What an oblique subtitle for this post. Allow me to explain. We live in an era of digital devices, digital storage and social media. We live in a time partly created by science fiction. Before there were shuttles and rockets, there was science fiction. Before there was computers and gps, there was science fiction. And before there were eReaders, there was science fiction. And soon I will bring us back to the subtitle of this post.

There has been a huge shift in the last two years when Amazon with great marketing know-how managed to sneak the Kindle into the public consciousness. Before 2008 ereaders had been around in a great many forms for about 15 years. But it was a bit of inspiration, design and a juggernaut of online retail that pushed a new device into our every day lives. Now you can’t go a day without hearing something about the Kindle device, and unfortunately there are so many that have taken to calling eReaders in general, Kindles. The same way Ipods have become synonymous with Mp3 Player, overtaking the category and the same way Kleenex took over the word tissue. A bit of branding brilliance that has really managed to push public conversation about an brand almost synonymous with the object. Who actually refers to searching the internet as anything, but “googling” something?

The eReader is a really exciting device (scary and annoying to some) that changes the way we acquire books and the way we read books, if only a little bit. I for one support this shift for a great many reasons, though most of them come from the publishing side of the equation. And while you can debate how green eReaders are not compared to paper, you can’t argue about not having to deal with shipping, warehouse space, returns on inventory, speed of dissemination and a host of other concerns publishers must deal with.

I do think there are a great many problems with the current market model. I think Amazon is taking advantage of publishers, but in truth I think there are a great many things publishers were doing that were not exactly top of the line practices to begin with. It’s a mire down there and I’m not going that far. Where I am going is the place where the author and reader meet. The author and reader relationship has been a distant one at best and in some aspects that’s a good thing, I’m not sure I want a hive mind telling me how to write my novel. However, the opportunities that such quick and easy distribution have for young authors is outstanding.

Imagine writing a novel, really spending some time with it. Revising it through three-five drafts, giving it to a few people to really edit it to a great book. Getting it out there immediately and taking home what little you can make off it all on your own. Are there ways to make a bigger name for yourself that way? Yes, if you are a savvy self-marketer, but again I’m straying.

In terms of this whole eReader debate I think there is room for both the device and the book. Just this last week Amazon announced it had sold more ebooks than it did hardcovers within the last quarter. Something like 143 ebooks to every 100 hardcovers. This is not surprising considering the price of each in this economy, but imagine what that is doing to our societal consciousness. The fact that we are reading more on little electronic devices than we may be on paper is mind boggling. And in truth to me it’s exciting merely for the potential opportunities it provides. Hell, in the future when I need to move my book collection I can simply transport a device that weighs less than a pound, done. There’s a larger more traceable audience out there than we could ever see before and for writers and publishers, I think it’s a great thing. As a reader I think it’s great for a couple reasons

  1. I have access from my favorite reading chair to a host of books I can buy, borrow or download for free. In most cases I can’t share them yet, but that will eventually come, too.
  2. It allows me to stop every little while as I am reading and realize, with a smile on my face, that not only am I holding a datapad (especially if we consider Ipads) from StarTrek in my hand, but I am also holding the most important item I ever wanted as an adolescent teen. The all-knowing Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Yep, now the subtitle makes sense to you sci-fi fiends. It’s this very moment that makes me sad that Douglas Adams is no longer alive to see an eReader. (*Wikipedia)

How do you sit on the eReader debate? What do you like/dislike? What are your predictions for reading in the future? Would you come to the “book store” that Gabe and I will eventually open?

Related Posts with Thumbnails