E-book anyone?

courtesy of veer.com

Last week I attended a fantastic round-table panel of talented local authors. It was facilitated by indie book editor, writer, and publishing consultant Robin Quinn.  The round-table had a menagerie of writers from southern California, all with impressive histories and accomplishments.

I bet you didn't know that you could write an Internet book, self publish and make money.  Well the author who stood out most from my perspective was the one who did just that.  In researching "how to" write an e-book she found that THAT process brought her deliberate as well as passive income that she never would have imagined. To recap some of her presentation:

"There are approximately 77 million baby boomer's shopping on the Internet; and billions worldwide who search for books on line because it's private, immediate and convenient.  Edited books are polished and direct and e-books are wordier, more conversational rhetorically of course.  Edited books have a market and so does e-books.  The most popular books sold are romance novels however the most lucrative genre is instructional or "how to" books.  Edited books are unchangeable vs. e-books that can be edited continually at any time.  Always perfecting the process.

I think that is pretty outstanding.  How many times have you read something that you wish could be further edited but can't due to final edit, a run of copy, distribution, and sale?  How many times have you said something you wish you could take back?  Well writing an e-book will give you that opportunity.  Similar to updating a "published" blog post.  You can always alter it for the consumer to make it better, without having to write a retraction or a second volume.

With so many book store franchises closing [as what is happening to Borders Books, more and more are now liquidation stores] e-readers are the future, similar to the fate of music stores.  Downloading is what will exclusively happen in our lifetime, it's both great and sad.  Maybe I'm strange but I enjoy going to a library and walking into a book store, staying for hours searching through titles and looking at text on bound paper.  I like opening and smelling the pages.  I even like seeing my favorite books in my home on my shelves, referencing them and recommending them to others.  After several harsh lessons I don't lend or rent books from my personal library anymore.  People have no respect for private property.

Now due to my recent disability I will most likely invest in some type of e-reader because it's getting harder to hold books open with only one hand while reading.  I'll not only move forward downloading new books on to my soon-to-be-purchased e-reader, but will repurchase my entire private library.  Granted this will be a timely and costly process but I am willing to make the lifestyle shift.  Especially since I'm considering becoming an author.

Why not, after all, [trust me] I've been through more than most people who I know, I have learned many lessons [and I'm still learning], and I have teachable moments [paying it forward] which is why I'm partaking in the Toastmasters public speaking organization and am blogging semi regularly again.  800,000 titles are available on many e-readers now, that's a host of knowledge at your fingertips why shouldn't my e-book be one of them?

Now which one do I choose?  The I-Pad [which holds many e-reader apps], The Kindle, The Nook and many others.  We are living the information age people, it's time to get with the program.  On a hysterical side note, I have an I-pod that I've never used.  It's pretty and is still in the original box.  I still have CD towers in my house filled with my favorite music.  And I have CD cases in my car.  John Grisham, Cormack McCarthy, Elizabeth Gilbert and Anne Lamott are in no danger of me (wink, wink).