E-Readers (Kindle, Nook, using iPad for reading) yay or nay

if the cost of things is what the creator thinks they're worth, and not what buyers think they're worth, then most books will cost thousands (if not millions) or dollars

of*

freelance editors/marketers + self publishing will prob become more common

if the cost of things is what the creator thinks they're worth, and not what buyers think they're worth, then most books will cost thousands (if not millions) or dollars

I don't think the cost of things should be what the creator thinks they are worth, not by a long stretch.

Like if you worked on something 5+ years, would you really want to sell it for 99 cents?

if i could sell 10x as many of them id be overjoyed to, itd be interesting to see what falling prices would to to volume of sale

right if I were an author I would just want to make as much money as possible, if that meant selling my book at 10 cents, who cares

also getting it into as many peoples hands as possible, like would you take a 50% cut in profits if five times as many people read yr book, prob worth it from a career and personal satisfaction standpoint

lol 'personal satisfaction standpoint' get me to a ted conference asap people

not 50%

This writer has some interesting things to say re: 99 cent ebooks

http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2011/03/some-things-that-need-to-be-said.html

Which brings me to another point. As much as my name has been thrown about, I haven't seen J. L. Bryan's name mentioned. He's the author of a fantastic young adult paranormal romance called Jenny Pox. Like my books, his is priced at $.99 EDIT: It's $2.99 now. But it was $.99 earlier. Like me, he has several other titles out. Also, like me, he has paperback versions of his book available and he reaches out to book bloggers. In fact, he just did an intensive blog tour for the release of his latest book The Haunted E-book. I even included an excerpt of Jenny Pox at the end of my book Ascend, because I like his writing so much, and I want other people to read it.

With all of that said, Bryan sells less books than I do. I don't know how many exactly, because I haven't asked, but I can tell from his rankings that it's not as many.

What's my point in all of this? By all accounts, he has done the same things I did, even writing in the same genre and pricing the books low. And he's even a better writer than I am. So why am I selling more books than he is? I don't know.

That's the truth of it. Nobody knows what makes one book a bestseller. Publishers and agents like to pretend they do, but if they did, they would only publish best sellers, and they don't.

blog tour

xp I actually haven't jailbroken my iOS 5.0.1 yet as there's nothing non-approved at the moment that I want (that will change as soon as someone finds a reliable way to use Siri on pre-4S devices though). I'm fine with paying $1.99 for some awesome apps that are better than the boxed software they used to sell for PCs and Macs for $50 or $200. Something like Instagram would never have legitimately sold for pocket change in the old days.

Makes me wonder if 99-cent books would ultamately make more money for the publishers because anyone with even a passing interest would download the book.

eh publishers aren't dead cause that woman sold a buncha ebooks, they're dead cause they don't have a unique service to offer anymore.

i know i am an immoral barbarian for pirating 99¢ apps, tho tbf many ipad apps are as much as $20!

also most apps are shit and youre all welp there goes another dollar, and tbqh im just habituated to never paying for anything that goes on a computer

I know this has been said before, but my only problem with e-readers is if they replace the book, they will replace the bookshelf. Already we're seeing CD and DVD racks banished from living rooms, and soon there'll be no way of expressing individualism through taste. I guess you can learn a lot about a person through what they read, watch and listen to - the bookshelf can become a talking point or the root of a common interest - especially for fellow literature/music geeks. I guess some people will be like "Hey, who cares? I'm not fussed about displaying my tastes, and I'm not interested in others", but I think it's a shame that all this extra-personal information could one day disappear from homes to be replaced with a list of favourites on Facebook or whatever. Taken to its logical conclusion, the advent of the e-reader and the death of the book means there'll never be an "Oh man, you like [insert author/musician/director] too?" moment.

bookshelves are visually v nice too, give off great vibes

on the other hand books r heavy when u move

fb etc. is prob already the primary way people do that

it's easier than ever to 'display your personal brand'

lol the whole displaying your taste aspect of physical book ownership is the worst part! it stresses me out.

totally^^^

but I love looking at people's bookshelves! :/

Just ask me what I like.

yes, then i can lie and pretend to have higherbrow reading habits than i actually do

