Harlequin Goes All E-Book / Borders Expands Sony Reader / E-Books Corner Niche Markets / Borders and Sony to Launch E-Bookstore
These are just some of the headlines I’ve seen on my literary travels in the past few months. From Discover Magazine and Scientific American, to RWR publications and more.
Now, I’m usually pretty dense, but even I can pick up on the pattern here. E-books and e-book technology are becoming big news. BIG.
An e-book is, of course, the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. And sure, we all already know that, but I’m not going to assume that everyone is familiar with e-books. I know I wasn’t until very very recently. Oh, it’s not that I had my head stuck in a smudgy-inked parchment cloud or anything, but for the longest time, I just couldn’t quite see the appeal. I mean, how could an e-book—something so insubstantial and intangible as a digital blip in cyberspace—be of any value to me? I who thrive on the fact that my house is lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves in almost every room, who has books piled on tables, the floor and even the bathroom counter.
I’ve always loved a good book in my hands. When I kick back after a long day, do I reach for that special someone lying beside me for comfort and ease? Well…yes. But then I pick up my book. I can even smell the paper right now if I think about it hard enough. It’s soothing to me, like the scent of Grandma’s home-baked apple pie at Thanksgiving. Which makes it even harder to imagine all of that changing. But books have changed, are changing as we speak. Is it for the better though, or not?
The fact is, publishers have been trying to steer readers into e-books for over a decade, the main reason being that they’re a hell of a lot cheaper to produce and distribute. And while the original objection to electronic books revolved around the somewhat uncomfortable experience of reading text on a screen, that argument was more persuasive 10 years ago than it is today. How many of us now spend the whole day reading text on a computer screen anyway? From work related material to blogs and emails. Hell, you can even watch TV and movies on your computer. Why not read books? Especially with the advent of the E-Reader, a truly beautiful little gadget that everyone should have a chance to check out and play with.
And the stats show more and more people are looking to e-books for their literature, whether it be for educational reading, to lose themselves in a mystery, or enjoy a hot erotica. And romance especially has done well in e-formats. The RWA published statistics for 2006 indicating that, while the early best-selling e-books were mainly in science fiction categories and other titles favoured by men….there has been a decided shift since then towards romance and women’s fiction, and this trend has only increased in 2007.
So with e-literature on the rise, how do you feel about it? As a reader, have you tried it? Do you even have an E-Reader and what do you think about the technology in general? If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, can you see yourself cracking open a pdf to enjoy your latest Nora release, or are you a hard-core paper lover to the end?
As a writer, are you querying e-publishers? As with all publishers of course, there are good and bad ones, but RWA has a list of approved e-publishers who are trusted and respected in the industry. And if you haven’t yet, what’s holding you back? Would you feel better about it if you had the option of being published in both formats? A lot of e-publishers offer print-on-demand contracts to their successful authors to add an extra layer to their sales, which will still give you the opportunity of holding that book you’ve sweated over for so long in your own two hands.
I guess it comes down to how much you believe the trends are really changing. Do you believe e-books are really the wave of the future? Will electronic publishing and the evolution of its technology stand the test of time, and the fickle nature of the readers?
26 comments:
If the technology revolution gets new readers reading and makes reading accessible and cool for the young'uns, then more power to eBooks. Personally speaking, print books are here to say. There are plenty of us who like to touch, smell, see, and hear (the sound of) new books to kill off the print publications.
My house is also piled high with books so that ebooks are the only option for further expansion.......don't anyone dare suggest throwing some away!
I like paper versions of those really special books that I would want on my desert island but am happy with ebooks for the rest.
For me the biggest advantage of digital is the audio or text to speech option. This allows me to listen to books while travelling in the car. It also allows me to listen to bodice ripping romance on the train without getting funny looks from other passengers.They can't see the lurid cover and I just smile serenely as the heat reaches stellar intensity......ussualy leaves me in a good mood when I get to work. *g*
In research for a similar article I wrote, I found that one of the major universities in Texas got rid of the traditional library (donated the books) and replaced them with computer terminals. I think perhaps our generation will never comfortably turn first to ebooks over print, but the generation growing up now, who will soon see their textbooks in Ebook format, customized to suit thier teacher's specific course, will, especially once the price of ebook reader equipment finally comes down to a realistic level. Until then, I read on my laptop.
I think maybe I'm still of the mentality that I need mass market... at least for my para historicals. For my contemps... Hell yeah... I'm targeting ebook publishers.
Right now I don't have a reader to easily view digital books. [I will soon] so mostly--they are bought and I just leave them in an ebook file in my computer.
I don't mind critting 300 pages... but reading it... takes me a very very long time.
Kris, I love the smell of a book too.
Oh-- duh to me-- great first blog with VV.
