Book Club discussion

Give us your thoughts on the mediums in general...


Are eBooks good for the industry or will this hurt us down the road?



Where do you think its all going and how are you embracing the technology?

Honestly, I haven't made room in my spending plan to buy an eReader (although I do read eBooks on my Palm when they're available in a compatible format) ... but I think they are going to be the wave of the future. For example, each child in a school could be issued an eReader already loaded with the texts for his or her classes, and have only one thing to carry instead of a backpack full of textbooks.

It's been a real boon to deployed soldiers who like to read, for much the same reason. They can carry a couple of hundreds novels in a small amount of space.

eBook sales are already starting to take over hardback sales; sometimes it's a matter of simple economics.

That's an excellent idea, Sharon. I received for this school year about college text in eFormat. I imagine applying it to the public education system would be beneficial, especially in high school. My oldest daughter had so little time during breaks, she just carried all her books around with her during the day.

As far as eBooks good for the industry, I don't see how it would hurt. eBooks are cheaper to produce and offer a greater profit margin. What business wouldn't want that?

I also think eBooks work in the author's favor. A lot of publishers offer higher royalties for eBooks. And for a self-published author this is a huge boon. Getting a book in print is costly. I notice many self-publish authors price their print books around $15. Yes, it's trade style, but still I'm reluctant to pay that price. Call me cheap, but I don't even like shelling that much out for a hardback. :) Any book over $10 and I serious start reassessing my choices. And just because it's in print costs more doesn't mean it'll be more profitable.

I think for business folks who don't embrace the technology, they'll lose a significant portion of the market. And for no good reason other than stubbornness. :)

Yes, Sharon and Reena are right - for academic purposes e-books are a boon. I remember hurting my shoulder carrying so many books around.

I've just had my novel published as an e-book. I didn't get an advance but I do get 40% royalties which I think is quite good.

Actually, the major publishers are only giving a 25% royalty on e-books right now, which is abysmal. I earn more from Smashwords on my short story anthologies, which are priced at $2.50 than I would on the same thing priced at the current agency pricing standard.

Too true, Susan, 25% is abysmal.

Even so 25% is a far better than the standard 6-12%.

I am going to comment here as a reader and not an author. As a reader, since I bought my Sony ereader a year ago, I have purchased more books this year than I have any other previous year, and I buy a lot of books. I read about 4 books a month average. Readers who buy more books make authors more money, and with some of the higher royalty rates on ebooks, authors might actually do better in the long run, so will publishers, but they seem not to see this for some reason.

Sure publishers have to recoup their costs because there is editing and cover design and formatting that goes into producing a decent looking ebook, but charging outrageous prices and giving authors paltry royalties isn't the way to deal with the costs of production.

I read a report in the Society of Authors magazine that the difference in costs to the publisher between ebooks and print was only 15% - i.e. the cost of printing and distribution. Books from reputable publishers still need the editing, the artwork, the formatting, the marketing, etc.

As an author of print and ebook formats, I think it will be a while before us authors make much money from ebooks. (Lol, I'm living in hope!) I also think that if we get more than 25-30% royalties, we're doing well.

As a reader, I agree with Cheryl. Since getting my ereader, I've purchased and read far more books than I have previously. I much prefer ebook to print format.

I love book kinds of books! I find that I like to hold and look at my pretty "traditional" books and I also find and ereader terribly convenient. It's nice to be able to have so many books and not take up shelf space. I also enjoy being able to take my whole libray with me somewhere, so I think ebooks will definitely become more popular in the future.

While I love holding books and physically flipping pages, realistically ebooks are an awesome choice for me - especially as I live in the middle of nowhere with no library access and limited choices at local bookstores. But I do have internet!!

In the education world, I think (I hope!) we'll see ebooks become more and more popular not just for handheld devices, but for SMART Boards, other interactive white boards, PC projectors, etc. It is one reason I recently published my children's book in a PDF format and so far I've gotten positive feedback from teachers about this.

As a writer the ebook has been a huge boon in getting published and getting my work read by people.
As a reader I was hooked the minute I saw the Kindle - I read so much that my reading budget was enormous but now I can afford twice as many books and they all sit in my handbag so I have my library with me constantly.

As for the publishing industry in general I think it will be the 'wave of the future', a bit like mobile phones. There was a time when no one had a mobile phone and now everyone [or practically everyone] has a mobile and feels lost without it.

