Not swallowing it

As a proponent of ebooks, as an author digitally published, as someone who understood what the heck they are long before much of the population, I often find myself explaining--no, promoting--the reading devices.

My Sony Reader gets attention. Usually someone at the doctor or dentist waiting room, or in line at the post office, will notice it and strike up a conversation (insert wild applause). These people who recognize the device want to hold it, see what the screen looks like. All good, and I love to share. It's always some bystander though... and if I had a buck for every time I've heard this one silly line, I could probably buy another Reader. (or the Kobo, I think I'm in love with it now)
"I don't know..." Naysayer drawls. "I really love the feel and smell of a book in my hand."
Cha-ching! Where's my buck?
I've got one word to say to this line of reasoning: Poppycock.

I think it's a goofy comment somebody made without thinking first, and millions of others have heard it and repeated it. (and it's probably code for "I don't really know about those ebooks, and change scares me, so I'll say something to make it sound like I just prefer paper.")

People, come on! You don't read a book because of how it feels. (They all feel different anyway. Thickness, size, glossy cover or nonglossy...can you possibly be addicted to all those "feel"s? And smell? You've got everything from freshly-printed ink--I'll admit I like that one--to the ashtray-like odor a previous smoker left in a library tome, to the distinctly coconut-and-chlorine odor a poolbag book absorbs, and let's not even go to the smell Frank leaves in a paperback after he totes it around in his coveralls pocket for a couple weeks.) Let me repeat, you don't read a book for how it feels. You read a book to be swept away into someone's imagined story (or for whatever nonfiction need). Do you go to the movies because you like stadium seating? No. You go there for the story. (and I'm betting you don't drag a book along to hold in your hands during the movie either) Did we listen to music in the 70's because we loved the way an 8-track interrupted right in the middle of a song, to change channels? No. We liked the music. Same as we liked the movie--not the rewinding or the squiggly tracking lines onscreen--when we viewed VHS tapes. I didn't hear many people saying, "Oh, I don't know about those DVD's. I really like to see the lines onscreen. It makes it feel more like movie to me. And then rewinding afterward just completes the experience."

If you're not ready to convert to ebooks yet, that's OK. Just say so. Say you don't feel like shelling out the cash. Say you're not tech-forward. Say you don't need one more gadget to master. But please, for the love of all that is written, do NOT say you need the feel of a book in your hand in order to experience a story. Because even if I bite my tongue, you might hear something like, "poppycock."

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

iPad: It's not a hi-tech feminine hygiene product

It's a real head-shaker for me. How the heck, out of all the millions of words out there, did Apple come up with such a doofy name for its latest gadget?

If you haven't heard/seen breaking news (or you've been on another planet for the last day), Apple is launching a device the ereading community has been anxiously awaiting, named (foolishly) the iPad. You can read the product overview here.

I'll just say right upfront, this honestly does NOT look like a new device to me. It looks like an iPod Touch, magnified. (can you say 9.7 inch screen?) This product does nothing new -- the iPod Touch can do any of these things, including display ebooks! Yes, ebooks from the Kindle store, using a Kindle app.

Another thing this kinda looks like to me is a no-flip laptop.... but... you can buy laptops with 9 inch screens for far less than $499 now, and they'll do more stuff, (although they don't have the touch screen).

But back to my beef with the name. iPad? Really? Kinda smacks of a pantiliner with 3G access (BTW, it looks like while one model of the iPad has 3G, the other is just Wi-Fi capable). So many names they could've gone with: iBook, iReader, iFolio, iBiblio, iLibrary, iLibro, iTouch Mega, iTouch Super, iTouchBigAss, iWeighsDoubleWhataSonyReaderDoes, iJustWaitTilTheAccessoriesComeOut--You Will Be Mega Broke!, iTablet(hello? What, has somebody else already patented that one?), iTouch NoMoreScreenEnvy, iGuysWouldBeTotallyDistractedWithTheAppsIfTheyBoughtThis...

As IF guys will buy it? The men I know won't eagerly tote around anything called a "pad". But hey, maybe adding all the other bells and whistles will entice some dudes. Could be they'll use them as chick-magnets. "Hey babe. Look at me, all readerly. And check out how big my screen is! You do know a guy's screen is in direct proportion to the size of his--"

Pshyeah.

Well, hey. It wouldn't fit into my purse (like my Reader does, and I just can't go to a Texas-sized handbag), so I'm not interested. But plenty of people paid five hundred bucks or more for iPhones when they came out, so Apple's marketing genius just might pay off. And as long as the buyers go on to shell out bucks for ebooks, I'm OK with it. Maybe it'll revive the world economy...

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

On ebooks and Nooks

You may (or may not) recall, when B&N stepped back into the ebook business, I blogged about it. Was so excited to have a big retailer giving so much spotlight time to ebooks. While the exposure is still a good thing, overall I'm disappointed with B&N.

