My sister got a Kindle for Christmas, much to her surprise, and she loves it. Despite my successful book sales on the Kindle for the last six months, I hadn’t yet seen one up close. She gave me the honor of downloading my novels on her Kindle, for the first time I got to hold and play with the gadget.
I can see its appeal: lightweight, convenient, instant gratification. Faking It and Ordinary World appeared in minutes, despite the fact that my mother’s house had no wireless internet service! Whereas I had packed a travel suitcase full of books for my Christmas vacation, if I owned a Kindle, all I would have to do is make room in my purse. Nice.
There’s just one problem: I love books.
Tactile books, I mean. I love the feel of them in my hands. I love the sturdiness and elegance of a hardcover. I love the softness and flexibility of a paperback. I love smelling and touching the pages, waiting to turn each one, looking backwards to see how much I’ve read, and forward to see how much I’ve yet to read. I love a handsome cover.
I love bookstores too, especially the independent ones. Indie stores are owned and operated by booklovers, entrepreneurs who support local authors and their communities. I love bookstores with comfy chairs and small cafes built in. Bookstores, like libraries and college campuses, are happy places for me.
Here’s the other problem: I’m a Kindle Store bestseller.
I’m certain my success is due to the exceptionally low prices I set. I did so because as an unknown author I was more interested in readers than royalties. Without them, I couldn’t have any royalties in the first place. I wanted readers to take a chance on me. 99 cents was a low-risk way to do that. As sales numbers increased, so did my promotion. Word-of-mouth took over from there, and my books have been ranked in the Top 200 for four straight weeks, hitting the Top 10 in special categories (two of which have held #1 spots for the last month). However, I’d like to think that although the price is getting them in the door, the quality of the writing is keeping them inside. Faking It and Ordinary World have received positive reader reviews as well as high rankings.
Here lies the conundrum, the Catch 22. There’s no doubt that bookstores, especially the indies, are suffering at the hands of the Kindle and other e-readers, and we can’t afford to lose our bookstores. But as an independent author, I’m a bookseller, too. I’m making more money selling e-books than print books. Yet how can I turn my back on my beloved bookstores, and my beloved books? What’s more, how can I undercut my own books’ value (not to mention profits) by pricing them so low on Kindle? Doesn’t it hurt the book industry in general? But would I stand a chance otherwise? How do I co-exist as a booklover, a writer, an author, and a bookseller (aka businessperson) all at once? Moreover, can e-books and print books co-exist?
I think so. Kindle-lovers became such because they were book-lovers, first and foremost. This is the one thing that unites rather than divides us. E-readers are looking for book experiences as well as bargains. And the Kindle-owners I’ve talked to all say the same thing: they haven’t stopped buying (or adoring) their tactile books; they’re just supplementing (not substituting) the way they read them. Why not treat the e-book the way we treat the audiobook—just one more option to experience a story?
Rather than resist the shift in the publishing paradigm, publishers and booksellers need to embrace it. Barnes & Noble has their own e-reader called Nook, and some libraries offer Kindles for loan. There’s got to be a way for indie bookstores to get a piece of this as well. One way is to allow independent authors to upload their e-book files to an indie store’s website (on consignment, just as a brick-&mortar arrangement), where customers can purchase and download books directly from that site. I’m sure similar arrangements can be made with publishers as well.
I still make appearances at bookstores and champion the tactile book. I belong to a book club, and my bookcase runneth over. I also listen to audiobooks on my daily commute or on road trips, and I’m sure I’ll own an e-reader by the end of the year.
And, of course, I keep writing. I write because I love to do so.
Compact discs made vinyl records obsolete. iTunes and MP3s have been on the CD’s heels for years. But here’s the thing: Although digital music and file sharing took a bite out of the record business, it gave musicians, recording artists, and performers a chance to reach audiences that they’d never had before. And music-lovers became quite savvy in weeding through the bad to get to the good. Musical quality was still in demand, and musical appreciation did not suffer. What’s more, vinyl records are making a comeback for nostalgia’s sake, not to mention quality. Turntables are showing up on the shelves again.
The e-book does not have to spell the end of print books, nor does it have to spell doom for reading. If we all work together, we can pull through with our eye on what really matters: quality books and quality reading experiences. We can have our books and read them too, in any form we please.