Tracey, it's the same for me. I love my Kindle because now I can buy books at a decent price. As I don't live in an English-speaking country I had to pay an enormous amount in the local bookstore for books, or wait for ages for Amazon to ship. Now, the book I want comes in 2 seconds. Lovely. However, I'll never give up reading paper books, definitely - just fewer.
Sue

Have only just begun my journey into ebooks and so far I'm a convert, not suprising to me really though being something of a tech nerd. I find however that the convenience of ebooks to be the main selling point, if the book is bad simply delete unlike if a traditional novel is bad I have the effort of taking it to a second hand store or selling it on ebay (I loath the idea of just tossing out a book of any kind).
Converting to ebooks will give me a much wider range of reading also i imagine (the truth of this statement is yet to be shown). I will still definitely make traditional book purchases still, though they will tend to be more of books i have already read in ebook form and would like to own a traditional copy of, this has the effect of making me consider much more elaborate purchases of the books i do like. Bye Bye mass market paperbacks as the backbone of my collection I think.

One thing I've noticed of late is the number of people who are jumping from books published by big name authors by big publishing houses to us indie authors. They're saying the cost is a factor, but also, they aren't reading straight formula.

It's an interesting phenomenon. One that directly benefits me, sure, but is going to have HUGE ramifications on the publishing industry.

I thought I'd never say this, but I am liking ebooks a lot more than print book these days. Less bulky and convenient. However, I still haven't gotten my mind to believe that an ebook is worth the same as a print book. As a result, I just can't see myself paying the same amount for an ebook as I would for a print book.

I think that's one of the great selling points with most indie authors. Sure some of them price their books like traditional publishers. However, majority have settled at $0.99-4.99, which is right on target for my pocket book.

I am like Jacen. I can't through a print book away. I'm such a hoarder, I can't even make myself sell them. They sit on my bookshelves collecting dust. Maybe one day I'll give them away to the library or something.

I have yet to read an ebook, but whatever the technology I'm always a late adopter. I've finally gotten past the need to have a neat bookcase full of titles, and know the ability to run a search for a phrase in an ebook would be a plus (I assume that's supported). However, I doubt the experience of reading a hardcopy book could be matched with a battery-powered gadget.

Be that as it may, when my book comes out this year, I will most definitely make it available in ebook format for those who feel otherwise!

In a recent press release, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced that "...Kindle books have now overtaken paperback books as the most popular format on Amazon.com. Last July we announced that Kindle books had passed hardcovers and predicted that Kindle would surpass paperbacks in the second quarter of this year, so this milestone has come even sooner than we expected..."

As an author who's first novel came out in print last year, I'm kinda kicking myself that I chose print as the first option. But I'm working quickly to rectify the situation and should have it available as an eBook within the next two months.

As a reader, I've yet to take the plunge into the digital realm, but feel that it is inevitable for the reasons mentioned above. I also read in a recent blog post some of the interesting ways in which authors are starting to embrace technology and can offer greater value to the reader: http://www.selfpublishingreview.com/b...

My novel Shadow Cat has been in eFormat for about a month now. I've been dragging my feet with going to print. Finally decided to take the plunge two days ago with createspace and ordered my proof copies early this morning.

I have to say, formatting a book for eFormat is a lot simpler than formatting for print. If you have the digital file for your book, it'll probably only take an hour or two to reformat for digital. Likely, you'd only have to remove the headers since page numbers vary. Smashwords has an excellent free guide for formatting for eBooks. I use it for Kindle, Pubit, and Smashwords. The only changes I make is substitute Smashwords Edition for Kindle Edition in the front matter.

I mention this because it's more of a 1-3 hour just get it done kind of project rather than a 2 month long ordeal of scrambling. Or if you'd rather not do it, there are individuals who can provide the service for a small fee. Again, Smashwords can provide a list of authors who charge $25-45/hour.

Anyway, I don't see a problem with going with print first. I know some authors submit their print/eBooks at the same time. Typically, the only thing holding back the release to a print book is waiting for the proof copy to come through so the author can approve it for release.

I understand the convenience of eBooks and this is probably the only reason why it is upstaging the paperbacks and hardcovers. I am not against it because I have a few of my own, although I do not use it as much. eBooks will be a boon since people are always attracted to technology and whatever makes anything more convenient for them. Plus the fact that the world is fast-paced- eBooks get them results faster rather than ones in print... and yes, they are more easy to bring along.

However, I am more afraid that it is going to be a bane on tradition-on history of paper and bindings.

It is inevitable that eBooks will take over just like SMS, IM's and Emails have taken over human interaction and communication. I am not against it but I will always and forever opt a paperback. It's not only because of tradition but rather there is something about paper back/hardbound books that can never be experienced with kindle and whatever eBook reader available on the planet.

