Tis a Writer's Life for Me!! - EBOOKS!

So, I've been checking my sales numbers on Amazon recently and something rather odd has occurred. For the first time since e-books appeared on the scene, the number of Kindle copies of my books has outsold the number of printed copies. By almost double. For each one of my books!

I was amazed. I keep hearing that most people still prefer printed books--books they can touch and smell and crinkle pages in. Books they can underline, highlight and dogear. Books they can spill coffee or salsa on. Books they can put on shelves in their libraries. I mean, who doesn't love libraries and the smell of old books! I do! Old Book stores and historical libraries are some of my favorite places to visit. (Well, aside from an island in the Caribbean, of course)

So imagine my surprise at the new E-book craze! In fact, my husband bought me a Kindle for Christmas and I must say, I'm loving it. I can order a book on Amazon and I've got it in my hands within seconds. Yes, I said seconds.  I must admit I was hesitant to read it at first. Would I be able to get into the story as much as I do when I'm holding a book, flipping pages? Would holding a metal object take away from the historical adventure I find in most stories?  Well, after several weeks of reading, I can happily say that reading an e-book is just as pleasurable as reading a regular book.

Will I still buy physical books? Absolutely! I must have something to line the book shelves in my office. Plus, there are certain types of books that don't lend themselves well to the E-format. History books, Reference books, Dictionaries, Encyclopedias.. and the like. Plus I collect antique books and those must be held and cherished for the historical artifacts they are.

Yet, there's another great bonus to this E-book craze that most readers aren't aware of. It's called Freedom. An author's freedom to write what they want and publish it online without having to go through the great Publishing Gatekeepers.  Up until this point, writers had to conform to certain standards (Especially in the Christian market). They had to write to please the market, write the types of stories publishers believed would sell, tweak and change and rewrite their precious manuscript to please a publishing elite that created the bridge through which each writer must pass to get published. Like trolls, they stood in front of the bridge demanding the answer to thousands of questions, testing and taxing the poor writer in order to allow passage.

But no more. Now a writer, any writer can write a manuscript and publish it themselves on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and any of the other E-book formats. They don't have to pass a test. They don't have to answer a question. They don't have to meet a standard.  

I, for one, am very excited about this! Now if I have an idea for a story I want to write, I can write it. I don't have to steer away from certain topics, such as pirates or mermaids and other oddities I've been told will never sell.

But what about readers? What does it mean to them? There is great news and not so great news. The great news the reader will have a lot more choices on what to read and will be able to find books their every whim and desire.  The not so great news, since there are no gatekeepers, there will be a lot of garbage out there. In other words, it's important to remember that just because there's an e-book on Amazon, that doesn't mean it's a well-written intriguing story.  It doesn't mean the author has a clue about writing or story telling. So, the reader will have to become a more intelligent and selective consumer of books than ever before. But why not? Shouldn't the choice of what to read be in the readers' hands and not in the hands of a group of publishers?

What do you think about the whole E-book revolution??  I'd love to hear your thoughts!