The publishing industry went through a tremendous change in the past decade or so. The appearance of eBooks and because the authors are given a chance to self-publish their books, the readers have more convenient tools to read and to buy books for less than the price of a cup of coffee.
Is it a good change? Is it good for both the authors and readers?
The authors either send out query letters to publishers and hope for the best, or self-publish their books. However, not every author can afford professional editing, book cover, and formatting, so they try their best to do it themselves. Some authors are successful navigating the jungle of publishing and learn to do everything in order to produce eBooks and print, but others are not that savvy and need help.
We asked the opinion of authors and readers about publishing and reading in the digital age.
“I love my reading app. I can read books on my Kindle, my phone or on my iPad. It is so convenient and easy.” ~Mary
“I love reading eBooks on my breaks, but for cozy night reading I still prefer prints.” ~Becky
“There are so many books available nowadays for reasonable prices, but there are many books that need serious editing. Also, I often come across books that have empty pages; the font and font size are different on every page. When I come across a book like that, I leave a review and advice the author to have the book edited. ”~Joseph
“I don’t like it when authors post long posts about their books on social sites. It’s too much to read when all I want to see is the book cover, tell me in a few words what the story is about, and give me a link where I can read more if I want to. That’s why I don’t read blogs either. They post so much information and a lot of links not realizing that readers’ attention span is less than two minutes in this digital age we live in.”~Carol
“I used to subscribe to newsletters about books but I canceled all my subscriptions. They flood my email twice a day and it became too much. Now I only subscribe to monthly readers’ magazines.”~Charlotte