BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.

Subject: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 07:30 AM

I'm considering having my new book on CD instead of printed. It would be so much easier.
Serious opinions, please.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 07:45 AM

Well Kendall, I would have thought that the written word would be easier for you, and would be my preference.
The additional bonus if you use that format, is the ability to market it as an e-book. Judging by what I hear on the radio, and what I read here on Mudcat, and other places, it's the up and coming thing.
Think of the sales! ;)

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 10:42 AM

E-book is better for the planet and for those who want a hard copy there are places to have them printed and bound for cheap.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 10:44 AM

Both. Paper lasts, electrons randomize.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 01:24 PM

Entropy gets to everything in the end.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: gnu
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 01:38 PM

In this case, I definitely prefer a book, signed. I suppose I will take up reading a LOT more when I retire and this electronic stuff sounds pretty good.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 01:41 PM

If I go the CD route I will have to hire someone with a Maine accent to read for it.
I agree with Gnu, there is something about a book that no CD can deliver.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 03:04 PM

There certainly should be a version that one could read.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Dan Schatz
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 03:46 PM

Paper! An audio CD would be lovely, but you need the permanence of paper! Also, people can page through a book and see something they like. A CD will only be of interest to people who already know your work. And you can sell a book to the tourists in Freeport.

Dan

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Irene M
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 04:14 PM

Both would be nice.
I'm with Dan about the permanence of paper.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: olddude
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 04:22 PM

You can also set it up electronically to be downloaded with an ereader like a Kindel ... That would be a good idea also ... if it is on CD that would be very easy to do.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: gnu
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 06:39 PM

Can electronic (?) books be had on CD? DVD? I know they can be downloaded from the internut fer these ebooks and whatever... Kindle?... whatever that is?

So, the CD you talk about, is that a voice thing? If so, that would be great! Imagine, someone from away hearing your stories told in a Maine accent! Thahhht would be quite the thing!

I apologize for my lack of the new tech. I just kinda "don't give a shit about it".

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Joybell
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 08:06 PM

I like the idea of both too, but if it had to be one or the other I guess CD is the easier and cheaper option. One that could be printed, though, as Jack said. I think audio CDs give you too much extra information. The way a phrase is interpreted for example.
Good luck with the venture, Kendall.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 08:27 PM

I prefer the paper version, but it is so expensive and time consuming.

Both may be the way to go.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Bobert
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 09:44 PM

Paper, please... I hate plastic...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 30 Dec 11 - 11:42 PM

Digital, please....photos of the dead...

G~

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Mark Ross
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 02:36 AM

25 ways e-readers can't beat books

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 03:30 AM

I'll be needing a title too; I'm thinking of "Father Fell Down The Well" and other semi true Maine stories.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 04:41 AM

While peeping through the knothole in grandma's wooden leg?
Maine line humour.
Heah here.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 05:19 AM

I don't think the "Steven Hawking" who does the Kindle audio could cope with a Maine accent!

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: DMcG
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 06:00 AM

The answer must be both, surely, unless the costs prohibit it. That's the same anytime a question like this comes up. Digital beats paper for portability, compactness, ease of replication and all that. Paper beats digital for endurance and sheer aesthetics. While clearly a bit tongue-in-cheek, many of the reasons listed in Mark's link are also true.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Deckman
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 08:23 AM

Kendall ... Being the very old fart that I am, I'm asking you to do this in paper. Sure, do the CD (electronic) if you must, but don't skip paper. Let me explain:

There is nothing quite as comforting in sitting down with a real book in my hand. "Bride Judy" and I usually turn off any noise machines (TV?) about eight each night. Then we settle in to read. I stoke up the fire, pour myself a straight shot of whiskey, and submerge myself in whatever I'm reading at the time. I usually read about five books at a time ... I suspect you do also?

Our grandchildren, and others, often try to tease us about not belonging to the 21st century. We don't own, or know how to use, a cell phone. I now have the house wired for electricity ... but I still approach the light switches with caution. "Twitters", "kindles", phones that photograph things, etc., are a mystery to us ... and we prefer it that way. Lest you think we are "behind the times", we are NOT. In many ways, we consider ourselves well "ahead" of the times ... because ... we can still read (several languages actually), we are well informed, we are active and continueing in our education.

So ... a "hard copy" please. By the way ... thanks for all your hard work. It is hard work ... isn't it! bob(deckman)nelson

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 10:18 AM

Yes, but it's a labor of love.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: maeve
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 11:11 AM

I prefer paper for your stories, and like the e-book idea. It would take a special narrator to record your words with the right timing and
only you know who could do the job- not an easy task at all, by the way, to narrate a recorded book.

And yes; it's worth it. I'm looking forward to your new book of stories in any form.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: kendall
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 11:50 AM

I may have found a copy of the recording I did with the old one. It is not easy at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: katlaughing
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 11:56 AM

I would say all three: paper, CD and e-book.

It is no longer necessary to go the traditional route of expensive and time-consuming print publication. My book is printed on demand also known as POD and costs me nothing. When someone wants to order a copy all they do is go online and make their purchase. The book is then published one off for them. If I want some to autograph and sell them in person or through the mail, I can purchase from one to however many I want at a discount which is quite reasonable. This has worked for me since 2004.

Now, I am using a specific vendor called BookBrewer which, at no cost to me, formatted my print book to satisfy the requirements of all major e-book retailers. They also took care of submitting that e-book to the retailers.I will be paid 70% or more of each sale. For $60, they will also produce a PDF file from which a print copy can be made, again at no cost to me other than the initial $60. They will also, at no cost to me, submit that PDF file to all the major online retailers.

Marketing the book and getting it out there, i.e. promoted, is up to me and/or or anyone I choose to hire, beg, borrow, or steal :-). That goes for the e-book and print.

I found the 25 reasons in the list above a bit facetious, though I, too, love paper books and will never give them up. Another Mudcatter was telling me about a seminar she went to where they discussed the printed book versus digital. It was recognized that more and more readers are looking for digital but that we would always need the printed book as an original reference as that which cannot be altered with the ease of a digital copy. So, in this incredible age of Star Trek type technology, there is still a place in our hearts and in the world for a good old, maybe even musty smelling, printed book.

Just remember, Kendall, it is because of those new technologies that more and more authors are able to go directly to their readers without the costs and time it takes to find and work with a traditional publisher. I understand you already have that and that's wonderful, but it should not cost you in this day and age.

I would love to hear it also!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: Hollowfox
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 12:14 PM

I look forward to getting the book in any format available. If you do both paper and CD, I plan to buy both, as I like to share books both ways with friends. The book doesn't have to come out in all forms at the same time, right? How about seeing what Gordon Bok would charge to be the reader?

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 02:25 PM

I can help you with the ereader files captain when you are ready. In ereader format you can also post to ereader sites pretty easy to improve sales

Subject: RE: BS: Kendall's new book. opinions please.
From: gnu
Date: 31 Dec 11 - 02:45 PM

"Father Fell Down The Well - After He Escaped From The Cellar"