books vs ebook

[adrianh]

There is no DRM that can't be cracked...suffice to say that anything an everything is available for free if you know where to look and what tools to use. Whether you publish an ebook or not somebody will turn a paper book into an ebook very quickly. I agree with Kevin, I keep all my books on the tablet and my my wife and daughters keep all their books on their Kindles. Ebooks will kill the paper publishing industry just as MP3 is killing the CD pressing industry. It is the way of the world, technology advances and if you don't keep up you stay behind...aka Kodak, Olivetti and many other companies that failed to change when change was thrust upon them.

[vieome]

Personally I prefer paper books, but I think the time is coming when paper books will head in the direction of vinyl. It is very difficult for a writer to get published in paper even if it is an ideal medium. Large corportations have to accept the fact that technology is changing the way the make money. Take the music industry while still large amounts are made via itunes etc, the amount of piracy in the digital age will always be in the 70% region. They can stop all the free download sites, but nothing can stop one visiting a friend and copying all their music collection. The same applies to e-books. In the future musicians will only make money by having concerts, but they will give away their content free, already we see this trend, the stars of today Justin bieber, llwayne, all made a name for themselves by giving content free. People as a rule follow the free.

[adrianh]

What is interesting about music is that people prefer "free" to "quality". There was a time when the thing to do was to spend a lot of money on high end audio equipment to get that perfect sound. I read a study that came to the conclusion that young people care more for sheer volume (number of songs) than the true quality of those songs. That is why so many people are happy to listen to low quality MP3 as long as they have lots of them and they are portable. Maybe it has more to do with the music being personally portable than anything else. There is another side to this debate though and that is that people get exposed to a wider variety of content. One would think twice about buying a CD for R100 of an unknown artist but you wouldn't think twice about listening to a totally different genre of music if your get it free. This of course goes for movies too, I will happily watch something with my wife on the PC but I sure ain't going to pay SK R60 to see a movie that I might not enjoy.

[Just Gone]

Those that keep up with technology will obviously buy online, but you will still get the die hards that want to read a normal book ...... But gone are the days when I buy another actual book. Its not only cheaper online, but much more convenient.

[tec0]

I think that you will soon be able to buy an SD-card along with the paperback so that you own both physical and virtual copy. This is an acceptable future. Fact is the loss of LP records echo’s true today. It was a wonderful medium simple and it worked.

Fact is technology is not the future paper and Phonograph’s are the future because they can be easily used. Modern technologies have a low life expectancy thus you may well end up bookless if the tech fail and that can easily happen. A strong Electromagnetic pulse will burn any unsealed integrated circuit and most technologies are manufactured by the cheapest possible means...

Fact is to get a Phonograph going is not that technical and doesn’t need integrated circuitry to function. This is fact. Same is true with an e-book if the device fails the book is gone and with it the information. Now I personally rather own a Phonograph and an actual book as these two things maintain function especially when other newer technologies fail.

Don’t get me wrong I love technology but it is wise to identify their shortcoming and adapt accordingly.

[Just Gone]

Same is true with an e-book if the device fails the book is gone and with it the information

What you on about ???? ..... It is never gone ............. it is all kept online eg at Amazon.com. If you log into your account from any computer it can be retrieved !

Ps - and as for any other information - there is a thing called dropbox which you should put all documents into to recover from any computer. If you dont save your important information in a cloud you will lose it sometime, be it from your tablet or computer. And lastly Android is all apps - so if you lose your device - just download another app on your new tablet.

[adrianh]

I think that we should go back to stone tablets because if there is a fire then all the LP's and books will be gone. Kevin and I already have tablets so we're ok.

[vieome]

I think that you will soon be able to buy an SD-card along with the paperback so that you own both physical and virtual copy. This is an acceptable future. Fact is the loss of LP records echo’s true today. It was a wonderful medium simple and it worked.

Fact is technology is not the future paper and Phonograph’s are the future because they can be easily used. Modern technologies have a low life expectancy thus you may well end up bookless if the tech fail and that can easily happen. A strong Electromagnetic pulse will burn any unsealed integrated circuit and most technologies are manufactured by the cheapest possible means...

Fact is to get a Phonograph going is not that technical and doesn’t need integrated circuitry to function. This is fact. Same is true with an e-book if the device fails the book is gone and with it the information. Now I personally rather own a Phonograph and an actual book as these two things maintain function especially when other newer technologies fail.

Don’t get me wrong I love technology but it is wise to identify their shortcoming and adapt accordingly.

