tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post782333404135869080..comments2023-10-20T08:56:14.314+01:00Comments on Stroppy Author: A life in publishing: Putting all our eggs in the digital basketStroppy Authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-264410936429026922014-12-09T12:50:19.096+00:002014-12-09T12:50:19.096+00:00Thanks for nice blog. Currently I’m promoting The...Thanks for nice blog. Currently I’m promoting <a href="http://www.thespecialguestchristmasbook.com" rel="nofollow">The Special Guest</a> written by Lee Allen. <a href="http://www.thespecialguestchristmasbook.com" rel="nofollow">The Special Guest</a> is a true heartwarming and inspiring Christmas story about a family’s tragedy and how they come to learn of a plan greater than themselves. The timeless truths of this holiday book will make for a reading delight for both young and old – touching all with the sentiments that make Christmas so special.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10923833282226880533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-59892211267569965562011-08-23T17:48:15.461+01:002011-08-23T17:48:15.461+01:00Completely agree, though personally I still have a...Completely agree, though personally I still have all my old LPs and just bought a record player again. I'm not a fan of ebooks for a variety of reasons - I don't find them as pleasant to read from (can rarely bring myself to do it) and I'm also afraid they'll eventually kill the writing profession both through piracy and driving down prices. Really though, they just add a piece of trendy (and unnecessary) technology to reading. The fervor for ereaders feels like an emperor's clothes thing to me; I just don't get the excitement.C.K.http://www.ckkellymartin.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-52013683436353505852011-08-19T12:29:57.416+01:002011-08-19T12:29:57.416+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Denizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09835664305495124228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-38730537456728702792011-07-29T17:04:46.357+01:002011-07-29T17:04:46.357+01:00Just found this! Interesting post, Anne, and of co...Just found this! Interesting post, Anne, and of course you are absolutely right about the technology moving on and Kindles eventually becoming museum pieces, and maybe sooner than we think. Having been a computer professional in the early 1980's, I've moved from enormous reels of tape you had to change halfway through the program, to a little gizmo on my keyring that will store thousands of times as much data.<br /><br />But the programs are still basically the same underneath, so I think there will still be some kind of digital book and e-reader in the future. Of course I won't care what happens to my own books after I am dead, so maybe that is when they will go "oop"?<br /><br />I think my question referred more to paper books going oop after only 6 months, and e-books maybe being a way to keep them in print for long enough to build a readership, as they used to do when they were allowed a longer shelf life.<br /><br />As for paper copies, paper deteriorates too (albeit much slower) and is also vulnerable. The Great Library of Alexandria was wiped out by a fire. In future I think I'll go for one handwritten and beautifully-illustrated version of each of my books stored away in a safe somewhere, and a digital format for whatever futuristic e-reader people are using at the time.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Kindle Authors UK are busy kindling their books for future museum pieces!Katherine Robertshttp://www.katherineroberts.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-16001098591211288442011-07-29T07:24:14.136+01:002011-07-29T07:24:14.136+01:00That's an excellent point, Shane - thank you f...That's an excellent point, Shane - thank you for raising it. <br /><br />I think everyone is intent on comparing publishing with the music industry, but the games industry is really far more relevant in many ways. Two reasons: digital encoding of audio is a very simple thing compared to games and illustrated books (though an essentially text-only Kindle book is simple); and both e-books and computer games replace something (physical books and games) that could be used without any item of equipment, unlike music which has always required technology (record player, cassette player, CD player).<br /><br />I absolutely agree - people want to keep their precious libraries and that will drive hardware producers to maintain backwards compatibility, at least for a while. (But we can't play Frogger any more...) <br /><br />What will happen when someone dies? Will their books be lost/deleted? It's easier to chuck out an old Kindle without realising what's on it than to empty a library. There probably won't be the market in second-hand books there is now that keeps OOP books in circulation. I can't foresee - though it may come about - anything equivalent to the serendipitous discovery of a wonderful title you'd never heard of in a secondhand bookshop. So perhaps one difference is that OOP books won't find new readers.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-68503480557563630042011-07-29T01:57:25.750+01:002011-07-29T01:57:25.750+01:00This is a great article, but I would like to raise...This is a great article, but I would like to raise a couple of alternate points of view (not necessarily in disagreement, but parallel points I think are worth considering):<br /><br />The rise of digital media and intangible products has made people a little bit wary. They can't hold the things they've bought, or protect them in any physical way. They can't be onsold or pawned to offset the purchase cost. As far as I know, they can't be insured either (though I might be wrong about this). <br /><br />Thus, the permanence (or permanent availability) of these files becomes a big issue for the consumer. <br /><br />I resisted upgrading my games consoles until I could be sure that my save games could be transferred across AND that the new console was backwards compatible. <br /><br />My guess is that for the next generation of consoles, backwards compatibility is going to be an even bigger issue, and a must-have feature for any gamer who has purchased digital games and/or Downloadable Content (DLC). No reason to not apply the same logic to readers of ebooks.<br /><br />People with massive ebook libraries that they've spent a fortune on aren't going to embrace any new technology unless it will read all the books that they've painstakingly collected over the years. <br /><br />My guess is that you're right: the books probably won't still be for sale 20 years from now in any form (i.e. they will be for all intents and purposes out-of-print), but the people who did buy them will still own them, and read them (just like any out-of-print hardcopy book).ShaneWSmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10705119582166619390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-86943959363437611482011-07-28T14:24:30.548+01:002011-07-28T14:24:30.548+01:00Agree completely! Thanks for very interesting and ...Agree completely! Thanks for very interesting and informative article.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-82686555169321171542011-07-28T11:57:40.811+01:002011-07-28T11:57:40.811+01:00Yes, for a while. And then we'll die, or not b...Yes, for a while. And then we'll die, or not bother as there are too many books to bother with, especially if they only sell a few copies a year. I have around 150 books. I would not bother converting most of them. And books with pictures present a particular problem, as the author doesn't own the copyright or license to the pictures.<br /><br />Remember that non-fiction books vastly outnumber fiction. And fiction includes a lot of crud, like mass-market genre fiction and character-led fiction that no one, not even the authors (that includes me) will bother converting. And it's stuff that there's not much point in reading in twenty years time, true. But it's still an important part of contemporary culture that will have academic interest in the future. It's not all about our pride as writers.<br /><br />And actually - even now authors are picking a platform and ignoring the others. Kindle authors often ignore e-pub, for instance. That's encouraged by Amazon's contractual terms. For now, it's a 'look-at-me' moment, but it will soon become a chore.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363444567124084776.post-34753528170537967572011-07-28T11:21:50.542+01:002011-07-28T11:21:50.542+01:00Don't you think the authors who publish to Kin...Don't you think the authors who publish to Kindle will transfer to the new technologies as they arise? Witt the auhtor involved rahter than just the publisher, isn't this more likely to happen - of coursem, thast is if the author deems the book to still be worhty of being "in print". I suspect new editions will occur as we move throuhg the technologies.Gill Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00632631163777155215noreply@blogger.com