Keira, I don't see the print book dying out completely anytime soon either, but I think that the trend is steadily heading toward the e-book. Less paper waste, less overhead costs, etc.
Quantum, nice to see you here! I was skeptical, but now I love e-books, and the advantages that an e-reader can give you. Being able to have an infinite number of books at your fingertips wherever you happen to be with the benefit of a computerized brain. If I read something a month ago, and all I remember is a key word or phrase, and I want to find what book it was in, or what page it was on, I can just search it and, ta da!
Cat!! Thanks so much for stopping by. I think you're absolutely right that the next generation are going to be the ones who use e-formats for most of their reading. But as writers, we not only have to adjust our writing style to fit our target audiences sometimes, we will have to now anticipate the format that will be most available to our readers.
Tiffany, you're the one who has done the research to find out what publisher will best fit your work, and if you think that at this point you've still got to go with mass market, then more power to you!! I know you'll make it!
I don't own a device and probably won't unless someone gives me one for Christmas! But I do think e-publishing is not only the wave of the future, but the future is here right now. As a writer I'm thrilled that other writers are published in e-format, since breaking into print is still so difficult. Which is not to say that e-pubs take any old thing---you know I've been rejected twice, LOL.
And the convenience of scratching that itch at midnight to read an erotic short (not that I have, mind you---WANT TO MAKE THAT PERFECTLY CLEAR) makes the whole thing irresitible!
But I'll be the one browsing in the Large Type section of the public library! I need to crack the spines and drool on the covers.
Congrats on the great first post, Kris!
Great blog, Kris!! You know, before reading this blog and your comments, I really wouldn't have considered jumping into this world of e-books but three very good points were made.
1. Saving space - I, just like most of you, are being overrun with books. I will not give them up or away when they are favorites and almost always re-reads.
2. Searching text for verbage or a favorite character. I'm like you... I can barely remember a snippet of conversation or a character's name but can't place the book. If I could do a search and find on my computer that would be heaven.
3. Large print! If I could get an e-reader that was the size of a paperback book and I could adjust the size of the print I would also be in reader heaven. (You're not the only one searching out the Large Print at their library, Maggie!)
Just imagine getting on a plane, going to the beach, etc. and having a little computer device instead of 5 or 6 cumbersome paperbacks or, God forbid, a hardcover! LOL It would definitely make travelling with my favorite books a lot easier.
Great first blog, J.K.!
I, too, love the smell of books. It's up there with other great aromas: chocolate, freshly shaven men, roses. And I love opening and reading the pages of a book.
But I have done some e-books, too usually short stories. I'm definitely buying yours when they are released.
I think that there'll also be the combination of paper and technology. I think people as much as they love new, innovating things, also want and like the comfort of the old.
Well, I do anyway. *g*
Well, considering I boxed up a huge Pampered Chef box with books I haven't read or don't plan to read, et al--and I hardly made a DENT in my bookshelf, sure, I imagine, e-books are in my future.
Reasons why I wouldn't:
1.) I love the feel of paperback books in my hand. I only have to flip it open to my bookmark and pick up reading again. I suspect the other thing has to be charged or kept full of fresh batteries. If anyone's tried to reach me by cellphone, you can sense why this gadget is probably not for me.
2.) I take my books to the bathtub with me. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be electrocuted, or if not that, I don't want to destroy my brand new Kindle because I love reading in the bathtub. I doubt they're water proof. (This also makes me think they're not really beach-handy either. I bet sand doesn't help them either.)
3.) On a train, plane, or automobile, I can see them sorta handy. Readable even. Though whenever I get to a particularly funny part...or when something is revealed, I go, "Hey, didn't they say something earlier?" and I flip back to where I thought I saw it and read that part again. OR if I want to look at something funny again and share with a friend, I can do that. Can I do that with the Kindle? It doesn't seem the same.
Reasons Why I Should Consider:
1.) Go Green. Obviously it would be my little help with the environment and wouldn't require any real effort on my part.
2.) In theory, this would be CHEAPER. If they're not putting it on paper, et al, we shouldn't be charged as much, right?
3.) Space. Obviously I don't have the space for all these books. THOUGH, how many books can go on a Kindle; and when I fill them up, do I have to buy a new Kindle? If the Kindle breaks or crashes, do I have to "re-buy" all those books again, sort of like I'd have to buy all those books again if they burnt up in a fire? (Incidentally, will there be insurance I can buy for my digital books in case this happens?)
I don't know. I'm Amish. I don't see myself converting anytime in the next 10-15 years. I prefer books.
I'm a book-book girl. Though I think I have five or six e-books in my computer, I've yet to read them all the way through. I did see one of those Sony Readers and if I could afford it, it would become a consideration.
