A few months ago I nearly disowned my mother for owning a Kindle. Last week I found out my best friend ONLY reads on her e-reader now. I've been as resistant to change as Anakin Skywalker. I vowed I would only get a fancy gizmo one day if I was travelling a lot, it would help me keep up with my work, and I could download documents to it to read manuscripts on the go.
Thanks to a tip on Twitter (more gray than dark on the scale of evilness), I found out that I could download manuscripts to my (mom's) Kindle! I figured it out, thanks to Google, and spent all day on my couch reading, without being weighed down by my laptop. Who knew it was super comfy to read Kindle on the couch? Makes Snuggies obsolete too, you can hold and control the pages without freeing your hands from the blanket.
While I will still refuse to buy a book (unless I go on an extended trip) for the Kindle, preferring to buy it or borrow it, I'm not super anti-Kindle anymore. However, I really don't need an e-reader that can read my mind or tie my shoes, so don't expect me to have anything super fancy if you see me on the street (or conference).
So, be nice to the agents you are querying. Make sure your file is compatible to sending to those handy E-Readers (word or rtf or lol or wtf... ok, so I don't actually know them all). How else are e-readers going to change our world? Not just the world of readers either, but of how the behind-the-scenes people (agents, editors, etc) conduct business?
Happy reading!
15 comments:
Kindles weed their way into your life. Watch out!! It's taken over mine...
That is convienent to be able to down load manusripts to review on while you travel.
I was hesitant too. I love reading books, hearing the spine crack a bit as you open a brand spanking new book for the first time. . . the smell of the pages. Seeing it on my shelf and being able to lend it. BUT when traveling to New Orleans recently, it was a blessing. Plus thanks to your Wednesday spotlight on here, I was able to use my kindle to download a sample of Grave Witch!
I'm still resisting the lure of the Dark Side but I definitely see it's benefits and I understand why others find it so attractive. You'll still catch me with a bound book in my hands for a long time though!
I'm s...l...o...w...l...y coming around to the idea of an e-reader. I see a dystopian world where the two happily co-exist, side by side.
But you take away my books and I will go Katniss on you!
I was much like you. Then I got stuck commuting in the snow for hours. I finished my book and even read The Sun (London's equivalent of The National Enquirer) and I was STILL stuck on an unmoving train. Everyone around me was reading on their shiny Kindles and I started really wishing I had one. I mentioned it to my husband and he was stuck for a Christmas gift anyway, so one landed beneath the tree. I truly love it. I've read more since Christmas than I did in the last three months of 2010. And the instant gratification element isn't bad either.
Over the past year or so, I've become much less resistant to the idea of e-readers, too. And they seem like a must-have tool for agents. Toting around a spiffy little e-reader is a lot easier than lugging around a laptop when you've got manuscripts to read, I imagine.
I haven't broken down and purchased a Kindle...yet. I can see it on the horizon though. My reason is the same as others, for travelling. The convenience outweighs the desire to be anti-Kindle.
And Snuggies will never be obsolete. :D
Let's look at the real win here...making snuggies obsolete. we really need to bring that empire down.
I have a nook. I use it while traveling as well. Since I buy sooo many YA books for my classroom (bought class sets of The Hunger Games and Speak this year alone), I only buy books in the adult genre or books for the older YA aud. If i feel the book shouldn't be put on the shelf in my classroom I will download it on the nook.
While I still buy the real deal when it comes to YA books, I love to download my romantic suspense onto my iPod Touch. It saves my kids from accidentally reading something they shouldn't. ;)
I didn't really want an e-reader...but I sort of did at the same time. Then I got one as a surprise for Christmas. And I love having instant access to new books that I want to read. Strangely enough, it actually feeds my paper-book addiction. If I love a book enough on my Nook, I end up buying the paper version.
I don't think I'll ever be exclusively e-book. Much as I enjoy my reader, I still need my real books.
I have a Nook. My wife received a new Nookcolor this past Christmas. We both love them. She has never been a big reader, but since we got the Nooks she has read quite a bit. And you don't have to carry multiple books around. You can purchase right on the spot, wherever you are. I love paper books, but I am having an affair with my Nook.
Not yet worth it for us in Canada. Content is about 1/3 of what US customers can get...At least with Kindle (the only one I've researched so far). Not sure how it all works, but obviously something to do with foreign rights?So, will stick to my paper books (mostly from the library - *sigh*) for now!
After reading your slush pile blog for a few moments, I wonder if some of the manuscripts come in wtf format no mater what file extension is used. Great post!
I wasn't too keen on e-readers until I found out that my local library supports Overdrive. Now I can 'check-out' an e-book on my home computer and download it directly onto my Nook.
I'm pretty much addicted to my Nook. It comes in handy when I finish the first book of a series and *have* to read the sequel. It's saved me a few midnight trips to the bookstore :).
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