Sales of eBooks continue to increase, causing tremors in the traditional publishing industry. The future of publishing is in question; not so much if there is will be a future, but rather what it will look like and how many of the Big 6 will survive the changes coming on.
Small publishers are cropping up like mushrooms after a rainfall and some damn fine books that otherwise would never have seen the light of day are getting out there for readers to find. Amazon is gobbling up marketshare like a hungry beast. Some big name authors are beginning to abandon the Big 6 ship and self-publish their books. The playing field between the known and unknown author is being leveled. Self-styled eBook Guru JA Konrath claims, amongst other things, that the end of the bestseller is near. I’ve had my differences with Joe in the past but of late, he has been spot on. If you want an interesting, and from what I can tell, a quite accurate appraisal of the eBook vs Tree Book war, check out his website: A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing.
Now, I’m all for a good controversy, and I must confess that I rather enjoy watching the Big 6 quake in their antiquated boots, but with all this warring going on, there are some important areas that are being overlooked. So, in an effort to enlighten the world to the forgotten, but no less important issues, I present:
1) Eat messy food while reading.
2) Search for that phrase or character you KNOW is in there somewhere.
3) Carry as many books on vacation as you want.
4)Buy great books for under $10.00 USD (many under $5.00 USD), that aren’t remainders or used, while remaining in your jammies.
5) Never have to build another bookshelf, ever.
And, to give the embattled Tree Book its due, I present:
1) Smell the ink, feel the texture of the paper.
2) Dog-ear the pages.
3) Prop it up on a bookshelf to show your visitors how cool you are.
4) Read in the bathtub.
5) Get the author to sign it.
Oh, and to give you a good start on your eBook collection, may I suggest anything published by Rebel ePublishers (all of which are available in both e and Tree versions), especially their exciting action/thriller Stealing The Marbles
