Well that was a pleasant change. Just been interviewed about eBooks which was cool because it made me think about them again. To be honest I think pretty much the same as I did before: that they’re a great idea with tons of potential, that they can exist alongside actual, physical books, but they need to be cheaper, the electronic readers need to be cheaper and the titles should be available in a format that one can download from any retailer and onto whichever reading device they own.
Of course I’m paraphrasing. What I mean is, they should be more like MP3s and MP3 players.
I will let you know if/when the interview goes to print.
But in the meantime I’d love to know what you all think…
Well, as someone who's just read an entire novel on my computer screen – it's not a good thing for the eyes! But, interestingly, at a big dinner on New Year's Eve, many of thte guests – not what you would call overtly booky types either – no read novels on kindles/Sony Readers etc. They were completely converted.Has got me thinking about buying one…though maybe not just yet.
Im so ignorant about these things – I almost feel I ought to leave it to ye publishers.but one thing does concern me – I want to get paid if my work is bought, via any means… and I worry that I wont be.
Hope it gets published, Nik, I'd love to read it.
My partner has just bought a sony reader. And he is hooked. the thing is, he has never read a book before and now he is 3/4 of the way through war of the worlds. (I'm so proud)I think it is a great thing if it can bring books into someones life and inspire people to start reading but i agree that the system needs to be looked at. It is expensive considering that the publisher has far less overheads to produce an e-book with all that paper that hasn't been used. I think that saving should be passed on to the reader with no loss to the writers.. but just like MP3s could they be open to piracy? With the Sony reader you can share any book with 5 friends. thats 5 people who could have bought the book.
Although I'm a devote book lover, I must admit I love gadgets, too. I don't have an ebook reader — yet– but I do like the ones I've seen. Everyone I know who has one loves it. For me , it's probably just a matter of time before I have one, too. But I of course agree w/Vanessa. Oh, to be paid for my work!
Interesting thoughts folks.Of course I'm assuming all authors would be paid as they should be.Interesting to hear that non-readers are reading as a result – that's not something I really thought would happen on a large scale.Nik
Must admit I love my Sony Reader and now read a huge amount of novels on it – fabulous for holiday packing! Also my ebooks have brought in more royalties than any of their corresponding paper versions, so I'm happy with the concept. :)) Axxx