Book lovers, rejoice! Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), also known as crypto-collectibles, have launched thousands of literary projects onto the blockchain. These NFTs have created a new way to collect and enjoy your favorite books, poems, and articles.

But what exactly are literary NFTs, and how are they revolutionizing how we experience literature?

What Is a Literary NFT?

Traditional publishing has remained successful for a long time. According to a Grand View Research report, the industry was estimated at $138.5 billion in 2021 and is likely to reach $142.33 billion in 2022 and $164.22 billion in 2030.

However, there has been a growing need for a more open and decentralized publishing system, which is where Literary NFTs come in.

A literary NFT is a digital work of literature (like a poem, book, or article) minted on the blockchain. In other words, the work exists on decentralized computer networks, making it resistant to censorship. Additionally, the work cannot change without the author's permission.

The versatility of literary NFTs heightens their beauty and importance. They can act as a digital collectible, exhibit a written work, or serve as access to exclusive fan communities. There are even cases where creators release individual NFTs of fictional characters.

How Do Literary NFTs Work?

Literary NFTs exist on a blockchain, a public ledger that records crypto transactions and ensures their efficiency. While other blockchain networks support literary NFTs, the Ethereum blockchain holds the largest number of literary NFTs.

You can mint a literary NFT from digital objects, including intangible and tangible items. They are similar to physical collector's items, except that they are digital. Therefore, you'll get a digital file instead of a book to place on your shelf or library.

Additionally, buyers gain exclusive rights to the NFT. The reason is that NFTs have only one owner at a particular time. Their unique data makes verifying ownership and transferring tokens between owners effortless.

Furthermore, the owner can preserve specific information inside the NFT. For example, you can sign your work by including your signature in the NFT's metadata.

Projects Exploring Literary NFTs

Even as literary NFTs are still in their infancy, several NFT projects have been popping out since 2021 from well-established and independent creators.

• TheVerseVerse: TheVerseVerse frequently mints the works of crypto-native poets like Ana Maria Caballero and Sasha Stiles.

  

• Kalen Iwamoto: This crypto writer and artist explores the possibility of creating art and writing on the blockchain. The works of Kalen Iwamoto are available on several NFT marketplaces. You can view Kalen Iwamoto as the first intersection stage between art and crypto-native writing.

  

• EtherPoems: EtherPoems minted one of the first poetry collections on the Ethereum blockchain.

  

• LIT Project One: Survive All Apocalypses is the first series in LIT Project One. The decentralized book, produced by Neil Strauss, is the first minted on Ethereum.

  

• Creatokia: Creatokia brings all authors, publishers, collections, and creators together by building a marketplace for their activities.

  

Why Are Literary NFTs Valuable?

Ebook piracy has been on the increase for years. It might not sound like a big problem, but authors lose thousands of dollars yearly to people illegally copying and distributing their ebooks.

When authors create special, collectible editions of one of their titles, they want to avoid this piracy problem. That is because the value of a collectible edition will plunge if several new versions appear on the marketplace.

Literary NFTs are valuable because only a limited quantity of an author's work is available at a given time. Furthermore, a proper blockchain-published title is encrypted and decentralized, stored in bits on multiple computers in a process called Decentralized Encrypted Asset (DEA).

The reader that opens the book brings all the bits together and decrypts them. After that, it presents the book to you in a readable format. With such immense protection, books on the blockchain are more valuable than regular ebooks.

What NFTs Can Do for Authors

Literary NFTs bring a host of benefits to authors, too.

Creative Freedom

Literary NFTs allow writers to try their hands with publication formats, especially those with a piqued interest in technology. Due to the decentralized nature of NFTs, writers can explore different book formats without worrying about publishers' opinions.

Take, for instance, Blake Butler, who published his book titled Decade in February 2021. Butler wrote the book in 2008, but commercial publishers rejected it because of its "dense language and complicated structure."

Blake Butler turned the book into a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) of flashing pages and minted it as an NFT. With NFT, Butler published and sold his work himself. Overnight, someone bought the NFT for 5 ETH (Ethereum), which was $7,569.50 then.

Permanent Ownership

NFT books are receipts for digital books which are in your possession. This quality makes literary NFTs different from ebooks that you can purchase from online ebook stores like Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Ebooks purchased from Amazon and the likes are only available for as long as the platform is operational and agrees to provide it. However, possessing a literary NFT is like owning a physical copy of a book. Once you buy it, it becomes your own and will not disappear because of any third party.

Additionally, with NFTs, you can own a specific copy within a series of other copies, like how you can own different editions of physical books.

A New Form of Reader-Writer Interaction

Literary NFTs help writers build solid relationships with their buyers. Authors can create hype around the books and use NFTs to offer unique features, like illustrations, author's notes, and special forewords to their readers.

Furthermore, authors can publish limited copies of their literary pieces using NFTs. This can help them to engage with their readers and increase the value of their works.

Revolutionize Literature with Literary NFTs

With an understanding of what literary NFTs are, how they function, and the benefits they offer, you can rewrite the Web3 publishing narrative. Your creativity will go a long way in achieving this, and we are happy to see what you achieve with it.

So what are you waiting for? Start your literary NFT journey today.