Congratulations Stewart, you have the most desperate reply yet.
At the time of writing it was only one of two, so no big deal. Desperate? No, I don't think so. Enquiring? Curious? Sounds better.
Guilty, my post is designed to incite a passionate response, but you take the cake of 'Gah! nooooo... say it ain't soooo!' spiel.'
You cannot deny that my reply, that you incited, was a passionate response.
As far as publishers, we are in the process of publishing into paperback
At first I thought, back at the start you were calling that passé, but then I remembered you said traditional publishing, and self-publishing is not traditional, so much as it is desperate, much like my reply...supposedly.
Yes, I had a read of your free chapters. I was laughing too.
Ebooks [in Japan] are approx. a 58 million dollar industry already; it is a 333% increase over last years sales there, according to the Digital Content Association of Japan. (You'll have to 'google' it...)
Yes, but are we talking fiction, self-published fiction, how-to books, or d)
other? And if an ebook is an ebook is an ebook then the numbers are little use because ebooks in themselves aren't an issue, as far as I'm concerned, it's the fiction side of ebooks and the sheer volume of poor quality ones that appear on the market, like yours, that obviously haven't seen the red pen of a credible editor.
I am certain people like you also put up desperate arguments on the idiocy of manual typewriters being replaced, or thought that automobiles would always be put together by good citizens instead of robotic arms... and thought that our phone banks would never be operated by rooms of barely-paid folks in India.
When you are quite finished, let's forget personal insults and deal purely with facts. Typewriters had to go in the onslaught of technology because it is easier, in a word processor to delete a word rather than feed in a new sheet and begin again. (Although, conversely, the typewriter days were beautiful because to churn out a novel you had to be committed, rather than just cut/copy/paste any old crap in Word and upload it to the internet.)
Automobiles, made by robotic arms, are a godsend because they bring down the prices of automobiles, making them more accessible. And I'm sure the poorly paid of India are poorly paid by western standards. The only downside is that, with the workforce replaced, by robotic arms or by Indian call centres, it looks like they have turned to writing ebooks. Ouch!
Ebooks are more convenient, more cost effective and more friendly to the environoment, for, being digital, they require no paper, nor gasoline-powered trucks, nor trains or planes to deliver them, nor stores to store them, nor shelves to keep them and can be downloaded to almost any device, even a phone and read anywhere, as long as your battery does not give out.
OKay, more cost effective:
- To read an ebook I need an ebook reader - they cost money. To read a book I just need a book. Book wins.
- An ebook requires electricity to read it. A book doesn't. Book wins.
- An ebook format can be superceded and no longer be backwards compatible. I can read a book from hundreds of years ago. Book wins.
- An ebook requires a screen resolution that can be poorer than paper. A book is paper. Book wins.
- A ebook reader, by virtue of being technology, is going to get stolen. A mugger isn't interested in Marcel Proust. Book wins.
- All ebooks, by virtue of being on an ebook reader, are going to get stolen. Stealing a lot of books takes space. Book wins.
- ebooks are dependent on technology. A book isn't. Book wins.
The only times ebook wins are really in relation to storage space, searching, and distribution, two of which are more of an industry concern. And the searching feature, handy as it is, isn't going to be used by the greater number of ebook reader users. Just how many passages would the regular user want to take note of in a self-published fantasy/sci-fi/romance novel?
...literature will not die with the paper-bound book.
I know. If self-published ebooks become the
livres du jour then literature will die.
I and authors like me will make certain of that, since we are not afraid to embrace the future.
While you are not afraid to embrace the future, how about you make use of the present and use your spellchecker from time to time? And I've found the perfect ebook for you:
The Elements Of Style. It will help you not to make mistakes like:
“Ber!” he said, pointing a tiny finger at the bird; his arm stretched a little ways over the playpen rail. Michelle looked at her son with a smile, then glanced at the thrush.
“Bird.”, she said, softly; she lowered the sketch pad and leaned closer to the little boy. “Ethan... say ‘bird’.” The boy watched the little thrush with avid interest as it hopped around, valiantly wrestling with the thread.
“Ber.”, Ethan said, pointing again. Michelle laughed, quietly; the little bird eventually gave up the struggle and flew off; little boy sat back down and picked up a toy truck. Smiling, Michelle returned to her drawing.
You'll also learn about apostrophes. Wonderful things.
