quickly published. No longer does a writer have to wait months or even years for their work to be published. Online publishing provides immediate gratification.

3. The Internet provides a good amount of exposure for new and experienced writers alike. Having work published anywhere, including online, may lead to more work, speaking engagements, and so on down the road.

4. Even beginning writers have an opportunity to be paid for their work. While the pay scale may be lower than it is in print magazines, it is a start, and a dream come true for many writers. Many sites provide ongoing pay, based on page views, for work submitted. Over time, this can result in a steady stream of income, even if a writer takes some time off from writing.

5. There are seemingly an unlimited number of places where work can be published online. This provides hardworking writers with the opportunity to publish a much higher volume of work.

6. Many online sites provide not only a place for writers to publish their work, they also provide a great deal of community. Internet writing has given many writers a social outlet with other like-minded people. Rather than feeling alone, many writers feel connected as a result of online publishing.

Cons of Online Publishing

1. Many people think they can write, but really can't. In spite of their lack of writing ability, they may find it easy to be published on the Internet. This leads to a lot of poor quality writing on the Internet that would never end up in a printed magazine. The poor quality writing of others impacts even good writers, who may not want their work on sites where much of the writing is subpar.

2. Generally speaking, the pay for online writing is much lower than for print magazines. An online writer may have to write ten times as much to make the same amount of money as a writer who is published in print magazines.

3. A lot of misinformation is published on the Internet. Without good editorial oversight, and with the possibilities of immediate publication, people can, without proper research and knowledge, present information as true that is in fact false, or at least greatly exaggerated.

4. People who write on the Internet exclusively may find it difficult to later write longer, better researched material down the road.

5. Keyword density, the repetition of the same words throughout the article, has changed what is considered to be good writing. Beautiful, poignant writing often doesn't do well on the Internet, so writers who need to make money based on page views often replace beautiful writing with repetitious writing.

For better or worse, Internet writing is here to stay. Although there are negative aspects of Internet writing, for the most part, the abundant opportunities to be published online are a great boon to writers of all experience levels.