My Kindle Cometh; Or, the Rise and Rise of E-Books | Highland ...

Picture a little girl, probably no older than six, crawling through the long grass on a windy day in the Highlands with a determined look on her face.? Clenched in her grubby fist are several ripped-up pages of comic book (actually, I was a bit of a neat freak even then, so it probably wasn?t that grubby, but you get the idea).? I don?t remember what the story was, and I somehow doubt it was gripping enough to warrant my commando-style progress, but I do remember the feeling of victory when I?d finally collected all the pieces and found out how it finished.

Since then, I?ve given up crawling through the long grass (except on very special occasions) but my need to read has remained.? I?m the person sitting next to you on the train, who?s just finished their book, and is trying not to look as though they?ve just seen a really interesting article in your paper; or if our paths should cross over breakfast, and there?s nothing else around, you may well see me perusing the print on the cornflakes packet with a slightly furtive air.

I need to read, it?s that simple.? And as a reader, having a Kindle has changed my life.? From being a sceptic, I?m a full convert to the joy of e-books; when you read as much and as quickly as I do, having something the size of a single paperback that lets you carry around half a library is something I find pretty amazing, even now.

But as a writer?okay, this is where things start to get a little tricky.? Broadly speaking, we want to be published.? We?ve spent months hunched over a laptop as the rest of the world passes us by, and we want to get our stuff ?out there?, for people to read and hopefully enjoy.? But while traditional publishing is still the holy grail for most of us, it feels like it?s getting harder and harder to achieve.? By contrast, e-publishing looks like a slightly less impossible option; and yet?a quick straw poll of friends, published and still subbing, confirms that they?d only turn to e-publishing as a last resort.

In many ways, I think that?s a shame.? I pretty much buy only e-books now; the only exceptions are ones that aren?t available or are so physically beautiful that I have to have them on my bookcase.? I also buy a hell of a lot more of them now, because space isn?t an issue (and yes, they?re a little cheaper, but that?s cancelled out by the sheer volume I buy now).? And I?m not alone.? Look around you on trains, in the park ? people are still reading, but they?re doing it on their e-readers.

Do I still want to be traditionally published?? Hell, yes.? I want to have the knowledge that someone likes my stuff enough to back it with cold, hard cash.? But I?m starting to think that a few years down the line, e-publishing (as opposed to self-publishing) is going to sound a lot less like traditional publishing?s poor relation.

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Source: http://highlandwriter.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/my-kindle-cometh-or-the-rise-and-rise-of-e-books/

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