Blog of Author Christine d’Abo
Hello everyone. I thought I’d pass this along for anyone who might be interested. It’s a great way to get your name out there and to help a worthwhile cause.
Wild at Heart
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Publisher: Diamond State Romance Authors
Deadline: April 1, 2012
About two years ago, my husband bought me one of the very first Sony e-book readers. I loved it! Unfortunately, the original version didn’t handle PDFs very well, not allowing us to zoom in to read it properly. We called and talked to several of their techs. At the time, there was nothing they could do to help us. Seeing as all of my e-books were PDF, I returned it. I’ve been e-book readerless ever since.
I’ve had my eyes open for a replacement, tossing around several option. The iPad was cool, but more of a unit than what I wanted. I wouldn’t go for the Kindle as I have issues with any proprietary software that limits what books and where I can buy. I was leaning toward getting another Sony, especially now they managed to fix their PDF issues. For awhile, I even toyed with the idea of getting a netbook.
I hummed and hawed…and generally drove my saint of a husband insane.
Today, I made a decision! I even have gone so far as to pre-order my device of choice and now I’m sitting on my hands, waiting for delivery day.
My decision? I’m getting the Kobo!
What? You’ve never heard of the Kobo??
That’s okay, I hadn’t either until last week. I’m not sure if this is also available in the US, but here in Canada you can get it directly through Chapters Indigo. I’m assuming its the same as the Barnes & Noble Nook, and they will in fact have a US version coming out this summer. The list price is $149 Canadian, and for what I was personally looking for in an e-reader, this does it.
Is it perfect? Probably not. But at a fraction of the price of a Sony and far more durable than an iPad, I’m okay with that. Plus, when the next generation of hoo-haw comes out a year or two from now, I’ll won’t feel this will owe me anything.
I’ll be giving some updates on the quality, look, feel, downloading, etc once it arrives.
As you may have learned over the years on this blog, I love technology. I like playing around with programs, learning how to do new things. Generally, have fun. Recently, I’ve been playing with the lovely little program that came with my laptop, Windows Movie Maker.
For those of you not familiar with it, the program itself is very easy to use. You can add pictures, videos, titles, music and blend them together into something fun. I’ve been toying with the idea of making a few book trailers for my novels. I’ve made other videos with the program and I’m thrilled at how they turned out.
Now, this isn’t free. I need to buy the music and any stock images I need, but I don’t mind that. What I’m curious about is if it’s worth the time.
As a reader, do book trailers make a difference? Would it sway you to buy a book?
Authors, if someone was willing to do the work for you, how much would you be willing to pay?
That’s right everyone, this week is read an e-book week! Now, I hope if you are following my blog, you have read at least one e-book in your life (ideally one of mine, but I’m selfish like that). There has been a lot of discussions about e-books over the years. E-publishers are now a staple to the industry, rather than an oddity. Even “traditional” publishers now have a firm presence in the market, opening up this publishing model more than before.
It’s exciting! I love technology (hugs her BlackBerry) and think we are on the cusp of a major paradigm shift when it comes to how information will be distributed to the masses. No, print will not go away. But the digital age allows for broader and faster marketing of material.
I’m an impulse buyer and a pack rat. Like many people I know, I don’t have room for all my books. And no, I don’t get rid of them. Ever. E-books give me more “room”. They are cheaper than print, so I’m willing to take a chance on a new author.
Is the e-book industry perfect? No. We are still working out the technology for easy reading. We are still figuring out pricing. We are still figuring out business models that will work for publishers, distributors and authors alike.
But we are doing it.
Looking to try an e-book? Here are some amazing publishers for you to check out:
Carina Press (no books yet, but coming in June!)
And as always, feel free to check out my bookshelf on my website for some of my books.
Happy reading!
I don’t normally comment on industry going on’s on my blog. I tend to keep my opinion to myself and chat with friends about the ramifications. But this one really had me shaking my head.
I woke up this morning and read the news that Amazon pulled all Macmillan books from their site over a price point dispute on Macmillan e-books. They pulled not just e-books, but all of them. If you haven’t heard about this yet, I recommend reading this article.
I work for a very large corporation in my day job (no I won’t mention the name here). I’ve seen a wide assortment of business decisions, corporate posturing, market jockeying, etc in the six years I’ve worked there. All businesses are out to make money. It’s the point of having one. You get your particular widget, make it the best widget you can and then you sell it. Now some companies don’t sell their products direct to consumers. They use a third party to do that. For example, cell phone companies typically sell their devices through a carrier, rather than invest in a storefront infrastructure to do so.
Publishers sell their books to bookstores (through distributors), who in turn sell to us. Yes, there are exceptions, but for the most part that’s how it works. Amazon didn’t like the idea of selling an e-book for their Kindle for $15. Now, the business side of me really can’t blame them. I will barely pay that for a mass market book. But Amazon’s reaction to Macmillan was way off base. Pulling every book is like shooting yourself in the foot.Take this example.
Let’s say I make a brand of pop called Super Duber Sugar Blast (obviously I’m not in marketing). I sell my product only to fast food restaurants. Now let’s say the biggest of those restaurants and I fight about what they are charging. Really, I would normally have negotiated via contract the price range I’d have wanted the restaurant to charge, but let’s pretend that didn’t happen. We fight, only for the restaurant to come back and say, “Hey, we are in charge of our prices, not you. We’re not selling any of your products in protest!”
Fine. I look across the street and see a competing fast food restaurant. I know they also sell my pop. I smile, nod and walk across the street.
Hello Barnes & Noble.
I’m sure Amazon will have Macmillan books back on the virtual shelves soon enough. They are still out to make a profit and have investors who will be breathing down their necks. What they have unfortunately done, is added another black mark on their records with consumers. After the yanking of the e-book fiasco, this erodes consumer confidence yet again. While the biggest game in town, Amazon isn’t the only one. The mighty have been known to fall on occasion.
For more perspectives on the events, I recommend you check out the following blogs:
Recent Comments