The e-Fiction Book Club has very kindly let me guest-blog with them. Jump across to that wonderful site and see what I had to say about opting for electronic publishing for my upcoming novel TimeSplash.
While you’re there, why not browse the site? In a world where mainstream reviewers still won’t review anything but paper, e-Fiction Book Club is providing a great service to people who want to see reviews of e-books.
3 comments:
Hi Graham! I found your contribution to e-Fiction Book Club very useful.
One question though, if it's not too personal for you - did you have to pay anything to get your book published online?
I can relate to your enthusiasm about technology and participating in innovating tendencies, however the thing that holds me back is that I don't like reading a book online and printing it myself on several A4 pages doesn't seem very handy to do.
The point is - I don't believe people prefer to read a book on screen, rather than on paper. Even being cheaper... Personally it hurts my eyes and I loose focus, and people I talk to say the same.
Can you show some light on this confused thoughts of mine? :)
Hi Note to self (mind if I just call you Note?). There's lots in here, so excuse me if I ramble at length.
Firstly, no, I didn't pay anything. Electronic publishing these days is exactly like print publishing. The legitimate publishers pay the writer, never the other way around. What's more, they provide all the publishing services for free (like editing, design, cover art, formatting, distribution, and so on.) There are plenty of companies willing to take your money to publish your book, either in print or electronically, and plenty of do-it-yourself options, but I have a very traditional arrangement with my publisher. I write the book, they buy the rights, they publish the book, they pay me royalties on sales.
As for reading on screen, I quite agree with you that it doesn't suit a lot of people. What will make e-books really take off is when more people start using handheld e-book readers, like the Sony Reader, the Borders Nook, and the Amazon Kindle. These devices use a screen technology called e-ink which is completely flicker-free and very much like reading print. They are small (about the size of a paperback) and light (lighter than a paperback) and easy to use. You really should try one.
I bought my first Kindle just a few weeks ago. Now my wife, who always said she loved the feel and smell of books so much she couldn't live without them, will only read on the Kindle. She hogs it all the time, and says she never wants to buy a paper book again! I think I might have to get a second Kindle just so I can get a go!
If you are interested in this kind of thing, I talk much more about writing and publishing on my other blog
http://grahamstorrs.cantalibre.com/
Maybe I'll see you there.
Thanks Graham,
You can call me Vanessa. Will have a look into it.
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