books v. electrons

Rufus Leeking · Jul 26, 2011

So, I'm old (51). Since I've started writing I've had this bias against e-pubs. I need paper! And I truly would rather have a credit on paper from a free pub than get money from an epub.

But I just learned I was really close to being a finalist in a flash contest AND GETTING ON PAPER, but they want to put it on their website. Of course I agree.

Anyone else have my bias? And I guess the electronic versions stay available, like maybe they are more available to readers that some old edition of a small publication?

I'm breaking my electronic cherry. Will I be okay?

Lillie · Jul 26, 2011

I'm about the same age as you. And it really doesn't seem real if I can't hold it in my hands. Like music. I want one with a cardboard sleeve to hold and put on a shelf.

But the more I read online the more I realise that of course those stories are real, it is the message and not the medium that is important. And a story published online is no different from one published in print.

Also, just think of the benefits! You can email your story in. No postage!
And the whole world can read it!
As soon as it's out!
Yay!!!

Congratulations on getting your story accepted.
I think you'll be OK.

Deleted member 42 · Jul 26, 2011

I'll be 50 next year.

And I can assure you that "book" means not the container—clay, stone, papyrus, vellum, paper, or silicon—but the contents.

Don't worry.

Just always read contracts carefully. Never give anything to anybody for forever.

Nathaniel Katz · Jul 26, 2011

For reading purposes, I far prefer print, but online stories still do certainly feel real to me. For publication, I can go either way. Print does have that edge when you hold it in your hands, but it's easier to direct people to something online and, in a bizarre way, an online magazine issue feels less ephemeral than its print equivalent.

Buffysquirrel · Jul 27, 2011

I like to have a physical copy to put on my boast shelf. It's a long shelf. Not full, but long! lol

In fact years after the event I finally succumbed and bought the PoD copy of a small unpaid bboard antho I was in. The story I sold to Dark Krypt years before that has long ago disappeared, as if it never were. *sniff*

Rufus Leeking · Jul 27, 2011

exactly as to having a physical copy- and I buy 25 copies and leave them in hotel reading rooms as I travel (old skool viral marketing). But what I'm thinking is the e stuff is actually available to the public years later; the winter 2008 edition of Small Publication is no longer.

veinglory · Jul 27, 2011

I want whatever gets me the most readers and/or dollars for the least effort and disruption to my life. IMHO being put on a website tends not to do a hell of a lot of either unless it is a very popular website, and if the website is monetized I would be looking for at least token payment. Otherwise, are you giving work for free that is used mainly to promote enterprises (website, book) other people profit from? Or, is the promotion of you, your website (directly link to) and your works (which are?) really payment enough?

Jamesaritchie · Jul 27, 2011

I'll take paper and ink every time. For me, e-books aren't real, and are, at best, transitory. Paper can last hundred of years. One good electromagnetic pulse, and everything online is gone.

veinglory · Jul 27, 2011

Books can last a few hundred years, although most tap out at under a century. Electronic files last as long as the media they are stored on, which may be rather a lot longer (or shorter).

Some of the pulps I look for seem to have gone extinct, their only chance for making it is that someone will find a discarded copy and digitize it.

I don't think there is a virtue argument for one over the other, but it seems silly to cut of real fee-paying markets that reach your readership due to format.

gayle12 · Jul 29, 2011

You hit the nail on the head in your opening post. One of the big draws of e-pub for publishers and writers alike is that stuff can stay in print. You create a digital copy, and it's there. It doesn't take up shelf space, as physical books do, so you don't have to worry about clearing shelf and warehouse space if it doesn't sell. One of the reasons books go out of print is their lack of sales and the need for space, but electronic publishing takes that issue out of the conversation and allows for the chance for all books from every press to stay in print.

Ebooks are also great for small presses because it's possible for small presses to produce the same amount of books as large presses in the format. They may only need a single file, which they then upload to all the outlets (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and the like). They don't have to worry that their print run can only be 1,000 vs the 10,000 or 1,000,000 from the big presses.

I think there will always be a want for print books. I'm a huge fan of ebooks and e-publishing (if my post hadn't clued you in

), but I can't imagine having any of my reference materials in ebook format. It's just easier to flip through my style guide than hope I can come up with the right search term.

Gayle

Jamesaritchie · Jul 30, 2011

No one really has a clue how long e-files of any kind will last. Only time will tell, and no e-file has been around long enough to stand the test of time.

Al Stevens · Jul 30, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
No one really has a clue how long e-files of any kind will last. Only time will tell, and no e-file has been around long enough to stand the test of time.

Some of the COBOL I wrote in the early 1960s is still in use.

E-files will last as long as someone ensures they have backup copies. It's not about the medium. The file formats of e-books are open such that conversion to the next, newest format is simple even given DRM. They're not going away.

I am older than 51. I have a huge library of print edition books that I cannot read comfortably. Reading is slow and tedious, and the pleasure of holding a book in my hands and turning pages does not offset the inconvenience.

