Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Will eBooks Change Your Reading Habits?


What does this mean for authors?


Channel Hopping
Comes to eBooks!


I am now actively reading four books on my Kindle. (I’m reading two on my Sony and one print book.)

The Kindle books are: “Chasing the Sun”,The Texan’s Irish Bride,”A Hope Undaunted” and “The Hunger Games”. I have no problem switching between books. I read what I feel most like reading at any given time. I think this is a factor of having all my books instantly available without having to carry them around. It's like having a TV remote ever ready to switch to something different!

Reading Habits Will Change!

This instant availability is changing my reading habits. It also pits the books I’m reading against each other for a share of my mind and time. I now have 344 books on my Kindle of which I have probably bought 50. The others were free books. The free books are good books. They are just sitting there waiting for a share of my time. About ten of these books I have already purchased before they became free. I’m not too sure how to think about these. A few of these books I first bought as print books -- “Code Blue” for example. I am delighted to get them for my Kindle because I can make the type as large as I want. I can also search these books to find passages I want to use in reviews.

The Competition Does Not End After the Sale!

Authors need to consider that their books remain in competition with other books even after they are sold. A reader who does not read your book after buying it or is lured away by another book, may not buy your next book. “Oh, I didn’t even finish her last book”.

This is why ‘rewarding the reader’ on each page is so important. The author has to hold the reader’s interest all they way from the first page to the last page. I actually think it is more important for the middle of the book to be grabbing than it is for the first five pages. (You need the first five pages to win writing contests, I know, but holding the reader's attention is more important in that 'sagging' middle! I can't think of one book that I purchased in the last year that was a result of reading the first five pages! Not one!)



Lesson: get your books read!  It’s not enough that someone bought your book. Keep plugging your backlist. More importantly:  always have a KO, knockout, ending for your books. Because now a reader can buy more of your books within seconds of finishing the book she just read!

4 comments:

  1. Great post, Vince! Especially timely for me since my first book, a romantic suspense, Caught by a Clown, was recently released in paperback and will be available in e-book a week from Friday at The Wild Rose Press.

    As for the reason I looked you up, you commented at Sweethearts of the West on Nona Kelley-Carver's poem "A Soldier's Christmas." You asked if she had a poem for military nurses. She recently finished one, inspired by your request, and asked me to pass it on to you. I hope you contact me at speak2me@sandracrowley.com so that I can fulfill her request. If you prefer, you can contact her via her website http://www.cowboypoetry.com/nonakcarver.htm

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  2. Hi Sandra:

    I think very highly of the “Wild Rose Press”. I’ll be looking for your book, “Caught by a Clown”.

    I’d love to read Nona’s poem. I am very moved by the “Vietnam Women's Memorial” most of whom were nurses.

    I’ll email you today.

    Vince

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  3. Hi Vince, Interesting blog. My 90 year old dad just bought a Kindle because he loves to read and can't read even the large print anymore. Since buying the Kindle last month he has read 11 books already. He is sooooooo happy. Makes me want to get one myself.

    You're right ebooks are going to change the publishing business in a huge way. I think for the good.

    Anyway, I'm on your blog because I wanted to respond to your comment on your blog in Seekerville on January Fifth. It was a great blog btw.

    But you asked me if I noticed the tag you made for me and I never got back to you because my Internet went out. yikes. Anyway I did notice and thank you for that. I like it. Can I use it?

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  4. Hi Sandra:

    I’m so happy for your dad! I know how he feels. The Kindle not only has large type but the paper white background is easier to read than a real book. It is far easier for me to read now than when I was young.


    The Kindle will also read the book out loud without needing ear plugs. An author can put her WIP into Kindle format and have the book read back to her as she is driving or doing housework. You can choose male or female voice. This is a great way to view your work. (If it does not sound right, it is not well written.)

    About the tag. Thanks for your nice comments. All the authors can have the tags, with all rights, that I wrote for them -- if they want to use them. My two favorite tags that I wrote were yours:

    Romance Forged in Faith, Love & Humor!

    (I thought it was a natural to work the smith part of your name into the tag. Thus the word forged.)

    and Audra’s.

    Making Romance a Peak Experience!

    Yes. Yes. Yes. I’d be honored if you use the tag!

    Vince

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