To Print or Not to Print?

I know that my partner in crime, JeKaren, posted about eBooks a while back, but I admit it. I am still a little blown away by the recent loss of mega-bookseller, Borders. The new trends in reading, publishing, and bookselling scare me. From giants like the Kindle or the Nook to their distant competitor Kobo; there are eReaders galore on the market today. (As a side note, Border’s electronic media will be in the hands of Kobo.) Downloading a book can take mere seconds. Heck, you can even download a Kindle app to your smartphone and get started reading without walking into a store or waiting on a delivery- ever. Sounds pretty great, I must admit. I also have to confess that I have read a few books on Kindle. But I felt guilty about it.

I prefer to hold a book in my hands. What I read on a screen are words put together to form a story. What I read on paper is... different... better, somehow. Holding that book in my hands; turning the pages, one at a time, each new page revealing a new surprise. The weight of a book- the sheer substance of it- makes it solid and real and meaningful. I write on my laptop, but I do it in hope of seeing my work make it to paper. Oh, there are just so many things I can say about why I love books... real, bona-fide books; hardback and paperback alike.

I love the feel of dusty pages between my fingers. I love the sound of a spine cracking just a little as I open a brand new book for the first time. I love to feel the weight of an open book lying across my chest as I drift off to sleep. There is a smell, particular to libraries and used book stores- the smell of books- that takes me back to childhood and soothes me almost as soon as I walk through the door. I would love books even if I didn’t love to write. Crisp and new, or dog-eared and ragged, I love books. Did I happen to mention that I love books? Someday relatively soon, though, if things continue in their current direction, the written word in its true form will become obsolete. Even newspapers and magazines are being delivered virtually these days.

The current trend of using bookstores as hangouts while reading novels on cell phones is threatening a piece of our culture. As a writer I have to face the question (assuming that I actually ever finish my novel-in-progress) of whether to publish on paper or not. Electronic is the new print, but I love books. As I edge closer to the completion of my book I find myself considering the previously inconceivable notion of publishing straight to Amazon and Barnes and Noble- just go electronic all the way and never see my first novel on paper. I wrote it on a computer- why not read it there as well? At the time of this posting I have still not decided whether to shop it around to various publishers in hopes of seeing my name in print or not. As painful as the thought is, I may skip to the end and cut the publisher and the book completely out of the book publishing process. Sigh.