eBooks

    This is the dawn of a new age.  Well, I wouldn't really say it's the dawn- more like mid-morning brunch- of the technological era.  We have online banking, TIVO, security cameras at every intersection, cars that start themselves with the click of a key chain, government-budgeted mosquito spies for urban areas, e-mail, and e-readers.  All of those things have slowly replaced the old infrastructure of paper product trails or doing things 'the old fashioned way'.

     Admittedly, E-mail is more handy, but the sheer volume and popularity of this form of communication has put pressure on the postal service.  Small offices are shutting down and more people are losing their jobs.  I don't think it's a good idea to get rid of this already-established infrastructure because of technology scares like the Y2K cluster F.  But, that's just me.  I can see that e-mailing is faster and it saves trees. 

    E-books are good and bad.  In no way do I wish to see tablets and e-readers replace paperbacks on my bookshelf.  Yes e-reading is more convenient and it saves money.  But don't you miss the way a book feels in your hands?  I guess you could say that an e-reader would save you from having people comment on the dirty smut book you're reading because the cover wouldn't be shining.  Also, you wouldn't have to be ashamed of all those yucky, boring Harry Potter books you love to read.  You could hide them on your Kindle instead of under your couch somewhere. 

    The definite downside of e-reading is for authors.  Even five years ago, an author could solicit a publishing house via query letter, synopsis, and manuscript and then either become published or receive a form rejection letter.  Now, having your manuscript accepted is only the first hoop you have to jump through.  The second hoop is now e-publishing.  Publishing houses can take more risks on new authors by extending them digital publication as a sort of Permit Driver session.  They use this new medium to test the marketability of new authors.  This can be an advantage because you can land a digital contract instead of a rejection letter, but it doesn't mean as much (to me) to not have something physical published.  I don't like being a guinea pig.

     That being said, I would be an idiot to turn down a digital contract.  I can see that it is a gateway to paperback publishing and establishing myself as a respectable author.  So, like a lot of things in life, it's a necessary evil to get to where I'm going.  So wish me luck as I embark on e-book publishing and wherever those winds take me!  Also, I'm going to need a Nook or Kindle or something I guess.  God help me!
   

:.Pretend to study textbooks while reading something interesting!.: