News and Updates
Thursday June 11th 2009 - 08:52 AM
My Kindle 2 arrived this week, so I am beginning my much contemplated transition to ebooks. I have about a thirty foot wall covered from floor to ceiling with books, and they just keep pumping out new ones all the time. I know that I could just trade them in or sell them, but what can I say, I`m a collector. Nevertheless, there is only so much space in the world, and I feel that it`s time to make the leap to digital.
It`s my opinion that ebooks are the way of the future, and that we will eventually receive all of our books, magazines, and newspapers digitally. How soon will this transition take place? Don`t panic...I think we are ten to fifteen years away from seeing the ebook dethrone the paperback novel, but I think this is an inevitability. The digital revolution is already imminent in the music industry (thanks to the mp3), and I predict that television and movies will eventually be digitally streamed on demand as well. By "on demand", I mean that you won`t watch your favorite show Thursdays at 8:00, instead you will merely select the show you want and choose from available episodes to be streamed to your TV. So, if this is happening in all other entertainment mediums, why not the publishing industry as well?
A fellow writer and I had an interesting discussion the other day about this topic, and one question he had was how people would find new books and authors in this new ebook world when there is no bookstore to browse. My thoughts are that finding new books and authors will largely depend on software functionality such as Amazon`s ratings, reviews, and recommended items. This brought up another interesting point. Traditionally, the books that catch your eye at Barnes and Noble are from major publishing houses, but this isn`t always the case on Amazon. I find that the books that are often recommended to me by Amazon are a blend of both traditionally published and self-published. So, in the future, will being published with a major publishing house make all the difference or will success be based solely on the quality of your book, regardless of the source?
Another question - will ebook readers like the Kindle be the devices used to read the majority of ebooks? My thoughts are that there will be a certain amount of time that dedicated ebook readers will be prevalent, but they will ultimately be replaced by all-in-one devices. Basically, ebooks on your phone/mini-laptop. Note that you can already read Kindle books on the iPhone. The main barrier to this is obviously screen size. I have read books on my phone (AT&T Tilt) and it was ok, but not nearly as enjoyable as the Kindle.
The digital revolution is not going to make the book extinct, as some fear. It`s important to remember that it`s still a "book" whether it`s on a Kindle or on paper. The important thing is the knowledge and story within the words, not the medium in which it is presented. We began writing on stone tablets, then parchment, then with a typewriter, and now with a computer. This is just the nature of the world, and as the world evolves, we must evolve with it...or become extinct.
It`s my opinion that ebooks are the way of the future, and that we will eventually receive all of our books, magazines, and newspapers digitally. How soon will this transition take place? Don`t panic...I think we are ten to fifteen years away from seeing the ebook dethrone the paperback novel, but I think this is an inevitability. The digital revolution is already imminent in the music industry (thanks to the mp3), and I predict that television and movies will eventually be digitally streamed on demand as well. By "on demand", I mean that you won`t watch your favorite show Thursdays at 8:00, instead you will merely select the show you want and choose from available episodes to be streamed to your TV. So, if this is happening in all other entertainment mediums, why not the publishing industry as well?
A fellow writer and I had an interesting discussion the other day about this topic, and one question he had was how people would find new books and authors in this new ebook world when there is no bookstore to browse. My thoughts are that finding new books and authors will largely depend on software functionality such as Amazon`s ratings, reviews, and recommended items. This brought up another interesting point. Traditionally, the books that catch your eye at Barnes and Noble are from major publishing houses, but this isn`t always the case on Amazon. I find that the books that are often recommended to me by Amazon are a blend of both traditionally published and self-published. So, in the future, will being published with a major publishing house make all the difference or will success be based solely on the quality of your book, regardless of the source?
Another question - will ebook readers like the Kindle be the devices used to read the majority of ebooks? My thoughts are that there will be a certain amount of time that dedicated ebook readers will be prevalent, but they will ultimately be replaced by all-in-one devices. Basically, ebooks on your phone/mini-laptop. Note that you can already read Kindle books on the iPhone. The main barrier to this is obviously screen size. I have read books on my phone (AT&T Tilt) and it was ok, but not nearly as enjoyable as the Kindle.
The digital revolution is not going to make the book extinct, as some fear. It`s important to remember that it`s still a "book" whether it`s on a Kindle or on paper. The important thing is the knowledge and story within the words, not the medium in which it is presented. We began writing on stone tablets, then parchment, then with a typewriter, and now with a computer. This is just the nature of the world, and as the world evolves, we must evolve with it...or become extinct.