I might (okay, I will) sound sappy, mushy and probably whimsical but I cannot help it. There is something about a book when you get to hold its weight in your hand and then experience a weightlessness in you as you tread through the words of adventure. I do not mind the bulkiness because it only reminds me of the adventure that I will be embarking on.

Next, the smell and feel of paper...of books!! old or new --it's distinctive and heavenly! I know I might sound like somebody who regularly sniffs glue (I don't, honest!) but there is something about being able to smell the pages; watch as a tear slowly spreads through the sheet, staining the prose as you get over emotional with the story.

I don't know. Maybe I just consider reading as something that is an experience -more than just an intellectual one but a physical one. It's magic. Timeless. And only through the feel of paper flipping through my fingers; the nostalgia of dog-eared pages and the worn out covers can i truly say that I have read and owned a piece of magic.

Bookrazy-Koi wrote: "I understand the convenience of eBooks and this is probably the only reason why it is upstaging the paperbacks and hardcovers. I am not against it because I have a few of my own, although I do not ..."

I'm with you, 100%. Books... real books, are where it is at for me.

It honestly makes me sad to know books are almost a thing of the past- hence the hoarding mentality I seem to have when it comes to books. I want to make sure my grandchildren and theirs, have books to hold in their hands. Not just some cool but emotionally dull eReader gizmo.

That said, as an author, to make it these days, well... I guess it seems like we have to be adopters. Which seems somehow dirty to me.

Blah.

Carolynn wrote: "Bookrazy-Koi wrote: "I understand the convenience of eBooks and this is probably the only reason why it is upstaging the paperbacks and hardcovers. I am not against it because I have a few of my ow..."

I'm a hoarder of books too! I just wish the next generation don't just chuck them out in a bin or eventually need them to generate heat (lol)...
...blah is the word... it's sometimes disgusting how we need to adapt to certain things even when there is nothing wrong with a good ol' reliable book! :)but i guess...moving forward is sometimes being backward on other aspects..:D

eBooks are a fantastic new opportunity for authors. The ease of publishing with outfits like Kindle DTP, Smashwords and B&N's Pubit lets authors who might not otherwise be offered a publishing contract the chance to have their works available for sale. For established authors, it's a way to keep their back catalog "in print" and available in perpetuity. It also allows authors to do special, eBook only editions that they might not otherwise publish in paper, or sell things like short stories singularly without having to wait around for a big collection. It's all about more options for readers and authors.

Print-on-demand can do most of these things as well, and still provide that dead tree feel. eBooks and POD books give everybody involved more options. Paper books aren't going away, but from an efficiency standpoint, they are well-behind eBooks.

Gary: Love that, the "dead tree feel." I'm caught in two places. As a book editor, my industry is struggling. As the author of a print book now out as an ebook, I see the benefits in royalties and readership. Plus, as someone who cares about the environment, I like the idea of not destroying trees. But as a bookie, I love bookstores and books on shelves. I don't know if the two parts of me will ever be totally happy in this new time of technology!

Change is sometimes painful. :)

As a reader, I prefer printed books - paperbacks over ebooks. I don't own a ereader and I don't plan on buying one.

I usually buy my books from the library and if they have books for a good price, I'll pick up some from a garage sale.

I like checking out books from the library as well, if it's a new release coming out or a book that I don't own and want to read.

I know that some libraries allow you to check out ebooks to read on your computer, but I don't like reading a book on my computer. I don't want to be reading from a screen. Now, if it's a book from a buddy, I'll read it, but it will take me a while to finish it, because I'm a printed book reader. I like to snuggle up to a good book. I like to flip pages. I've read that you don't see pages on ereaders. So, I wonder how a person can know what page they are on.

This is coming from a person that likes technology - it depends on the technology.

Reading a book on the computer is hell. But I love my Kindle and now prefer using it to reading print books (please don't hang me). Kindle is getting friendlier too, I understand there are software downloads on the horizon that will allow readers to see page numbers and also graphics (in newspapers and magazines).
That said, my book's only in e-book format at the moment, but I can't wait for the galleys to arrive for the print-version. How peculiar is that?

I am a book freak and it's basically the only thing I spend money on. I am talking paper books :) I love writing my thoughts in the books I read and I love underlining great oneliners that I want to remember. I read and write at the same time and get inspired. I do not see myself doing that on a computer or e-reader... I need to feel the paper!

