Straight From the Horse's Mouth (So to Speak)

I just got off the phone with a girlfriend, who had just read one of my books and called to talk about it.  But she was also pissed that she had been forced to wait for the print copy to come out, while "everyone else got to read the book first" when it was initially released in e-book.  She refuses to buy an e-reader, and has many reasons why not.  Her biggest why not is because she loves the physical aspect of a "real" book -- turning the page, smelling the paper, etc.  Hey, as long as she buys my books, I don't care, but her attitude is similar to several other friends'.

I often have other authors ask me if I believe the print book will ever become obsolete.  In my opinion, I think print books will never completely disappear, but I think the pie graph will definitely shift from minority e-books vs majority print to majority e-books.  Why the shift?  Not because of pricing or availability, but mainly because the older generation is less likely to adapt to the newer generation of technology.  And as the years progress, what we are accustomed to today will be upgraded or replaced by something newer and/or better.

The only thing that bugs me, though, is her referring to e-books as being "not real books".  I wonder if there's any hope that someday she'll change her mind?

Please Don't Steal

For all of my readers and readers everywhere.

Technology is an incredible medium. We can read, draw, learn, speak and see so much thanks to the advances of modern technology. The basic computer and keyboard. However, in the intance of authors, it's also becoming a means to lose our very livelihood. We write, and those written words are being stolen. By the billions, if not trillions, of words. This has been happening for years and is a growing concern. A hugely growing concern.

There is no excuse for theft, yet pirate sites are appearing out of the blue like any other source of information. They may be innocuous to start, but once the first book is posted, uploaded, downloaded, read, it is done. That author has lost revenue. And not just the author, but every person in the production chain. Just because it is on a site does not make it legal. Car theft, identity theft, downloading copyrighted material. They are equal. They are all theft. (Public domain books [Shakespeare etc.] are a different explanation.)

Please purchase books only through reputable stores and sites. If you see any book from any author on a forum, a database, or a sharing site, please do not download that book. Report the site to the author directly. Most authors have free reads, full books, chapters, all sorts of reading material readily available to the public. Many run contests, or give away free reads. Almost any book can be found in a library, a bookstore or through a used bookstore.

Theft is still theft, no matter the excuse. Respect any author's right to earn a living.

(Thanks to Diana Castilleja for allowing me to repost.)