The world’s first best selling author

Martin Luther was born during Medieval times but help to usher in the Modern Era. We can see this in his use of technology. His most famous act was nailing 95 theses to a door. Why did he do this? That was how social media was done at the time. People had to physically go to where the news of the day was posted for all to see. However, the Reformation would never have gotten off the ground if the only people affected had to live close enough to the church door to read Luther’s protests. Unbeknownst to Luther, someone used the newest technology to spread his message, the printing press. Luther would go on to be the worlds first best-selling author. He would eventually become a genius in book publishing. Although he financially profited very little from his work, there were no copyrights at the time, he did try to protect his brand. He was very choosy in who he had print his many books, even choosing the fonts, the artwork, the covers and the print shops. He turned Wittenberg into the central hub of the printing industry. These books would find themselves being reprinted by other people, usually in lesser quality, but this at least helped his teachings expand. His writings would soon be translated into other languages.

The key to Luther’s success as a writer was his style. It was unlike any other’s. He was concise and wrote in the vernacular of the common people. The reformation soon outgrew Germany and began to spread throughout Europe. His use of printing technology played a significant role in changing how people thought about their world.