E-books — up close and personal
My husband, the information technology guy in my life, sent me a link to a new service called Kindlegraph — a platform that allows readers to get electronic books “autographed” by the author.
The whole e-book thing makes writers and editors and agents and booksellers very antsy. And the whole business of publishing is in scary flux.
So … do I give comfort to the enemy by adding my titles to Kindlegraph? Or am I, as Evan Jacobs, the creator of this service suggests, “building a relationship” with readers who’ve gone digital?
There are some writers who refuse to permit their books to be digitized, but I can’t get myself worked into a righteous lather about e-reading. This is latest chapter in the history of reading technology. Lest we forget, the book followed the folio that followed the scroll (that wiggled and tickled and jiggled inside her). Like the book, which made reading available to people who did not live in monasteries, electronic readers are a force for democratization. Just think: if all the great libraries of the world go on-line and if access to the net continues to accelerate and reaches every corner of the globe, the opportunities for inspiration and education explode. Which is all to the good.
I’m a fan of the electronic universe that has enabled a more immediate connection between readers and writers. Email from readers arrives from all corners of the Globe and, except for the nasty ones, I answer them all. It doesn’t feel like a lesser relationship than one forged on paper; in fact, the ease and speed of electronic communication makes it seem less formal and more personal.
At most of my book signings, at least one person will come up and apologetically tell me she (mostly she) read the book on an electronic device and has nothing for me to sign. I try to absolve such readers and thank them for buying the book. Now, I’ll tell them I can e-sign.
You need a Twitter account to send me a request. I will send a note that will then be zapped directly to your Kindle, if you have one; if you use another machine, you get an email about how to download it. On Kindles, the autograph will appear in a separate file, creating a virtual autograph book, which I think is kind of adorable. It’s free – unless you’re doing this on Kindle’s 3-G connection, which will set you back 15 cents.
Here you go!
This change in biblio-technology makes me antsy as well. But I do enjoy reading your thoughts on this blog. 🙂
Yippee!
Well, I live in Italy and I just finished to read your ebook “Choosing a Jewish life” on my Kindle and I loved it.
I’ve often purchased english “traditional” books via amazon but with ebook it is mooore simple! Plus on my kindle I bring with me a lot of beloved books.
That’s why I love it.
Thank you, as author, for making it happen.
antonia