Are books dead, and can authors survive? - Guardian 22/8/11
This scares me. It scared me on the 4th October 2010, when I wrote about something similar, and actually I haven't really got anything new to add. But the above article did remind me how much I hate the idea.
Thinking back to the way there has been so much uproar over libraries closing, the majority of people feel the same way as me. You don't need a building to house ebooks; therefore, if you want the building, you want the books that are inside them.
When I was younger, imagining my life (in a freezing attic, wearing fingerless gloves) as a writer, I never pictured myself uploading files to a computer. I imagined opening a big box full of first editions. I imagined hardbacked books, with crisp white paper, with a beautifully illustrated front cover. (Do front covers exist in ebook format?) I imagined being able to give my friends and family complimentary, signed copies. (How do you sign an ebook?)
I have not yet had any form of book published. The longer it takes, the less likely my mother will ever get that signed copy - unless something drastic happens.
Your last sentence really struck a chord with me. I hope to be published one day, but I'm less and less certain about what format it will be in. I would like that decision to be mine, but it may not be.
ReplyDeleteI know it should be exciting, thinking of all the possibilities epublishing can offer, but still...
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, though, I'm probably not as 'scared' as I suggested in the title :-)