But I want to see stuff you might not have liked a lot or stuff you havent read yet!

i mean, i don't have an ereader and i adore physical books; i'm just saying

maybe it's from going to a library science grad program but i think people who fetishize books as objects are weird. i love reading, don't care that much about books.

yeah, i love having a nose about people's bookshelves (and formerly cd racks). It definitely tells you a lot about a person than someone simply listing "Donnie Darko, A Secret History, dubstep" as their "Favourites" online. And book spines look lovely.

http://david-smith.org/blog/2011/12/17/estimating-kindle-sales

there was a guy on telly last night talking about "The Death Of The Book" and how he thought it definitely won't ever happen, but he wasn't very convincing.

was he strictly defining "book" as the physical object?

yeah

i love reading, don't care that much about books.

I love reading, but don't see the big deal people are making about e-readers. Yeah they are convenient and all, I can see them being cool on vacation. . . but a physical book works fine, I don't see that changing any time soon. E-readers seem too weird (for me) to read on, there's just something about the one page at a time, waiting to flip back and forth that seems alien to me. I don't make a fetish out of my book love, but I do enjoy the feel and ease of reading one.

I also think it's good to have options for reading, and if people want to use ereaders, fine by me, and I think it's cool if people are super into them or whatever.

I don't think physical books are going anywhere anytime soon.

i have you used one tho

not sure where that 'i' came from ~ihave~

Yup!

he was being asked why he believed the book wouldn't be replaced by an e-reader and his response was "I've been to lots of lectures talking about 'The Death Of The Book' and the more I attend, the less I'm convinced it will happen" and then he immediately said "What we're seeing is that most people are using both books and e-readers; so what this means is we're at a transitional stage where people like one and the other".

ok fine i swear every time i hear someone bitching abt how ereaders are an inferior experience to books theyve never actually like read a book on one xp

I feel like my "bitching" on this thread is coming off too harsh then. Sorry!

I don't own an e-reader, but I'd like to try one out before laying money down really. I get the whole "ease" thing. I find myself distracted incredibly easily while reading, so if I find the e-reader off-putting, that could ruin things for me. There's definitely a parallel with the ease that comes from choosing a record and physically putting a needle on it as it spins vs selecting from an mp3 playlist and choosing a book from the shelf and flicking to the right page vs selecting from a list of e-books and reading them off your reader.

Plus sides:
- no noisy turning of pages in bed
- less heavy to hold and carry (especially if it's a big book you'd like to read in bed)

Down sides:
- you can't physically see how far into the book you are
- flicking back and forth for things isn't quite a simple
- pictures? y/n?

I feel like my "bitching" on this thread is coming off too harsh then. Sorry!

― flexidisc, Wednesday, December 21, 2011 11:56 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Permalink

lol not its not at all, i was just speaking generally

you can't physically see how far into the book you are

can be argued to be a good thing, adds another dimension to books when you don't know when they'll end

- you can't physically see how far into the book you are

The Nook has a counter that says you are on page X of Y.

- pictures? y/n?

depends entirely on the book; the Nook can support them

kindle tells you how far you are through the book proportionally. graphic representations (maps, photos, etc.) are a weakness of the kindle, they're going to be black and white and pretty small.

never heard of the nook. is that US only? Anyone who knows about these things have a preference of make/model of e-reader?

it would be great to see one that can handle graphic novels in the future

the problem w/images is it seems like b&w eink is really the best for reading text where a conventional led display is best for images

Nook is the Barnes & Noble e-reader:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208/

I have a Nook Color; the tablet is brand new afaik

it would be great to see one that can handle graphic novels in the future

funny you should say this, they just added Marvel comics/graphic novels to the Nook

Anyone who knows about these things have a preference of make/model of e-reader?

I have a sony, will have a go with my dad's kindle over the weekend, i figure they're all much of a muchness though.

E-book readers have one critical advantage for me: easy, free access to classic or public domain literature. There are around 150 titles on my Kindle, only 10 of which under modern copyright. The would have cost a minimum of $1000 if purchased used, with another $150 for shelving, a move to larger quarters to find another free wall to store them all.

Still prefer traditional books for 90% of my reading, as used book shopping has never been easier, or cheaper (in time & fuel).