Well I feel inspired to right through using actual books. I would love to have an e-reader. I also would be lost without my laptop. If I had an e-reader I would use it for specific purposes but I couldn't see myself totally using it for my reading pleasure.

From a publishing perspective as a self-published author, I've found that having the comprehensive lineup of media makes for the best results. With the Kindle, iPad, Nook and Sony eReader versions of my (debut) book, SIKANDER, I could defray some of the costs of the hardcover and paperback versions. Currently the margin on the electronic format is large enough to allow pricing of even relatively low volumes of hardcover and paperback to work when the entire set of media are taken together. The ebooks have made, for me at least, the other formats affordable to produce without POD (hardcover's aren't so easy to do that way anyway). The resulting breadth of offering is valued, I'm sure, by the buying public.

Longer term, I'm also sure that readers will become more sophisticated and probably enable us to experience something more interactive than a paper book and less passive than a movie. A "boovie" ??

I've bought more ebooks in the past two years owning an e-reader than I ever did buying good old fashioned books. I prefer ebooks because they're cheaper than buying a new realease and I very rarely read a book more than once. I simply don't have the space to keep tons of books either. The other thing I like is that you can instantly look up the definition of a word if you don't know it just by tapping on it, rather than having to break out the dictionary or googling it. I think more and more e-readers will become a thing of dominance like MP3s were to CDs. I was originally sceptical that I'd appreciate the e-reader as much as holding a real book in my hands but I've crossed. I don't know how digital books will affect publishing houses but I know I've spent more than I used to simply because it's so much easier to see something I want and buy it right then. Instant gratification! I would think the cost to produce digital books would be less, less materials, etc.

The real cost for digital book production is in the formatting - and each format is a slightly different standard so it does require a bit of effort on the part of the author/publisher. However, there is very little reason I can fathom that an eBook SHOULD cost anywhere near the cost of a hardcover or even trade paperback to the consumer.

Gary wrote: "The real cost for digital book production is in the formatting - and each format is a slightly different standard so it does require a bit of effort on the part of the author/publisher. However, th..."

You're right Gary. Actually when I did it, I went to a single "e-convertor" shop and they did a fair job though it required a couple of iterations and it's painful proof-reading almost 600 pages of e-text.

One thing I liked is that the convertor I used seemed to have a standardized process to get the Kindle ".prc" format created first and then to convert to the more widely used ePub format. The cost for the entire conversion was no more than about $375 across all formats, including some "my-fault" corrections which only came to light after the ebook rendition was created.

But I am chagrined at the absence of a really good protected pdf solution by that same convertor as that would allow me to market the ebook directly from my web-page, alongside going to Apple or Amazon..etc.

I think with tablet devices, the Goodreader software is superb and it creates a very authentic, scalable rendition of the book on a page by page basis, that's really easy to navigate. I hate the inability to scale graphical content on ebook products, for example. I've read too many books in which annotated illustrations have been impossible to read. Also, while I can see the benefit of flowing text at different scales, I also like the preserved pagination and direct non-flowing scalability of pdf files. I understand the value of the former but not having the option of a scalable rendition is a pain also. mutli-touch tablet devices make this by far the preferable solution. Now, a scaling encrypted pdf-reading Kindle with multi-touch...well, that would be cool too.

Hope that was intelligible.

Ok, first I am not an author and I doubt I ever will. I just love reading though and I love technology in all forms. I work with computers, I go to school for computers, I play with computers in my free time. I program and develop for fun. I read on my kindle almost exclusively now. I could not help but put my comments in this thread though.

@Bookrazy-Koi The main thing for me is the ease of getting a new book. I live in the middle of nowhere. Our library has some decent stuff but for the most part I had to drive either an hour and fifteen to get to a book store or order online. Plus the "You may also like" for me is a money drain. I will buy other books they recommended or are in the same series. Also if you think that ebooks are a replacement for dead tree versions you are wrong. Cory Doctorow has some great views on how ebooks should work. If I like an ebook enough I buy the physical copy. Like I did with his book Little Brother. I loved it enough when I got an audio book from my library that I got a copy of the ebook and the actual book. I plan on buying Gary Ballard's Bridge Chronicles series soon. I've already bought the ebooks.

@Gary I agree that ebooks need to be cheaper then their physical counter parts. Bits are infinitely copyable so once you create it there is very little in the way of overhead or cost to distribute as opposed to physical books. Any book over $5 I think twice before buying. Anything under $5 I'll buy if I think I might like it.