Elisa Lorello attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where she recieved both her bachelor and master's degrees. She now lives in North Carolina where she teaches academic writing. In 2004, Elisa began her first novel, Faking It. Since then, Elisa has written a sequel, Ordinary World, and is currently co-writing a third novel.
I can see its appeal: lightweight, convenient, instant gratification. Faking It and Ordinary World appeared in minutes, despite the fact that my mother’s house had no wireless internet service! Whereas I had packed a travel suitcase full of books for my Christmas vacation, if I owned a Kindle, all I would have to do is make room in my purse. Nice.
There’s just one problem: I love books.Tactile books, I mean. I love the feel of them in my hands. I love the sturdiness and elegance of a hardcover. I love the softness and flexibility of a paperback. I love smelling and touching the pages, waiting to turn each one, looking backwards to see how much I’ve read, and forward to see how much I’ve yet to read. I love a handsome cover.
I love bookstores too, especially the independent ones. Indie stores are owned and operated by booklovers, entrepreneurs who support local authors and their communities. I love bookstores with comfy chairs and small cafes built in. Bookstores, like libraries and college campuses, are happy places for me.
Here’s the other problem: I’m a Kindle Store bestseller.
I’m certain my success is due to the exceptionally low prices I set. I did so because as an unknown author I was more interested in readers than royalties. Without them, I couldn’t have any royalties in the first place. I wanted readers to take a chance on me. 99 cents was a low-risk way to do that. As sales numbers increased, so did my promotion. Word-of-mouth took over from there, and my books have been ranked in the Top 200 for four straight weeks, hitting the Top 10 in special categories (two of which have held #1 spots for the last month). However, I’d like to think that although the price is getting them in the door, the quality of the writing is keeping them inside. Faking It and Ordinary World have received positive reader reviews as well as high rankings.
Here lies the conundrum, the Catch 22. There’s no doubt that bookstores, especially the indies, are suffering at the hands of the Kindle and other e-readers, and we can’t afford to lose our bookstores. But as an independent author, I’m a bookseller, too. I’m making more money selling e-books than print books. Yet how can I turn my back on my beloved bookstores, and my beloved books? What’s more, how can I undercut my own books’ value (not to mention profits) by pricing them so low on Kindle? Doesn’t it hurt the book industry in general? But would I stand a chance otherwise? How do I co-exist as a booklover, a writer, an author, and a bookseller (aka businessperson) all at once? Moreover, can e-books and print books co-exist?I think so. Kindle-lovers became such because they were book-lovers, first and foremost. This is the one thing that unites rather than divides us. E-readers are looking for book experiences as well as bargains. And the Kindle-owners I’ve talked to all say the same thing: they haven’t stopped buying (or adoring) their tactile books; they’re just supplementing (not substituting) the way they read them. Why not treat the e-book the way we treat the audiobook—just one more option to experience a story?
Rather than resist the shift in the publishing paradigm, publishers and booksellers need to embrace it. Barnes & Noble has their own e-reader called Nook, and some libraries offer Kindles for loan. There’s got to be a way for indie bookstores to get a piece of this as well. One way is to allow independent authors to upload their e-book files to an indie store’s website (on consignment, just as a brick-&mortar arrangement), where customers can purchase and download books directly from that site. I’m sure similar arrangements can be made with publishers as well.
I still make appearances at bookstores and champion the tactile book. I belong to a book club, and my bookcase runneth over. I also listen to audiobooks on my daily commute or on road trips, and I’m sure I’ll own an e-reader by the end of the year.
And, of course, I keep writing. I write because I love to do so.
Compact discs made vinyl records obsolete. iTunes and MP3s have been on the CD’s heels for years. But here’s the thing: Although digital music and file sharing took a bite out of the record business, it gave musicians, recording artists, and performers a chance to reach audiences that they’d never had before. And music-lovers became quite savvy in weeding through the bad to get to the good. Musical quality was still in demand, and musical appreciation did not suffer. What’s more, vinyl records are making a comeback for nostalgia’s sake, not to mention quality. Turntables are showing up on the shelves again.
The e-book does not have to spell the end of print books, nor does it have to spell doom for reading. If we all work together, we can pull through with our eye on what really matters: quality books and quality reading experiences. We can have our books and read them too, in any form we please.
Elisa Lorello attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where she recieved both her bachelor and master's degrees. She now lives in North Carolina where she teaches academic writing. In 2004, Elisa began her first novel, Faking It. Since then, Elisa has written a sequel, Ordinary World, and is currently co-writing a third novel.
