I have some questions for all of you about e-readers, as part of some research I’m doing. I’d appreciate if you had the time to share your answers – you can always email them to me if you aren’t happy posting them here.
1. Do you have an e-reader, buy books for it and read books on it? If not, don’t worry about the rest of this!
2. Does format determine whether or not you buy a book for your reader?
3. If it’s not available in your e-reader’s format, do you buy the book in print, or simply not at all?
You might remember a post here a long time ago about rights reverting to me for previously published books. I have some ideas about how to put those books back to work – and make them available to readers again – but the easiest way to do it is digitally. And the easiest place to self-publish digitally is Amazon with their Kindle – but that is a proprietary format. Not everyone has or wants a Kindle. I’m wondering whether it makes sense to take the extra effort/time/money on my part to make the works more universally available.
This isn’t something that will come together immediately – there are bunches of steps to cover and I still have books to write – and I still have a lot of mulling to do about it. Key to that is more data, especially from my readers, so please share your thoughts. 🙂
Deborah Cooke: Author 
12 responses to “E-Readers”
I have a Kindle. I read on it and I also read regular books. There is a Kindle app that works on the iPad and the iPod Touch and on Macs and PCs.
I’ve done a little looking into things (because my book is OOP and the rights reverted back to me…already) and Amazon doesn’t (seem to) require an ISBN, which is great because they are expensive.
There’s the formatting and a few changes I want to make which has kept me from doing anything.
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I have the Kindle 2 and love it. I do continue to buy print books for the series I already have and I can often find books I want at my local used book store for cheaper. Most of the books I have on my Kindle or books I cannot buy in print or are books by authors I’ve never read before and not sure If I’ll like.
Format does matter to be because if you have to convert the format to one your ereader will recognize then it distorts the format and that bugs me a lot.
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I read on my iphone and paperback. I prefer Barnes & Nobel, but I also have Amazon and all the rest. In a pinch I’ll get a pdf but don’t like it as well, since I have to ensure I get everything backed up myself. I used to read on the computer (epub and pdf) but it wasn’t as enjoyable and not portable. I have noticed some new books aren’t avail in e format right away, and if I have to have the book I will buy in print, but will see if they will come out in eform (I’m really trying to cut back on my physical TBR pile ~ hubby can’t see the electronic pile 🙂 ) I love it when I can find older books electronically, esp if I’m trying to catch up on a series. ‘Course there are some authors/series that I just have to have in physical form (your Dragons are one of them)!
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I have a Kindle and I am now spoiled by using it. I pretty much only read books on my Kindle and if a book I want is not available for my e-reader I will wait for it in that format rather than purchase a print book..
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I have a Nook. I also have the B&N and Kindle apps for my netbook and iPhone. So, I’m cross-functional.
I read more on the Nook than the netbook or iPhone, and more paper books than electronic. Technically, the Nook is used more by my husband than me, which is why I’m not quite as digital as you might expect of me!
Right now, I’m really annoyed at the whole digital format issue and that there isn’t more compatibility between them. You should be able to buy from any store, and play on any device. Once the Windows Tablet/Slate devices come out, I’ll be happier about being able to buy where I want, on one device.
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I keep sniffing around the FAQ pages, and right now am feeling Amazon-ish. They certainly make it easier. B&N’s program is out of the question for me as I don’t live in the States. Oh well!
Next challenge will be creating nice digital files. If there are new players by the time I’ve got that busy-work done, I might change strategies. I would prefer to not be linked to a specific bookseller (or specific format) because that gives all of you more choice, and also gives people in publishing less concern about favouritism by the author. So, far, though I don’t see that option, at least not with DRM. I’ll keep looking, and keep listening to your suggestions!
Thanks for sharing your views.
d
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A little late to chime in on this issue, but I am a Kindle fan. I adore the portability. I can carry 12 different authors with me. I love traditional books, but alas they do go out of print, and they take up room. Digital rocks
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Not too late, Alicia –
I won’t be deciding for sure until I have the books formatted and buckets of technical questions answered. 😛
Thanks for your reply! The Kindle certainly is a popular choice.
d
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I have purchased a Kobo eReader from Chapters and use it to read digitally. But I do still purchase books in print if not available digitally. Living in Canada there is a smaller selection of eReaders, but with Kobo you can purchase form other sites, not just Kobo. I like that option.
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Thanks Lynnette –
I’ve heard good things about the Kobo reader. Nice to hear that you like it so much.
d
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I’ll chime in here and admit that I have a Sony eReader. I will also admit that I prefer the PDF format over the rest, probably because I can create my own PDF files for my waaaay older books myself. I buy current books in both paperback and digital format if I really like them, which definitely includes your books Deb!
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Okay, I’ll bite. How do you create PDF files of your older books yourself? Do you type them in?
d
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