5 Advantages of eBooks
I dragged my heels for years over adopting eBooks. I felt they weren’t ‘real’ books. I wanted real covers and real paper. I wanted my books to all come out in print, with eBooks as an afterthought for the few outliers that might want to read them in that format.
I like to own books and I had the sense I couldn’t own a digital file — not the way I could own a print book and put it on my shelf. Fellow authors will know that there’s nothing quite like seeing your own name on a spine in a book store. Does it matter that nobody else in the bookstore is looking at your book? Not really. Your book baby is still beautiful.
Then one magical day, I was offered a contract by a digital-first publisher, specifically Soul Mate Publishing. Five years had passed since the publication of my last novel Stalked. I knew the publishing world had undergone a major shift. Writers were bearing more of the marketing (and in many cases, editing) responsibilities. A number of presses popped up that were digital only and digital first. I had serious qualms about digital.
Now that I’ve made the switch (well, not switch as much as incorporation) to eReader and eBook literature, I have noticed a handful of distinct benefits I think might account for the waves of readers picking up Kindles, Kobos, and other devices.
1. Instant Access from Online
Buy a new book from the comfort of your living room without the associated 2-week waiting period.
2. Purchase Savings
Digital books are often given away free in promotions or priced to move at between .99 cents and 2 or 3 dollars.
3. Never Lose a Bookmark
All you need to do to mark your spot in the book is tap the top right corner. Turning pages is just a tap of the left (backward) or right (forward) sides of the screen.
4. Portability
If you’ve packed more than 2 or 3 novels for a vacation, you’ve noticed how quickly you sacrifice precious suitcase real estate. My eReader is light and slim.
5. The ‘Cool’ Factor
One of the most striking benefits I’ve noticed is how slick and elegant my eReader feels in my hands. When I take it on the go, I feel like I’ve got an artifact from the future in my purse.
Originally published at christine-hart.blogspot.ca on April 4, 2016.
