Amazon, ebooks, and Gutenberg
Here is an interesting post expanding on something I’ve thought for a while. Namely, that ebooks and low-cost ereaders are as big a revolution in literacy and the written word as Gutenberg and his printing press once were.
It’s remarkable how the production and distribution of books has become democratized (for lack of a better word). It used to take a team of experts and specialists to produce a book that people would actually buy. You needed an expensive printing press and people to do the layout of the book and to operate the press. You needed warehouses to store the books, trucks to ship the books places, and stores which would sell your books.
Now, for my most recent book, GHOST IN THE STORM, I wrote on a computer running Ubuntu 11.10, a free operating system. I used LibreOffice, a free office suite, to do the actual writing and editing. I turned it into an ebook file using Sigil, another free program, and converted it into the different ebook formats using Calibre, still another free application. I did the cover using the GIMP (a free image editing program) and public domain artwork (thanks, Arthur Rackham!). I then uploaded the file to the various ebook sites.
In this entire process, my expenses were:
-The computer I was using to write, a $270 netbook.
-My Internet connection, $60 a month.
-The sales percentage taken by the ebook vendors.
-My free time (which I would have wasted playing computer games anyway).
And since it came out in April 23rd, GHOST IN THE STORM has sold 125 copies in 10 days. By the end of the month, it will most probably have covered my expenses (which, I should point out, are expenses I would have had even if I had not written the book).
Long term (regardless of my personal profit), I think this is a good thing for society. It will mean an increase in literacy, a return in reading as a form of recreation, and easier exchange of information and ideas.
-JM
Steve Gutenberg created the printing press? At least he was good at something.
“It will mean an increase in literacy, a return in reading as a form of recreation, and easier exchange of information and ideas.”
On can only hope. Time wil tell, but I hope it all works out well. I just hope it does not kill off my beloved printed book!
I think it will take off, but I’m not sure if it will help us moderns all that much, in terms of literacy and being able to use that information now freer than ever before-we already have access to so much information as is, and we are dumber than ever. Modern man cares more about his libido than he ever did his mind.
That said…seeing as how your the master of the ebook and it’s tools: I have a kindle, the basic kind, if I ever were to upgrade it, which should I go with? I don’t believe I need all the extra features of the Fire, though it would be nice to have an ebook reader in color. Is the Kindle Fire even worth it? And while I like Amazon better than B&N, the NookColor looks pretty nice, but not sure if that is better than a kindle.
The Kindle Fire gets panned a lot in the press, but everyone I personally know who has one is quite happy with it. (Though anecdote is not the singular form of data.) Granted, it is a very basic tablet – no Bluetooth or microSD slot or GPS or any of the other bells and whistles that come with higher-end tablets. That says, it does everything 90% of tablet users will ever need, and if you’re in that 90%, go for it.
The one basic problem with both the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color/Tablet is that it locks you into the respective ecosystems of Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (Amazon’s ecosystem is a lot better, but if you just want a color ereader, go for the Nook Color/Tablet. If you want a basic tablet, get the Fire). If I were to spring for a 7 inch tablet, I’d probably get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy-Tab-7-Inch-Wi-Fi/dp/B007P4VOWC
It’s $250, but you can install both the Kindle and Nook apps on it, giving you access to both ecosystems.
Thanks for your help! Amazon’s ecosystem is way better, so if I go with either of them it will be the kindle fire, but I’ll have to check out the Galaxy Tab 2, it looks like it’d be a good deal (and only $50 more than Fire). Truth be told I never had even considered it before, thanks for pointing that out to me.