Of course it was no surprise when they intro'd their new e-reader. They'd be silly not to sell one. I have to say, though, I'm not seeing its success. At least, not in the way they must be hoping it to succeed. (Note to B&N: You do not carry the retail muscle Amazon does. Readers aren't gonna "go for" another exclusive reading device.) If you buy a Nook, you're stuck buying ebooks for it from B&N. And sorry, but their selection just is NOT what Amazon's is. (Have I mentioned B&N's site is 2nd in slow-as-hellness only to DirecTV's??? It's like entering the net in 1994 going there.) Nooks have this fab "loaning" feature where you can send out ebooks you've purchased for a friend to borrow. Which would be bitchin', except that friend has to also own a Nook, a la Microsoft's Zune and its music share feature -- and just look at it's wild success compared to iPod, eh?

But my biggest gripe is NOT with the Nook. I've already got a reader, why do I care if B&N shoots itself in the profit-margin foot? What really grinds me is this: They've taken all the time to set up an ebook store, list these thousands of books, yet they are only selling in formats usable to the iPhone, Blackberry, and Nook. (oh yes, and of course you can read their books on a computer. Anybody notice how ebook sales have taken off since portable readers entered the market? Most ebook readers simply don't want to spend that much more facetime with their laptops.) It would've made much more retail sense for B&N to include formats the rest of us could use and buy, such as PDF, which almost all readers can utilize. Who knows, maybe since B&N owns Fictionwise, they figure they're already providing multi-formats.

Which brings me to another gripe (on a roll here): Fictionwise. I'm a card-carrying (well, a virtual card) member, yet I'm about to take my ebook $$ to Books on Board. Why? FW has so many great books - unavailable in PDF. WTF??? Every time I find a title I want, it's not available in PDF. It takes me ages to shop there, and then downloading the books and managing to open them (because of the DRMs on their Secure Adobe files) is always a new adventure.

Which reminds me, note to Sony: Your ebook library software sucks pond sludge. Yesterday it totally jacked my Secure Adobe downloads and pulled them into the Library but then wouldn't load them on my Reader. The Adobe Digital Editions software is nice, and free, although yesterday the update seemed to have made it function badly, turning a 10 minute coupon purchase into an hour-long loading ordeal...

All the hassles and time spent dealing with ebook conundrums (twice now I've bought books in formats which the sites told me I'd be able to use if I downloaded certain software, only to discover that hehhhll no, that file was NOT opening for me and what pissed me off even more than the money I was out, was the time I spent screwing with it)... well, it makes me feel like a techno-toddler. And lemme tell ya - I might not be a supergeek, but I do find my way around gadgets. Eventually. And often with the help of my tech-wiz bud, eA.

On the positive side, I've had excellent results with ebooks directly from both Lyrical Press (you get a zip file with all the formats inside. yippee!) and Harlequin. Simple, fast, and the files worked.

Just like it should be.

Happy Thursday.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

So excited!

My pal Amanda found out our county library is going to have ebooks available starting next month, which is totally awesome. (And guess who'll be donating ecopies of her books there?) We'll be linked up with the entire Marmot library system, so we should have access to lots of books. This means anybody with a library card and a computer/ebook reader/smart phone can check out books electronically, from the comfort of their home/car/office. Instantly. And no returning the book when it's due -- the digital file is no longer accessible once the check-out period has expired.

For anyone interested, the new Sony reader with wireless "Whispernet" is hooked up with Overdrive and many major library systems too, so owners can check out ebooks directly to their device.

Slowly but surely, ebooks are going mainstream.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm"

I'm a bit amused (albeit happy) to see how gung-ho Barnes & Noble has suddenly gotten about ebooks. The company just last year totally shunned the electronic format (once did a search on their site for "ebooks" and got a message along the lines of "B&N no longer sells ebooks" with the basic attitude of been there, done that, not worth our time).

Now, not only do they sell ebooks, but my Inbox is bombarded with notices regarding their own ebook reading software, pimping its use on iPhone and Blackberry, and they now have over 700,000 titles available. Including bestsellers! This, mere months after purchasing Fictionwise, the online ebook retailing giant.

They aren't just getting their feet wet - they've dived right in.

Ya think maybe they did some market research and watched the sales numbers for ebooks skyrocketing?

I'll just bet it's not long before B&N either come out with their own ereading portable device or attach themselves to one already on the market. Well, I hate that they avoided ebooks for so long, but I've gotta love that they are now onboard.

Would be way rad if my Fictionwise membership could somehow cross over and be used to get B&N discounts, too. I know. Always the dreamer.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Another reason to go "e" for your next book

I'll keep this short and sweet, since this week is kicking my butt.

Ebooks are instant. You can shop and buy now and get it now! No waiting, no lines, no driving or shipping charges.

