Oh no, I just pre-ordered a Kindle Fire and now rumors say B&N will debut a new Nook tablet in just a few weeks . I skipped the regular Kindle in lieu of continuing to read “the good old-fashioned way,” until I tried Kindle on my phone. I’m not hooked, but it’s a great way to have books at your fingertips and in your pocket when you don’t want to carry around a one to three pound book in your purse. Plus I hate smudging up my books with the crap that makes its way into the depths of my bag, you know lipsticks, pens, cupcake crumbs.
I put a toe in the e-reader water because the e-book options and low prices are intriguing.This article on e-books tells the black and white story: adult hardcover and paperback sales are down 18% this year. The revenue from e-books has surpassed hardcover revenue this year. This makes for a tempting option to forego traditional “legacy” houses, the Big 6, and jump into the self-publishing world. The battle of opinions on both paths run wide and deep.
The Wall Street Journal is heating up the debate with their plan to publish e-book bestsellers. Amazon is offering an e-book loan program for their Prime customers.These two items help push the envelop further in deciding whether to buy an e-reader or not and whether to enter the foray into publishing a book in e-reader format.
Everyday I’m tempted to go down the path of self-publishing but I have an agent who is looking at my two manuscripts. When the time comes for a thumbs up or thumbs down, I’ll have to reevaluate my choices. Who knows, I may read my own novels on my Kindle Fire by next year.
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