Image via WikipediaChances are that if you're alive, you've heard of the Amazon Kindle (or some other sort of e-reader). What you may not have heard, however, is the changes that many believe it is causing in the ways people read, write, and publish their books.Okay, let's get real here. You've probably heard. But what does it mean for you as a writer? What about you as a reader?
It's hard to tell at this point, but I think the results will be quite favorable to writers. As a writer you are presented with a wonderful opportunity to get your book out there without going through a publisher. It's a great way to get some valuable experience on what people actually like to read without sinking too much money into self publishing in print, which can quite literally cost you an arm and a leg. Well, if that's the type of currency they take, that is. In that case, I would probably become suspicious.
Not to mention all of the trees you save. And if you decide not to do the indie thing anymore in the future, it might help quite a bit if an editor knows you as, "that chick or dude who wrote that book that was in the top ten on Amazon Kindle for a year straight" instead of just a no-name right off the streets.
Not to mention, of course, well...this. I can only imagine the toes I'm going to step on by linking that one.
KDP (that's Kindle Direct Publishing, not Kurdistan Democratic Party) isn't just a boon for writers, however. Can you imagine a world with no book trailers hyping up terrible books to the point where you actually find yourself buying them when you know they're going to be terrible? How about world in which a book gains merit by impressing its readers alone and is hailed as a classic, while less well written and executed novels sink to the bottom of the barrel where they belong? Ladies and gentlemen, such is the world I've seen come into existence while browsing book reviews at the Kindle Store. Well, not always of course...there are those authors who ask their friends to leave incredibly favorable reviews of their products. In fact, you'll more than likely notice that all of the reviews for books that have just been added are usually five stars. The one star reviews don't start coming in until later when, obviously, other people have started buying and reading the book.
Then again, I have also seen people give low ratings to a book just because it "contained swear words", so I'm not saying that this is wonderful for writers and readers just yet. I'm just saying that, at the moment, it seems like it will have a pretty positive outcome.
I wrote this thing in a room full of screaming, cackling, tongue clicking people. I'm one of those people who requires absolute silence to write anything worth reading, so I apoligize if this post isn't...well, if it isn't worth reading.
Gah. This is one of the reasons why writing a novel takes me so long. Has anyone ever had absolute quite in their homes when they weren't home alone (which I never am anymore -.-).
As a writer, I think it works both ways. You can get your book out there for little or no cost, but you also get little or no money.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I think the effect is more negative than positive. Yes, you can get some books for free now. But once some books start coming out as "Kindle Exclusive" or whatever, they will still charge as much as the print would have cost. And what about the library? Libraries can't buy everybody Kindles. (At the moment anyway) you need your own device. $100. Just to read a book.
http://www.novelr.com/2011/02/27/rich-indie-writer
ReplyDelete^ The money thing was a concern of mine at first, too (though to be honest, I'd write even if I didn't get a dime for it because, well, I'm sort of young and stupid :P). Ironically I don't really like Amanda Hocking or Jack Kilbourne.
I'll also admit that I scorned the Kindle up until the moment my friend shoved one in my face because I, too, saw it as one hundred dollars to read a book. I later saw it as one hundred dollars to read thousands of books that I can easily keep in one place, and I've been addicted ever since (especially since I live in the Boondocks where the nearest bookstore is two hours away and the newest books in the library are all dimestore romance novels). If I'm ever as rich as Bill Gates, buying people Kindles will definitely be my charity of choice. It's something that I've always sincerely wished everyone could have :(
Especially since they lowered the price after I saved up for months to get mine. Funny how that always happens to me xD