Your E-Book Is Reading You, By Alexandra Alter

Alexandra Alter’s article on The Wall Street Journal is an older article that explores how the usage of e-reading devices and reading apps help track detailed reader information to produce novels that immediately appeal to the lecturer. At the time of the article, e-books were fast to become a giant player in the digital world; generating billions in gross revenue each each. While at The Wall Street Journal, Alter held the position as a book publishing reporter (Roush. C, 2014). She utilizes her experience at the WSJ to not only to inform her readers about the benefits from reader-tracking, but also to counterbalance any negative concerns that surround reader-tracking. In “Your E-Book Is Reading You” published on The Wall Street Journal in

Adverting to the interpretation of a book as an “intimate exchange between the lecturer and the language on the page,” allows Alter to connect with her reader’s at a personal level. Furthermore, Alter uses the terminology “post-mortem” when describing how “publishing has lagged far behind” other industries when it comes to “measuring consumers’ tastes and habits.” While she realizes that the diligence has neglected to acknowledge the reader’s needs, she briefly defends publishers by informing her readers how "that's starting to change as publishers and bookseller start to embrace big data, and more tech companies turn their sights on publishing." Alter is building trust with her reader’s by showing compassion, while at the same time, showing her readers the industry’s willingness to

She appeals to her readers, again, by using the credibility of publishing companies that have produced some of the most recognized books. She points specifically to the success that Scholastics has had in using messaging boards that “allow publishers to track which story lines and characters are resonating with young readers”. More important is how the reader information obtained from these messaging boards has “shaped” one series into a “global franchise.” In addition to mentioning the success that reader information has played on some novels, Alter reminds her reader’s how publishers “rarely get a glimpse into the readers mind” and how authors use the data obtained from readers to “adjust story lines in their next books to reflect popular choices.” Alter is logically appealing to her readers by showing how authors, publishers and readers have benefited from the accumulation and use of reader