That is like saying the problem with paper books is that they can be damaged by fire. There are many aspects to technology, the hardware, data, software... yes circuit can be damage EMP, static etc, my CPU dies, but my data on the hard drive remains. My hard drive dies, but my back up one remains. My back up dies, but my online backup remains. All my data is destroyed, it can simply be replaced from so many sources, so unless you talking in terms of a global EMP that wipes out all technology, or are infact marketing and selling papers books and phonographs then your argument makes no sense at all. Technology is so ingrained into every facet of our human life, most technologies we dont even see or think about, the chips in your car, the chip in your fridge, your dvd, if it is not the future I dont think it would be so wide reaching. 1000 e-books in my collection cost zero dollars. 20 books on my book shelf(lost a few in a fire lol) cost @100 each R2000. Mmmm I am thinking I am going to invest more in e-books and I am thinking more people will do the same, result book sales suffer, effect death of books. Yes I know us older generation like to hold onto ancient techs but at some stage we have to get with the program.

[Just Gone]

Originally Posted by tec0

your argument makes no sense at all

lol ..... Dont worry vieome - he never makes sense ..............

[tec0]

marketing and selling papers books and phonographs then your argument makes no sense at all.

No I don’t sell them I own a lot of LPs and a lot of books many of them very old. I enjoy owning them it is fun just to read a book or listen to some music.

These two devices is simplistic in nature. Fact is NASA actually send instructions to build a phonograph into space along with a LP to be played on it. They did this because the technology is basic.

The same is true with a normal book. You don’t need other devices to read a book. All you need is the book and be able to read it. An e-book can never have collectors value and is only accessible if the technology is there.

Not too long ago a fabricator of hard disk drives where hit by a flood. For 6 months hard drives became really expensive. Now the truth is if the electronic ecosystem breaks down and you don’t have a functional device then the info is also lost.

All you have to do is to keep a book safe and its function will remain. As seen in books that is over a 100 years old.

I hope it makes more sense now. It is just a matter of opinion. I see nothing wrong with e-books it is just they also have limitations just like the real thing so why not have both?

[Just Gone]

sure tec .................

[dfsa]

what are the difference?
which is more important?

I reply on your original Question to avoid any confusion.

You have to establish your reader base you plan to target. We are in the tech age.

You can create your ebooks to be readable by the most popular devices, IE Kindle etc. They can be encripted, licenced with a key, they can be copy protected, delivery can be automated etc.

Hard copy books are expensive to print, your profit will be much lower, you need to send them via some courier. You would have to stock a minnimum amount of copy's.

You also can make both available to your readers. The ebook at Price one and the hard copy at a much higher price to ensure you make a good profit.

[adrianh]

@tec - it all depends on your perspective I suppose. An ebook could never replace or hold the same value as a rare book printed 100 years ago - but that goes for collectors value and not for content value. Then there is of course the matter of the audience the book is aimed at. If you are publising a book for kids to learn about math in grade 1 in the rural areas then an ebook has no value at all.

So, I agree with some of what you say in as much as there is a place for both paper books and ebooks

[dfsa]

Then there is of course the matter of the audience the book is aimed at. If you are publishing a book for kids to learn about math in grade 1 in the rural areas then an ebook has no value at all.

Books do not really reach the rural areas. " Orders are done, proof of delivery are there. But damn they fell off the truck"

Tablets are already much cheaper and they will become more cheaper. Older models are already in recirculation. There are talk that an chinese company want to sponsor under privilege schools with recycled tablets, because the kids must share handed down books with half the pages missing. " I suppose it was used for toilet paper"

An ebook could never replace or hold the same value as a rare book printed 100 years ago - but that goes for collectors value and not for content value.

So would you as the author really care that some collector put your book in a glass box 100 Years after you are dead?

As author you wrote the book to get your thoughts, story, etc. Out to people to read and 99% of the time you do it for a profit while you are alive.

If as author you dream that some collector in the future pay some D for your book to be put into a shelf, well then simply Print 50 books with a unique number each and sign them personally with a certificate to be released to the public 100 Years down the line.

[tec0]

E-book benefits range from easy to publish but you will share profits with the tech-ecosystem. Disadvantage is it will only take time for someone redistribute your e-book without any benefit to you.

Actual book, "almost impossible" to get published unless you do your own publication and eventually a virtual copy will hit the internet anyway.

My suggestion is if you are serious about publishing go virtual build a name and go for printed publication when the opportunity presents itself.

Giving a virtual copy of the book alongside the actual book would be the next step in my opinion. Here is me hoping.