I can't sign a Kindle (yet!) but readers will still want to read


Most authors don't mind how their work is read just as long as it is read. And, of course, they get paid for it, somewhere along the line.  Sales of e books are growing and will continue to grow as new devices come to the market, and that's great. All my crime novels are available as e books as well as in printed format, the more formats the merrier, I say. Deadly Waters and The Suffocating Sea are also available as audio books and MP3 downloads - a huge growth market.

Then there is large print, again a growing market as the population ages and more people become visually impaired (although the e book could help with its ability to increase font size).


Hardback is for those who want a special book to cherish and for the library market where books need to be durable.  And there are two types of paperback, trade paperback - a larger size which is popular in America and usually of better quality -and the cheaper mass market paperback. The reader can take his or her pick.

But there are occasions when an e book simply doesn't have the same appeal as the printed version. As an author you can't sign a Kindle and people will always want signed copies either for presents, or to cherish because it's signed and personally dedicated to them by their favourite author, and/or as an investment against the day when that author's work becomes 'hot'.

Does this mean that as e books become more popular the printed version will become more exclusive and precious? Or will it disappear altogether? Who knows? Perhaps all the formats I've mentioned above will survive, perhaps some will vanish. It will depend on what the market wants and how readers want to read.  But one thing is certain, people will still want to read, and they will still want to be entertained, intrigued, thrilled and moved by great stories.

Comments

Michael Arnzen said…
I think this is why limited edition hardcovers are a segment of the publishing world that all writers should look into. You can find a really high quality publisher in genre which will release a #d/signed edition which devoted fans and collectors will pay a pretty price for. It's sort of like how colored vinyl records are all the rage among audiophiles now that mp3s are the dominant way to get music. Agents should be working the small press as much as they do the mass market publishers to help writers get invested in these areas of the trade, in my opinion.

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