Book Babies

     Is there anything quite as euphoric as writing the final chapter of your novel? It's almost like giving birth to a new baby and if you're a self published author, the comparison doesn't stop there. I've just finished the sequel (yet unnamed) to Sweet Tea and Southern Grace and at least this time I know the amount of work I need to do to make this baby grow!

     With ST&SG, I was like a new mother nursing my baby along until it took it's first steps. I couldn't just sit idly by and expect it to flourish on its on. It needed to be fed, changed if necessary and then introduced to social situations so that eventually it could become well adjusted and self-supporting. But just like a child, it will never stop needing me, if only to give it a push now and then on it's road to success.

     Having the second book baby will be easier, I think, just like having a second child. I've learned so much - changes, feeding, social adjustments. and little pushes along the way - those are the things that are necessary to take it from mediocrity to success. 

     September 28th is my due date for my second child, my sequel. I'll post a birth announcement soon giving the name and details. Watch for it and help make my baby grow. Remember, it takes a village to raise a child!

Glenda Manus

E-books or Paper

       I recently pulled out an old writer's magazine that I had tucked away and started browsing through it.  It was a 2010 magazine, and reading it definitely seemed old news, especially a discussion on e-books versus paper. In 2010, e-books were still considered a fad. Many thought they would go by the wayside and could never replace paper books, but just a year later, in 2011, Amazon reported that at last e-books were outselling paper.

     Still, in this January 26, 2014 PBS Newshour, we're told that Americans still prefer print books and only 4% read exclusively e-books. That's good news, because I worked hard on designing a book cover that would attract readers for my current paperback and personally, I prefer paper books. Vivid colors of all genres line the shelves of my bookcase creating a masterpiece that other artwork can't touch. I love the look and feel of books and I have a hard time letting them go once I've read them. Some of them I've read more than once. But I've also got over fifty books "lining the shelves" of my Kindle. When I travel, I have instant reading material at my fingertips fitting very nicely in my purse. Try stuffing fifty paper books in a purse!

     But now I'm puzzled. If Americans prefer paper books, why is the Kindle version of my novel outselling the paperback to the tune of about one hundred e-books to every five print books? I've come to the conclusion that it's the cost. Being self-published, I can sell the paperback for less than $11 and still make a small profit. I think that's a reasonable price. But I can sell the e-book version for $3.99 with no overhead costs and that, my friends is the key. Until I'm a well-known author, readers don't mind spending less than $4 for a book, but they're hesitant to pay more when they're wondering if they're buying a pig in a poke. My friends, on the other hand, have been very faithful in buying the real life book directly from me. It's hard to sign an e-book!

     Do you prefer e-books? Or are you still loving the feel and look of a paperback or hardback? 

Glenda Manus