When people ask me if my books will be available in print, and I say no, they often offer condolences. Despite the success of e-readers and the proliferation of incredibly successful e-books, it’s still viewed as a publishing consolation prize.
Personally, I don’t want my books available in p-book form. Traditional, physical books are appropriate for some genres, such as cooking and gardening books with lots of pictures, however I feel they are completely unnecessary for at least 80% of books on the market.
I’d like to discuss the pros of e-books, and why they are, in my opinion, far superior to their ancestors:
– E-books are better for the environment. E-books (and e-newspapers) don’t just save the trees they would have been printed on. They also save the fuel it would take to get the books to stores, the packaging (boxes and plastic) required to ship them, the power needed to light the bookstore to sell them, the energy required to run the printing presses and so on! As beautiful as printed books are, unless they are from a library and being read over and over, it’s a huge waste of natural resources.
– It requires less effort to acquire an e-book. You don’t have to waste fuel and time driving to a store. You can buy an e-book by taking your e-reader out of your purse, or logging on to your computer at home. In the time it takes you to stand in line at a bookstore, waiting for a retailer to ring it up on the register, you could buy six books online and have them already downloaded on your e-reader!
– Font sizes for everyone! I find it hard to read paperback books for long periods. Because my vision isn’t great, the regular text size gives me a headache. Being able to adjust the text size makes reading so much easier!
– Physical comfort. I can read an e-reader one handed, in any standing, sitting or lying position I like, regardless of how long the novel is. There is no battling to get comfortable with a neck or arm cramp like I do with trade paperbacks or hard covers.
– Easier on the wallet. E-books are much cheaper, without taking money away from the author and publisher. Anyone who doesn’t get excited that a price is going down somewhere can give me all their spare money.
However a pro list wouldn’t be complete without a con list, so here are the downsides to e-books:
– Needles in haystacks. The poor quality of a lot of self-published e-books can make it tricky to find awesome things to read. Thankfully, a lot of online retailers let you read the first chapter free.
– No signed copies. We all secretly want signed copies of our favourite books, but there is still no way to sign an e-book. We can still get signed bookmarks, mouse pads or posters though!
– Bookshelves are lovely. I have gorgeous bookshelves and they are packed with thousands of books that I brought before 2010. I love looking at photos of houses with build in shelves and fancy libraries. E-books, however, can only live on virtual bookshelves.
– Not for everything. Things like cooking and gardening books do not translate well to e-book format. The idea of reading a how-to manual with diagrams on an e-reader still gives me a headache.
– E-readers run out of battery. Books never, ever run out of batteries.
– Technophobia. Lots of people aren’t using e-readers because they are technology phobic. As an author, I know there is a lot of people who won’t read my books because kindles and nooks scare them. However, those people are old. They won’t be with us forever.
– Piracy. It’s easier to pirate an e-book than steal a physical one. In the same way you can BUY a book without leaving the comfort of the couch, you can STEAL a book in the same way. However studies do show that people who pirate music spend more money on music than people who don’t. The same is probably true of book buyers/pirates.
Do you have thoughts or feelings on any of this? I’d love to hear from you. I am Zaide Bishop, an Australian romance writer and my first e-book is coming out on the 23rd of July. You can read more about it on my website: http://www.zaidebishop.com/
I also maintain a blog there, where I post weekly tips on how to make your life more romantic. Read on to find out more about my upcoming title.
It is the eve of the Longest Night. Eliza Baker and the rest of Lord Kempsly’s servants excitedly prepare for the lavish festival as their masters enjoy a head start on the debauchery that awaits. Eliza’s madly in love with Kell, a sweet, deliciously sexy guard. Kell returns her feelings, but is striving to make himself a worthy man before he asks Eliza’s father for permission to court her.
To keep the Demon of Winter at bay, an offering must be made during the festival. As the event begins, Lord Kempsly informs Kell that he’s offering a special sacrifice this year, and Kell must escort the girl who will offer up her maidenhood for the enjoyment of the crowd. Another guest will select the maiden, and Kell realizes to his dismay the guest is Lord Rakin, a rich and handsome rogue who has his eye on Eliza. But little do any of the men suspect the burgeoning desire the ceremony is awakening in Eliza…
RELEASE DATE: 23 July, 2012
Zaide is giving away a copy of Eliza’s Awakening. Leave a comment answering her question from above for a chance to win.
I agree on all points. Still prefer print books for almost every form of nonfiction, but the ease of buying or borrowing without having to drive somewhere… and being able to make the fonts bigger at night when the light is lower… and not discovering while on vacation that I hate every book I brought — life with an ereader is good!
I don’t think those environmental points get mentioned nearly enough. It’s not just the paper.
I love my e-reader and the convenience that buying books comes with it. I honestly think
I have tried more new authors because of this convenience.
Thanks for a great post and giveaway! I agree w/ you on all points. I’m about 50/50 right now with purchasing physical books and e-books. Not going to commit to just one right now 🙂
efender1(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Zaide
Always nice to read about e-books vs paper books.
I am an administrator and contributor to the book review site: The Reading cafe
thereadingcafe.com
E-book ARC and review copies are great for the website and reviewers. Their availability is almost instantaneous from author, publishers and on-line retail sites such as Amazon and KOBO etc.
And for all of the same reasons that you have listed. Environmentally friendly
BUT..we find that many of our members do NOT have an e-reader. We have suggested downloading KINDLE or KOBO for pc or MAC, but many do not have the system/computer upgrades. In this instance, paperbooks are still a necessity. Also, we found many of the ‘more mature’ readers, do not like technology (technophobe as you call it) and for some reason, an e-reader is new technology (thinks to self-what about the computer?)
I posted several articles regarding the e-reader vs paperbooks (last year on another review site), and although the paperbook is still popular, the e-reader is racing towards the head of the pack-slowly.
I have a KOBO, KOBO for ipad, Kindle for MAC, Kindle for ipad..needless to say, I have things covered.
sandy@thereadingcafe.com
I am addicted to the One-click buying option in the Kindle store. I just click that one button and my book is instantly downloaded to my Kindle. I love that instant gratification.
On the other hand, my Kindle is getting very slow. I’ve only had it for two years but I think it might be dying. This causes me great anxiety. I’ve gotten used to using my ereader. I wouldn’t want to give it up.
geishasmom73 AT yahoo DOT com
Good list of pros and cons. They do seem to run out of batteries pretty fast. I like that you can store a lot of books in one place.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
I think those are very valid points! For me, I try strike a balance between ebooks and pbs. ‘cuase I love both formats but being an international reader I do appreciate the immediacy of ebooks :d