Comments on: Ebooks: What We Lose With Them

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:25:55 +0000

Maybe. But remember that the amount of competition for that attention is growing, too. My contention is that e-books are becoming as common as websites, or almost so. And that it will be as hard to get your ebook onto the first few pages of search results as it is to get your web pages there.

And that’s competition on an order of magnitude greater than we’re facing now, in the less crowded niches. What it will eventually mean for us, I can’t say, but it will force changes.

By: Victor Brodt

Victor Brodt — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:40:53 +0000

RE; ” But readers will have harder time finding the books we’ll enjoy. And as publishers it means we have a far harder time rising above the roar of the crowd to draw our readers’ attention.”
I agree with and thank for your comments, but one contention, ultimately digital systems will prove much more valuable in reaching select needs; it is becoming the tipping point at an exponential rate. We are getting better at finding the books we want, and it should only improve.
Wish what every good dog already sees in you, the Best.
Respectfully,
Victor Brodt w JacktheDog

By: Tyson F. Gautreaux

Tyson F. Gautreaux — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:23:51 +0000

Websites RSS feed doesn’t work in my browser (google chrome) how can I mend it?

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:28:23 +0000

Glad you liked it!

Marion

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:19:27 +0000

As one who is still learning about all the aspects of e-publishing, I found this to be a very interesting post, Marion. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:07:48 +0000

My reading speed is also reasonably fast, so the page turning speed can be annoying. On the other hand, sometimes I hit the button as I’m easing onto the end of the page, and it works well for me.

Given a choice, I prefer the e-version, in general. But that said, I still buy plenty of pbooks.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:06:11 +0000

I love ebooks, but I’m not anti-book in the least.

On the other hand, I think that paperbacks tend not to be such a satisfying object as an object, as hardbacks. And when I want content in the most convenient form, that has become the ebook. For me.

By: Bob Gagnon

Bob Gagnon — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:25:22 +0000

I find all the tech points against e-reading intriguing. I don’t own an e-reader, but I have followed e-reading developments, including Sony’s e-reader web site. The titles I find there are not interesting, mostly dumb pop titles and that sort of sets the tone for me with e-reading. I especially lke Walt Shiei’s last comment “I will always opt for the print edition”.

But all those tech freaks out there won’t agree since they are naturally either anti-book or don’t have any positive feelings about books and type.

I am a 100% book lover and can’t seem to stop buying them, either new or used varieties. A printed article recently converted me to a low carb diet that has helped me get my blood sugar metrics back into the normal range of 4 to 6 with the overnight fast! So books are good for me!

But I do use online GIs and CIs! So the very best solution for me is combining online and tacky print books!

By: Walt Shiel

Walt Shiel — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:17:26 +0000

Good points all, Marion. I’ve owned a Kindle for 18 months now, but find I use it less and less for anything except short-form reading.

Here are a few other shortcomings of all e-books (regardless of format or device), which I’ve blogged about:

(1) When reading, I tend to flip back (to check something or reread a passage) and forward (to see how far I’ve got to go to the chapter end or to see how long the passage I’m currently reading is). I also might hold my place with my finger while checking the ToC or index to find out if the topic is covered in more detail elsewhere in the book.

(2) I share a Kindle with my wife. If I stop reading a book and then she starts reading the same book…I’ve probably lost my place (unless I remember to set a bookmark, although that is more cumbersome to use than a simple physical bookmark in a “real” book).

(3) I tend to read fast (especially fiction), so the slow page turning bugs me. At first, I liked being able to use the largest font size to read without my reading glasses, but that has lost its appeal since it results in so little text displaying on a page.

We offer all our books in various e-formats and do print-to-ebook conversions for many clients (mostly Kindle conversions lately). We always test our Kindle designs at the mid-size font as well as at the smallest and largest sizes to make sure the design still provides an acceptable reading experience

I own a lot of e-books in various formats. But, given a choice, I will always opt for the print edition.

Walt Shiel
Publisher, Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC

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