8 comments:
Your words on the "demise" of the print industry echo my sentiments exactly. I think rather than killing print books, e-books will help them flourish.
I don't think we can really compare the book industry to the situation in the music industry, because music is sort of intangible anyway, whether you purchase a CD or a digital copy. Either way, it plays on your speakers, but you can never TOUCH music. I think books are a little different--the tactile aspects of reading are a part of the reading experience in a way that touching a CD is NOT part of the listening experience (at least not to most people, I'd bet).
So the analogy that digital music has killed the record industry (and good riddance, I say, musicians are making more money off of concerts anyway), doesn't really apply to e-books, in my opinion, although it certainly is heartening to see that musicians have begun to find a new business model that works just as well, if not better, than the old one.
I've bought more e-books this past year than physical books. But that doesn't mean I like e-books better.
I don't have a lot of room for physical books, so when I buy a physical book, I buy a book I want to keep.
Books that don't have a special place in my heart, I've always given away when I'm done. Books that are special to me stick around.
Being able to buy and read an e-book anywhere at anytime (and for an affordable price) is great. If anything, it makes me love physical books even more.
There are physical books I'll never part with: novels that mean so much to me; books from childhood I've held onto for years. There are books that are just information to me, and I buy those electronically. I can make notes without marking up a physical book and go straight to my notes. I love it.
I do think e-books will become the norm some day, but I think we'll always have a love for physical books. We may see fewer actual books printed, but the books that will be printed will be cherished perhaps even more than they are now.
I recently read a [physical] book I'd recommend to every book lover: Allison Hoover Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. It's a real-life story about a thief of rare books and a rare bookseller turned investigator out to catch the thief.
The author talks about e-books and physical books very briefly, and what she says about her teenage children--to me--sums up where we're going with e-books and physical books:
"They will have no objection to reading e-books. At the same time, though, I think that may strengthen their attachment to the physical books they do keep."
Excellent comments, Kelly-Lynn and Christopher (and thanks for the book recommendation!).
Kelly, print books are more tangible than a song, perhaps (or a story?) but CDs and vinyl albums were also tangible product, and in terms of the economic model, the music industry was quite similar.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
I think ebooks can compliment print books. And I don't feel they are the death of the industry, but they could help save the industry.
That being said, there are certain books that just need to be tangible. A goof fiction book, for instance, is better read in bed--under the covers. It's relaxing and takes you to another world and place. You don't get the same feeling if you read it online, via the computer.
Certain art books, also need to be in print because you reference them often and you can't always set a computer next to your work station.
But then there are great reasons for owning an e-booki. Convenience, less space, more cost effective.
I think, however, one problem is publishers trying to sell ebooks for same price they sell print books, or trying to sell ebooks just $2 cheaper than print books when they cost considerably less to create.
Another problem is the way the print industry is set up. The ability for retailers to return unsold books for credit is astonishing. How many sit in warehouses waiting to be sold?
Excellent insights, Elisa! I too have been curious about how books and ebooks will co-exist. I don't have a Kindle, but the unveiling of the iPad really sparked my interest! (Of course, most Apple products do that to me anyway.)
I've always loved books, but I've noticed that my interaction with them has changed. I started listening to audiobooks to make good use of commute time Now I find that I prefer them to printed books. It's more difficult for me to "just sit and read" like I used to, and an audio book allows me to do other things (drive, exercise, walk the dogs) while I'm reading. I'm guessing that future generations of readers will develop preferences that are different from ours. The social media culture is shaping us in ways we aren't fully aware of.
Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful post.
At first I vowed that I'd never buy an e-reader -- I love the feel of books, turning the actual page. But after going to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, I see that e-readers are definitely here to stay. And, I'm actually excited about having so much content at my fingertips. I also like the combo e-reader/notebook.
It's definitely complicated; if you say you only like books you come across as a Luddite but as you say Elisa if you only use e-books then what will happen to the book industry? Personally I separate computer-related stuff and books into work and personal; so far!
The point is very interesting.. actually if we try to read a book while sleeping we can do if we have a copy of book i.e paper book. In case of ebook we have to sit in front of PC or laptop. Ebooks can only be read in front of Laptop or PC but paper books can read anywhere anytime and any situation.
Regards
Steve Millard
steve.millard2@googlemail.com
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