We need to face reality here. We are a *stuff* society. Many people live with the mentality "Whoever dies with the most crap wins." Not sure what they win and since you can't take it with you, seems silly. But that doesn't change the fact.
We like to acquire things. Things we can hold in our hands. That's going to be the biggest challenge for e-publishers to overcome.
That said - I'm totally buying your books as soon as they're released. *g* Great blog!
I'm really tempted to get an e-book reader. Like Hellion says, the idea of having such a compact library appeals to me. It's getting to the point where everytime I buy a book, I have no idea where I'll actually put the darn thing. But I also have a paper-and-print fetish that would be hard to replace.
As for the bathtub - I read a really great suggestion somewhere - put the ebook reader in a gallon-size ziploc. You can see through the bag and press the buttons, but the reader is safe from splashes. And that's one trick that would not work with a real book!
Great blog, J.K. - this is such a hot topic lately.
Though I'll always love print books, I have become a huge fan of eBooks over the last year - for all the reasons everyone has stated. Plus I think many epublishers are offering unique & different stuff from what you can find in print and are better about taking chances on new authors.
I also think epubs have a lot to offer authors - the process is faster so you make money sooner. It can't offer the distribution of traditional publishing, but it can bring you to a different audience - which is why even some successful NY authors have turned to it.
Fran, you can take your Kindle (or other eBook reader) in the bath - just put it in a ziplock bag, and you can still read & work buttons. I really want an eBook reader, but I'm waiting for something cheaper and that can read more formats.
Okay, I know this is way off in the future, but IF this is the way media is going, what's to keep authors from launching their download sites and bypassing the publisher altogether? I mean, you have some authors who are established and don't need a lot of heavy editing anyway--what IF they decided to move to e-publishing and let you pay for books through paypal or something--and cut out the middleman altogether?
I realize on the likelihood of this, this falls into the .5% category, but it IS possible.
Also, would RWA have to open back their stance about e-books and stuff? They don't seem to rate e-books as highly as "real published" books.
I think the Kindle and other book "holders" of this kind are for people who enjoy their blackberries.
I don't even have a blackberry. (Go back to comment where I can't even keep my cellphone charged.)
I'm pretty wretched with technology (see my latest blog). Don't have an I-pod. Like Hellion, my cell phone is usually dead. DVD player hasn't been hooked up since we moved here two years ago. I was the one with 12:00 flashing on the VCR. Right now I don't need to take advantage of all the bells and whistles out there. I was pleased to read Angelina Jolie does not know how to turn on her computer. So, eat my dust, Angie.
*LOL* I don't have an iPod either! Yeah, I'm going to stand over here next to Maggie where we can be retro together.
Really? Angie doesn't? God, now I feel all superior. Is this what she feels like all the time? Hmm.
I can remember the day not really so many years ago that I insisted I would never learn to use a computer. Now I spend much of my time working or playing on one. So while I can't imagine ever giving up my paper books, I do think an e-reader is in my future. One thing I find very appealing is the closer-to-instant gratification ebooks offer. No more hitting evrey bookstore in three cities trying to find the books I want or ordering online and waiting and waiting.
Funny that I now feel superior because my cell is always charged and I own an iPod. LOL! Who'd a thunk it could be so easy?!
Fran, I wonder about whether publishers could be removed as the middleman as well. If eBook really take off, it will eliminate one of the biggest advantage print publishers offer - distribution.
But there's still the issue of legitimacy, I guess. The market is already pretty flooded. If everyone starts self-publishing, I think it people will be looking for a way to separate the quality stuff from the masses.
Though some authors are moving towards using OOP stuff or rejected books as free reads for fans, so this is definitely a possibility.
Right. That's publishers big selling point now, isn't it? They're more LEGITIMATE than Publisher B, who only sells e-books...or whathaveyou. It's a popularity contest again.
Hellion, we can form our own society, the Luddites of Love. I really do think all the gizmos are great, but they have no apparent use in my life at the moment. I did have a carphone though when they first came out, did a lot of business calls as a Realtor. I'd bring my laptop and do a market analysis or property search right then and there, feeling very cutting edge. My edge has gotten pretty dull, though.
The more ways you can deliver books to readers benefits everyone, although there will certainly be piracy issues over downloading just as there are with music/movies.
though I'd like a reader (because I long ago ran out of places to put my books. I am scary with technology. like a jinx scary!
This is such a great topic. Forgot to say I love reading short stories e-format. you can usually do it in one sitting. I'm not the fastest of readers so long books make me hesitate.
Wow, everyone had some really great comments while I was gone--damn day job!!
I guess we can all agree that paper printed books aren't going to disappear into the ether anytime soon, but it's good to have an alternative as well.
We could all do with some more ways to save time, money, space and our natural resources.
Post a Comment