"I read your book" and a cat tale in paperback
It happened! That moment I've dreamed of for years, that time I've read of with shared delight and secret jealousy in other writers' blogs, that preciously impossible wonderfully glorious moment! A total stranger came up to me and said "I've read your book and I enjoyed it"!
The book she'd read was Flower Child, and the stranger had read it on her kindle--she was even planning to share it on kindle with her daughter. So I smiled for the rest of the day and the day after it, and more. She'd read my book! Of course, my joy was slightly clouded when the friends around my previously unknown reader said they couldn't read it because it's "only" an ebook and they only read print. So now my dream is to see Flower Child in print one day--but who would print a short novella? And who would pay the money for so short a print book?
It's an interesting conundrum. Ebooks give readers and authors a chance to explore the novella in a way they probably couldn't when all publishing involved investment of time and serious money in print production. But now the novellas hide away, read only by those techno-savvy readers who've gone out to buy computers and ereaders and more. Meanwhile others complain "I'd read it if I could."
A few weeks back I got lucky though. I've been following the stories of a cat called Zvonek 08 through various excerpts on the internet. I knew I'd like to read the books of his adventures. But they're all published as ebooks and I found myself making the same complaint as potential readers of Flower Child. My concern was I might get addicted to Zvonek and buy so many ebooks I'd pay out more than the cost of a "real" paperback. Then I won the paperback!
Zvonek 08 has now made the transition from ebook to printed book, and seven enovellas about the adventurous secret agent, family pet cat are now available in one fine paperback... with more to come... and yes, I'm addicted! (And, in case you choose to follow the link to my book review, enjoy these bright easy-reading tales with a 2-star bright easy-drinking cup of coffee.)
The book she'd read was Flower Child, and the stranger had read it on her kindle--she was even planning to share it on kindle with her daughter. So I smiled for the rest of the day and the day after it, and more. She'd read my book! Of course, my joy was slightly clouded when the friends around my previously unknown reader said they couldn't read it because it's "only" an ebook and they only read print. So now my dream is to see Flower Child in print one day--but who would print a short novella? And who would pay the money for so short a print book?
It's an interesting conundrum. Ebooks give readers and authors a chance to explore the novella in a way they probably couldn't when all publishing involved investment of time and serious money in print production. But now the novellas hide away, read only by those techno-savvy readers who've gone out to buy computers and ereaders and more. Meanwhile others complain "I'd read it if I could."
A few weeks back I got lucky though. I've been following the stories of a cat called Zvonek 08 through various excerpts on the internet. I knew I'd like to read the books of his adventures. But they're all published as ebooks and I found myself making the same complaint as potential readers of Flower Child. My concern was I might get addicted to Zvonek and buy so many ebooks I'd pay out more than the cost of a "real" paperback. Then I won the paperback!
Zvonek 08 has now made the transition from ebook to printed book, and seven enovellas about the adventurous secret agent, family pet cat are now available in one fine paperback... with more to come... and yes, I'm addicted! (And, in case you choose to follow the link to my book review, enjoy these bright easy-reading tales with a 2-star bright easy-drinking cup of coffee.)
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