@Salahuddin DRM is a horrible idea. If you can never use it on any book you publish. The only people it affects are the ones who buy it. People who will copy the ebook will do it anyways. If you price it high enough you will just push more people to find other methods or just not even read your works.

My main point, that I learned from listening to Cory Doctorow and my own personal habits. Cheap ebooks of authors I don't know will get me to read their work. Price it high and make it a pain to get on what ever device I have will make me not read your work. I have not had my kindle very long but I've already read four or five authors I've never heard of and found one that I really liked. If I could buy a DRM free version of kindle books I would. I hope that they soon apply the same method to ebooks that they applied to DRM free music.

Also if you have a series sell the first book cheaper then the rest. I found Under the Amoral Bridge because it was .99, then bought the second one for 2.99 because I liked the first one. I know I'm not going to be the only person to think a .99 first book in the series will be easiest way to sell the other books in the series. Get me hooked on the first one and I'll buy the rest.

And if you read any of this it should be clear why I will not be an author of anything other than computer programs.

Oh and one edit to this little rant. A single method of publishing ebooks should be available. And it should be using HTML5 and CSS3. With those new technologies you can have a web page of just text look like a magazine. I love working with HTML5 and it sucks that IE 8 and below don't support it and IE9, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera don't support the same features across everything. If HTML5 and CSS3 become a standard then that is going to be the best way to publish ebooks. Find some way to convert HTML and CSS to each format, epub and mobi formats and that covers quite a bit. The other formats can come later after it is worked out properly.

Personally, I think it's good for the industry. A shot in the arm. Change is never bad - some of the methods to fight it, though, certainly are. Books themselves, and print, will never go away, in spite of the fear-monger rants a lot of people are wont to throw out; e-readers and the like just open up new market possibilities, and add a touch more versatility to our beloved literature.

Personally, I switch between the two forms rather freely. Some books I order on e-book (particularly those, I might add, that I'm uncertain of, given the general cheaper nature of the form), while others I'll only order in print. Authors I know I love, I support them with a show of confidence and pride in purchasing the print versions. Simple as that.

Where are things going from here? Well, I couldn't speak to that. There's a lot of possibilities...particularly as the self-pub v.s. mainstream publishing houses debate continues to play out...

As an educator I see the e industry having a great impact on the way that info gets to kids and welcome it (overloaded backpacks have been a problem for years and students lose enough items that cost schools more than might be worth it down the road), but hope that teacher sets of books will still be available in hard cover format as well as CD as they are great classroom tools.

As a reader, I haven't indulged in Kindle or other e reader options, but that's because I haven't yet exhausted my library cards (to three county/district libraries) or my access to Prospector/Interlibrary loan opps. There are new authors that I perhaps will read later via e, but for now I enjoy seeing what folks are putting out there via Goodreads and My Writer's Circle that are just as engaging...being able to renew and occasionally having to pay overdue fees suits me fine to make sure that these repositories of knowledge stay open.

As an aspiring writer, however, I think the e tools are probably the best thing that's ever happened to the publishing industry--it's high time that more diversity be reflected in 'American' literature and whatever can keep the pot boiling so that individuals can shake things up by self-publishing is all right by me!

E-book maybe considered good by some, but what Amazon wants to do in cornering the market isn't good for the market. I posted a blog today after receiving an email from Amazon about their latest program - Kindle Select - since I'm an indie Kindle author. It doesn't add up well for me or others like me.

http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...

I love ebooks. I love print books. I love books, and it's the story that matters, not the delivery system. But I agree that Amazon is pushing into "monopoly" territory with this new program which requires authors give them exclusive distribution. I have a Nook. Many other do, too...or Sony or Kobo or iPads. Why would I want to remove myself from as many distribution points as I can fill. I want people to find my books. I may sell more on Amazon than at Barnes & Noble, but that doesn't mean I don't want Nook owners to buy my books.

That's exactly right, Terry. After all, most of us choose the self-publishing route to be free to market as we want. I'm also traditionally published, thus understand being bound by a contract for my first book. I'm doing more with my indie books than my publisher is with my 1st book, so why would I willingly place myself back under such restriction?

I've considered the KDP Select thing, but it really doesn't seem to give the indie author much worthwhile. No extra royalties, no way to know how much to expect from the Online Lending share... I'm not sure it's worth the bother at all.

Gary, here's a further look at what Amazon is doing with Select - and it's not pretty.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-co...

I would say as an author I've sold zero paperback books while my eBooks sell like hotcakes... The funny part was I decided to turn some of my eBooks into printed books bc I was told that it 'legitimizes' the author status as a professional writer.