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