Words
The world of words, publishing, and book stores. There is a jostle in the normal activity of writers wanting to be published and readers wanting both the cozy atmosphere of a wee book store nestled onto Main Street. These readers want all that but they are also fully enjoying all the techie gadgets are slowly killing these little shops. Or are they?
Its a weird thing. I love gadgets and my Kindle is about the coolest thing ever. The mindset of the folks who are refusing to give in and buy one think that these will be the death of the local bookshop. I gotta say, I don't agree. Why? Because I'm an avid reader and I haven't walked into a small shop since I was 10. I would borrow my books and pass them to the next family member. Or I would buy them at a grocery store or tag sale. And then in the 1990's Barnes and Noble opened up in Holyoke and I bought my books there. And then Amazon.com took about 90% of my business.
Here's the thing. I haven't had the sort of life that allows me to spend a couple hours in a book store curled up in a chair and reading. I haven't had that life in about 17 years now. You probably don't either. In fact, I could count on one hand the people I know who have that sort of time, and the majority of them shop on Amazon. Amazon is easy. The Kindle is stupid easy. Click, click, click.... Voila! Book is in my hands. And on my two computers and my iPhone. The things talk to each other so no matter where I leave off, my bookmarks sync up with each other. And if that isn't the coolest damn thing I don't know what is. So yes, Amazon has taken my business. Almost all of it. I've been a Prime member for years and don't pay shipping for the things that can't magically appear on my Kindle. They took my business from Barnes, not from a local book seller.
Here's the other thing. Publishing is about to be (if it hasn't been already) turned upside down because of these new gadgets. No longer will publishing companies run the risk of printing thousands of books only to have them end up in the clearance bin. Now, you don't even need a publishing company or an agent. There's CreateSpace. Yep, its owned by Amazon. They do print on demand. And they work with individual writers to help get their books out to the world. The writer is then responsible for marketing their own book with some help from Amazon. Not really that difficult with the internets at one's fingertips.
So, is Amazon the evil Wal-Mart of the book world? I guess that depends. I was thinking the other day as I was waiting for my latest free book to be delivered to my Kindle that without this thing, I would never have read 5 books since Christmas. I couldn't afford to buy all those hardcovers at $20 a pop. The books I was getting were either free or maybe $5 each. I didn't have to wait for the planets to align so I could escape my house and get to a store, I didn't use any gas in my car, no trees died and these books weren't taking up space in a warehouse or coming out of a factory.
Clean. Simple. Easy. Fast. Cheap.
Those five words will mean that more people read more books. How is this bad???
Now... the flip side is that there is a chance folks are going to lose jobs and their stores. In fact, this is likely to happen eventually. But that is the nature of growth and technological advancement. Should we never have driven cars because blacksmiths were going to lose business when people stopped traveling by horse and buggy? Should we not send emails because the postman will lose his job? What about the millions of jobs created by the building of cars and their repair? How many thousands more are employed by companies like Google, Microsoft, and yes Amazon?
So, after thinking about all that stuff in about 10 seconds, I clicked open my new book and promptly started reading. I didn't even have to get out bed. Amazing.
Its a weird thing. I love gadgets and my Kindle is about the coolest thing ever. The mindset of the folks who are refusing to give in and buy one think that these will be the death of the local bookshop. I gotta say, I don't agree. Why? Because I'm an avid reader and I haven't walked into a small shop since I was 10. I would borrow my books and pass them to the next family member. Or I would buy them at a grocery store or tag sale. And then in the 1990's Barnes and Noble opened up in Holyoke and I bought my books there. And then Amazon.com took about 90% of my business.
Here's the thing. I haven't had the sort of life that allows me to spend a couple hours in a book store curled up in a chair and reading. I haven't had that life in about 17 years now. You probably don't either. In fact, I could count on one hand the people I know who have that sort of time, and the majority of them shop on Amazon. Amazon is easy. The Kindle is stupid easy. Click, click, click.... Voila! Book is in my hands. And on my two computers and my iPhone. The things talk to each other so no matter where I leave off, my bookmarks sync up with each other. And if that isn't the coolest damn thing I don't know what is. So yes, Amazon has taken my business. Almost all of it. I've been a Prime member for years and don't pay shipping for the things that can't magically appear on my Kindle. They took my business from Barnes, not from a local book seller.
Here's the other thing. Publishing is about to be (if it hasn't been already) turned upside down because of these new gadgets. No longer will publishing companies run the risk of printing thousands of books only to have them end up in the clearance bin. Now, you don't even need a publishing company or an agent. There's CreateSpace. Yep, its owned by Amazon. They do print on demand. And they work with individual writers to help get their books out to the world. The writer is then responsible for marketing their own book with some help from Amazon. Not really that difficult with the internets at one's fingertips.
So, is Amazon the evil Wal-Mart of the book world? I guess that depends. I was thinking the other day as I was waiting for my latest free book to be delivered to my Kindle that without this thing, I would never have read 5 books since Christmas. I couldn't afford to buy all those hardcovers at $20 a pop. The books I was getting were either free or maybe $5 each. I didn't have to wait for the planets to align so I could escape my house and get to a store, I didn't use any gas in my car, no trees died and these books weren't taking up space in a warehouse or coming out of a factory.
Clean. Simple. Easy. Fast. Cheap.
Those five words will mean that more people read more books. How is this bad???
Now... the flip side is that there is a chance folks are going to lose jobs and their stores. In fact, this is likely to happen eventually. But that is the nature of growth and technological advancement. Should we never have driven cars because blacksmiths were going to lose business when people stopped traveling by horse and buggy? Should we not send emails because the postman will lose his job? What about the millions of jobs created by the building of cars and their repair? How many thousands more are employed by companies like Google, Microsoft, and yes Amazon?
So, after thinking about all that stuff in about 10 seconds, I clicked open my new book and promptly started reading. I didn't even have to get out bed. Amazing.
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