No complaints here.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Tube Tuesday

In honor of Read an Ebook Week, I found a couple of youtube videos about ebooks and what they are.

The first just cracked me up. In part because it was made before Kindle released, but also because of the notes viewers were posting a la CNN. Very funny. He did his best to explain the pros but obviously did not have his finger on the pulse of the bookbuying market.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jW6mdzTcrI

This is a CNET overview of the Sony Reader. A bit more of an advertisement than a 3rd party explanation, but it does a fantastic job of showing the "pros" of ebooks.

http://www.cnet.com/av/video/flv/universalPlayer/universalSmall.swf?allowFullScreen=false&type=id&value=50004415

This shows how cool reading ebooks is on the iPhone and iTouch (I totally dig how you actually turn pages and you get a visual bookmark!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjv-A7fo_60&feature=channel

This one reallly excited Cornfuscius. In fact, he downloaded it already. It's a FREE Kindle app for the iTouch and iPhone. So now Kindle formatted book are readable on the iTouch. They download directly to the device via 3G internet. Bitchin with a capital B.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9aeH99g-vM

So. Tuesday's reason for reading an ebook? It's way cool.

Autumn
Got romance?

Something Old... but New For Me

Last night, Google gave me an interesting tidbit. Somebody on a file-sharing site for ebooks (think Napster) posted a request to anybody who has All Fore Revenge.

Hmm. First reaction? (oh, aside from the fact that she misspelled All as Al? heh, Al Fore Revenge – gives me a picture of that Tim Allen show, Home Improvement. Can totally see his helper Al going after him with a seven iron on the green…) Now where were we? Oh. First reaction. I thought, “Whoa. Somebody really wants my book. Somebody who doesn’t even know me! (hopefully, cause it would be totally scummy if this person did know me and was trying to steal my book).”

And then I thought, “Hey. It’s kinda scummy that anybody is trying to steal a $5.50 ebook anyway. Especially when the book will last forever and is the latest greatest technology in reading. Especially when it’s from a brand-new, struggling writer(not saying starving, cause that would be an outright lie, which anybody could tell by looking at my waistline or lack thereof).” I wonder if the people who set up these forums have any idea what we make?

I mean, if you’ve published a book, you’re like, set for life! Right?

Well, let’s do the math. I get 40% royalties off each ebook sale. Which sounds like a lot. It’s $2.20 for each ebook sold thru the LIP bookstore. Less if it goes via a third party retailer. Like, $1.10 for Kindle editions. Which still sounds like big bucks. Except, I’ve only got 3 cousins and 4 friends. (I’m kidding of course. I have sold a few more than that. But not many.) And now I’ve got to really meet people and beg them to buy my book. In other words, work for each and every sale. Because, have you seen how many books are out there for sale? Where do you even start deciding which to buy? And then there’s my poor editor. She gets like $0.45 for each copy, and about half that if it’s on Kindle or through somewhere like Fictionwise. As you can guess, she’s already considering stock options. No, not Wall Street stock – pantry stock. And with her check, her options would be, “Iodized, or not iodized?”

Although I wrote All Fore Revenge pretty quickly, I’ve got at least 300 hours into it writing, revising, querying, submitting, editing, creating the trailer, and promoting. So far. When I divide what I’ve earned by this number of hours, I get a very sad hourly rate, probably the minimum wage when they invented coins. And I’ve spent more on advertising than my royalties thus far. Some might ask why bother writing, then? To me, it’s an investment in my future. Writers are, after all, optimists by nature. How else could we toil for months over something without any certainty that it’ll ever be published?

So I guess for those determined to read books and not pay for them, all I can say is, “Visit the library, already!” At least the library pays for the books before it loans them out. And librarians track the number of times books are borrowed – highly used titles mean the author’s next book will be purchased, too. Most libraries now even have ebook programs. Best of all – they’re LEGAL.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Watcha Readin' Wednesday

Nothing to review this week, but I'm working on Pigtopia, by Kitty Fitzgerald. Loving it.

Now. What am I watching?
American Idol. God, I love that show. Got all vehklempt with the opening montage. Watching all those people with the emotional highs and lows of the show... yowza. And no, it's not a hormone thing. My very favorite part (no, not all the goofballs who show up, although I enjoy them just like the next person) is when Simon winks. Something about that guy...he's not wildly handsome or anything, but when he smiles, his face just lights up. And the winks make my heart pitter-patter.

I think Idol is just about the best thing about January. Even better than big sales.

Now, if only there was some sort of discovery show like this, for writers....American Novelist? Noveling with the Bestsellers? Noveling Idol?

Autumn
Got romance?

P.S. What am I not reading? New ebooks on my Sony Reader. Why? Because so many ebook retailers ONLY offer their selections in Mobi format. Thanks very little. But that's a long topic for another day...