E-readers – WordServe Water Cooler

I used to take a small suitcase full of books when we traveled. If you are a reader like I am, you’ll know that it’s difficult now days because the airlines want to cut down on the amount of luggage they accept on flights. And now husband likes to fly Charley on cross country trips and then I really have to pack light.

Traveling with Charley — Traveling with our small plane “Charley”

So what would you do to pass the time on a long flight?

Husband began to notice people using e-readers. He investigated them and told me to purchase a kindle2 for Mother’s day one year.

Now my Kindle is old, and the on/off button is wobbly. I don’t know how much longer it will last. Should I replace my Kindle with a Kindlefire? Or one of the many other e-readers available?

I downloaded the kindle app on Husband’s iPad2. But honestly? I still preferred the screen of the kindle2. It was easier on my eyes. But I used his iPad2 for other things. And when the new iPad came out, we ordered it. Let me tell you, the new retina display is wonderful. On the kindle app, I was able to choose an ivory screen. Reading on the iPad is wonderful.

In fact I now download non-fiction books to study the craft of writing, marketing, social networking, and many other interests. It was hard for me to actually study on the kindle2 and I rarely use it anymore.

So naturally, when brother-in-love wanted to know what kind of an e-reader to buy his wife to take to Florida, I knew just what to recommend. Husband and I raved about the virtues of the iPad and how we used ours for many things. And, we said, it makes a wonderful e-reader. Problem solved. What’s not to like?

It turns out sister-in-love is not interested in all the bells and whistles. She doesn’t want to learn to use email. She doesn’t want to learn to surf the internet. She never uses the computer at home.

There is no one size fits all solution to any problem. And an iPad makes a pretty expensive e-reader if you know you will never use it for anything else.

Instead of extolling the virtues of the iPad, I should have investigated the actual need. It’s the only way to give truly helpful advice. And we finally recommended the basic kindle.

Brother-in-love took his wife shopping. She could purchase any e-reader she wanted. And guess what she picked out? You got it, the basic kindle.

You can be sure the next time someone asks my advice, I will ask more questions, to help find the best solution for them. Which might not be the best solution for us.

Do you have an e-reader? How did you choose?

This may be more honest than a long-time agent should admit, but I have a lot more questions and not as many answers these days about where the book industry is going. As I talk with other agents, most of us are having banner years. More deals. More money. More ongoing royalties being paid out. After our three-year downturn, we’re all enjoying the upturn.

What gives?

Haven’t we all been told that e-readers, self-publishing and social networking were going to spell the end to traditional publishing? That quality literary partners (good agents) would soon be a thing of the past? That anyone could make a mint by self-pub’ing their 20,000 word “books” or their 5,000 word articles, or 200,000 word personal family sagas. All they really needed was a thousand or more Facebook friends and 5,000 to 50,000 Twitter followers. If they had a daily blog with 4,000 subscribers, then self-publishing that book they wanted out NOW instead of a year from now would be like printing money.

I love to read all of the prognostications about the end of publishing as we know it . . . almost as much as hearing about what day the world will end (which means, not very much). We have end-time prophets and we have “end of publishing” prophets. Both, if they play their words and products right, are making a lot of money and scaring a lot of people.

Yes, the publishing industry is going through some major transitions. But where will this ultimately lead us—not 2 years from now, but 10 or 20 years from now? Is anyone’s crystal ball really so good that they KNOW physical books will go the way or the 8-track tape or be a luxury few can afford?

Are we dealing with fads that may come and go or true culture change that alters not only what platform we read our books on, but how and when and why we buy them?

How many e-readers are being purchased by new buyers versus those repeat buyers who are already hooked on them and have now bought 2, 3 or 4? Will e-readers be affordable enough to catch on overseas?

Do people with e-readers actually buy more books because they’re cheaper? If so, how is this bad for publishing as long as the royalty structure is fair and the author is rewarded?

Why is it that (depending on which report or blog you read) overall only mass market books and a few genres of hard cover are going down in sales and not print books as a whole? In many categories, e-book sales going up doesn’t always translate across the board to print book sales going down. People are still buying print books and printers are finding cheaper ways of printing them—faster.

Will the medical profession be treating more carpel tunnel and more eye strain because of e-readers? Will our necks and brains and fingers and forearms be able to handle the constant movements needed to be plugged into phones and e-readers and notebooks 8 to 12 hours a day? If not, then what?

Do people really want to read whole books on their phone? Music, yes. Books….?

Are readers of books so dumb that they won’t be able to tell how qualitatively different books published by traditional publishers are than self-published books that have slap-dash covers, design and editing?

Was the movie the end of books? Was TV the end of movies in theaters? Was I-Tunes the end of people wanting new music? Are e-readers the end of people wanting to read and buy whole (and physical) books?

How many social networking platforms can one person with a family and a job actually keep up on? And will there be a social networking backlash in the coming years?

How many books are bought through someone reviewing or mentioning a book from a Facebook or Pinterest account, versus actual word of mouth, face to face?

Will people start rebelling against social media and want to engage in actual relationships again? If so, how will people find out about good books again?

Will Amazon’s takeover of the world survive their politics? Or will people of all walks and faiths make sure one distributor doesn’t corner the market?

In the meantime, as I’m finding some of these answers, I’m still excited about finding new voices with great stories and great messages. I still love seeing great authors with strong sales continue to grow in their reach. I’m still privileged to work with professional editors who add value to a book’s content and improve the author’s overall work. I’m still convinced that “distribution is your destiny,” and that publishers add huge value to the overall sales of books because of their distribution networks.

And as you can read, I have lots of unanswered questions. What about you? What are the questions you’re wondering about as it relates to the long-term future of publishing and/or your career?