Did you know ebooks have been in existence for 41 years? Its true - the first ebook was created in 1971 as part of Project Gutenberg. Amazing!
Ebooks overwhelmingly outsell print books these days, and for good reason. Actually, several good reasons!
They're mobile. Instead of carrying one paperback, you can now carry hundreds of books at once. My Kindle's currently holding about 270.
You don't need a special device to read ebooks. Kindles and Nooks are great, but you can also read on your phone, or your computer with free apps.
You can buy an ebook in seconds. A wonderful convenience.
Your favorite authors' books are available as ebooks. And you might find a few new favorites, too.
My kids bought me a Kindle last Mother's Day, and I love it. The font size is adjustable, but with newer ebooks, most are formatted so they're easy to read. But with 270 ebooks loaded, I have some reading to catch up on.
Celebrate by reading an ebook! Have you read any good ones lately? I have so many on my hard drive waiting to be read. I really need an ereader.
Which makes me curious - how many of you own ereaders? Or do you simply read ebooks on your computer? Have you ever read an ebook on a different device? Maybe your phone?
The industry's shifting all the time, and ever, it seems, in the direction of digital. Ten years ago, I probably couldn't have imagined reading a book on my computer, or even being an e-published author. But now I have fourteen available, and have released four short stories through Smashwords/Kindle. Another three ebooks will release soon.
So I'm definitely celebrating ebooks! These past two years have been an amazing experience. My stories range from sweet to erotic, contemporary to historical, paranormal and fantasy, flash to novel-length. I hope you'll give some a try. :)
For Read an E-Book Week, I'm participating in the Smashwords celebration and making all my titles free. Yes, you read that right - free! They were very affordable before at 99 cents, but now they cost nothing. Nada. Gratis. Grab 'em now! Most were previously published by small online presses or web zines.
Hotline to Hell's a fun little paranormal story, another cautionary tale about selling your soul without exploring other options.
Reflections is another fun little paranormal, set during one of my favorite times of the year - Halloween. On the night when the veil between the two worlds thins, you never know what might cross over and cause a little mayhem and chaos. :)
Imprints is a more mainstream/literary short story. Much of it was derived from real life, based on the experiences of two reporters whose tales sometimes embodied the old phrase "truth is stranger than fiction."
If your tastes run more to speculative fiction, Trick of the Light is always available for free from Smashwords.
I have another free read available from the Wild Rose Press:
If you have any doubt about the success of ebooks, doubt no further. The Association of American Publishers found ebook sales increased 176 percent in 2009. Incredible! Certainly worth celebrating.
Publishers Weekly’s eBook forum, Think Future, recognized the significance of ebooks in the market but unfortunately focused on aesthetics of the format rather than more important issues such as piracy, and how to make ebook profits more equitable to authors. Ironic, since PW recently published findings of "massive piracy" in which publishers lose about $3 billion (yes, with a b) due to illegal sharing. (It is not a compliment to an author to share a book you love. Share it in a review, certainly, but please don't take hard-earned wages from authors by forwarding ebooks to others. Thank you.) Despite warnings, book sites continue to share ebooks illegally.
The Book Industry Study Group is conducting the inaugural study of readers' attitudes toward ebooks through July 2010. Those results should prove interesting reading.
This video on the Social Media Revolution illustrations the trend toward digital in everything from "friending" people to hiring new employees. The point about advertising is interesting, though somewhat disturbing that marketers would make such choices for us. But that's another issue, for another blog.
If you’re looking for a few suggestions on great ebooks, check out mine! Whichever authors you like, I urge you to support them by buying their ebooks, not just during Read an E-Book Week, but all year.
March 8-14 is Read an E-Book Week. More new epresses appear every week, and readers are embracing e-books. While readership has fallen for print books, ebooks have enjoyed a growing number of readers. I have a growing cache of e-stories myself. Although a little late, I’ll help celebrate Read an E-Book Week on March 19. On that day, The Wild Rose Press will release my short story, Seventh Heaven. I’ll hold a contest and give away one PDF copy. As a child of the 1960s, I incorporated the music I loved while growing up in the Lambertville/New Hope area, where the story is set. James is named for James Paul McCartney (pardon me, I should say “Sir” these days), my idol as one of the youngest Beatlemaniacs (I was five when they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and I vividly remember falling in love with him that night). The Music Circus existed until the late Seventies, and Judy Collins did perform there, and makes a cameo appearance in my story. But I won’t give too much away – you’ll have to come back on the 19th to try to win a copy, or go to the Wild Rose Press site and purchase one (only a few dollars – for a good cause, to help a struggling author). The trailer is below. I took all the photos of New Hope and Lambertville on a trip home last fall. It was nearly sunset, so the light was perfect - rich color hues, deep shadows, brilliant rays of sunshine. My extraordinarily talented son wrote the music. Hope you like it.