With luck, you will all live to an age where you might have similar issues.

As a reader, I love e-books because they returned to me the pleasures of reading. As a writer, I love them even more for all the reasons that have been argued endlessly here and elsewhere.

Darkshore · Jul 30, 2011

I read faster on my kindle and its the easiest way for me to get books, but nothing beats having those special books displayed on a bookshelf. Like my signed Ghost Story by Jim Butcher, I read over 100 pages the first hour or so I had it, and I squeed.

pdblake · Jul 30, 2011

I much prefer a solid, real book, but e-books are starting to grow on me. I spend a lot of time at one computer or another and have recently installed Kindle for PC. I like the idea of being able to have lots of books in one place without tripping over them, but that won't stop me buying physical books.

D_Cooper_Ho · Jul 30, 2011

I'm 29 and I am still having a hard time adjusting to e-books and online publishing. I bought my kindle for the convenience of it and promptly put it down for about four months after reading only a few pages. I just couldn't get into the book as much as if I had an actual paper copy in my hands. However, I gave the kindle another shot and have finally become accustomed to it. Now, my bookshelf is reserved only for very special books.

That being said, and me being new to the publishing aspect of being a writer, I have this idea in my mind that print publication is more prestigious than online publication. I have (only) submitted three stories so far and one as been accepted by an online lit magazine and also an online anthology (consecutively). When I told my former writing professor about the lit-mag his eyebrows shot up and his head bobbed in recognition. He said he'd heard of the lit-mag and thought it was highly recommended.

But...is it as good as, say, Glimmer Train?

Al Stevens · Jul 30, 2011

D_Cooper_Ho said:
...I have this idea in my mind that print publication is more prestigious than online publication.

A constantly changing landscape. I think the prestige factor is something that writers and folks in the publishing industry dwell on.

jaksen · Jul 30, 2011

I'm older than you and my work - so far - is only on paper. But I have no prejudices against e-publications.

And though a physical novel (or magazine) in my hands is nice, what I want is readers.

Preferably, lots of them.

sammyjwebb · Jul 30, 2011

I know that eventually I will get an e-reader, and I will likely carry it around with me every minute of the day. But a book can carry a history. I think of the time my husband - who was working nights - grabbed a few winks and then went and stood in line for several hours to have Robert Jordan sign a book for me. Years later it is still one of my favorite presents.

gayle12 · Jul 30, 2011

D_Cooper_Ho said:
But...is it as good as, say, Glimmer Train?

You're published in a lit mag your professor--a person who needs to know which lit mags and stories have power--recognizes it. I would think that's the definition of "as good as."

I'm getting ready to send my first paper manuscript out for consideration, and it's weird. Every other market I've submitted to in the last year-and-change (23 markets), have been e-mail submissions to non-paper markets, and I don't feel I've lost some level of respect/audience by publishing to online markets. They are readily available, and easy to encourage people to read (Look! I got published, and you can read it without leaving your house!). I'm not attempting to be published only in the "prestigious" markets. I'm attempting to get published in markets that want me.

Gayle

Polenth · Jul 30, 2011

I can't say I worry about it much. My main concern is trying to sell the story to a good market. I don't have room to be too picky outside of that.

That said, it's nice to have a physical copy to keep. But not to the point where I'd take a no-pay print market no one reads over an electronic market with a good reputation and pay. The market with the good pay and reputation always wins, regardless of format.

D_Cooper_Ho · Jul 31, 2011

gayle12 said:
You're published in a lit mag your professor--a person who needs to know which lit mags and stories have power--recognizes it. I would think that's the definition of "as good as."

When its put that way.....

Thanks!

Good luck on your submission, Gayle!

BobbyKing · Jul 31, 2011

I am mid-40s...

Personally, there's no replacement for a hardcopy in our hands when it comes to reading (that's just my opinion). I am using Kindle to read novels today.

However, the number of e-readers (using smartphone and tablets) are into millions and millions. Shouldn't one take advantage of that?...

Deleted member 42 · Jul 31, 2011

If it's not on a nice, durable sun-baked clay tablet, why bother?

Buffysquirrel · Aug 1, 2011

Medievalist said:
If it's not on a nice, durable sun-baked clay tablet, why bother?

+1

Al Stevens · Aug 1, 2011

Clay tablet? Nah. Nothing beats the smell of a cave wall painting. Kids today. What do they know?

books v. electrons

Rufus Leeking

Lillie

practical experience, FTW

Deleted member 42

Nathaniel Katz

The Evil Hat

Buffysquirrel

Rufus Leeking

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Jamesaritchie

veinglory

volitare nequeo

gayle12

Write. Edit. Publish. Repeat.

Jamesaritchie

Al Stevens

Darkshore

Stranger

pdblake

D_Cooper_Ho

Al Stevens

jaksen

Caped Codder

sammyjwebb

gayle12

Write. Edit. Publish. Repeat.

Polenth

Mushroom

D_Cooper_Ho

BobbyKing

Deleted member 42

Buffysquirrel

Al Stevens