e-commerce and the modern novel
When I first began writing I used a fountain pen and legal pad. It actually remains my preferred form of creating a story-there is something cathartic about the relationship of thought and emotion to the movement of your hand guiding the flow of ink onto a page. I tried the typewriter years back, but it was too loud and impersonal. In recent times, I must confess, I usually begin on a computer.
I concede that this is an act of sheer laziness. The use of word processing from the very first draft simplifies the endless parade of rewrites I do. Why write things out in longhand? I'm only going to have to type it out on Microsoft Word later.
And so it goes, all in the name of progress.
I remember reading how the late Michael Crichton would set up his novels. He not only began with word processing from the get go, he had outlines and flow charts and even timelines telling him how much he would or should or could write in a given day. A remarkably clever mind, designed for the modern era.
It leads me to wonder, though, how did Tolstoy keep track of all the subplots and characters in WAR AND PEACE or ANNA KARENINA without all this high tech support and an Edit-Search function key? After all, the man had no choice but to write everything out in longhand. And in Russian, for goodness sake!
But I digress.
The point I want to get to is how technology changes everything, including art. What I specifically need to tell you is that I recently discovered my novel, TARGETS OF DECEPTION, has now sold more copies on Kindle than in hardcover. I don't know about you, but I find this astonishing. I mean, it occurs to me that Kindle didn't even exist a few months ago, am I right? And now this e-book format is outselling the palpable, hold-able, dog-earable, make notes in the margin-able version of my book, the kind we all grew up with, with pages, and numbers and all of that. Simply amazing.
I am extremely gratified, of course, that there is a new world of tech savvy readers willing to take a chance on a well reviewed first novel-brilliantly written and suspensefully plotted, I should add-by purchasing a copy for their Kindles. And even more stunning is the fact that the sales on Kindle have been increasing each month from the first of the year. Thank you everyone, you cannot imagine how gratifying it is to think that thousands of you are out there reading my book.
How conceited must I be, you may ask, to be crowing about this good news? It is not vanity, I promise you, it is because of the surprising lesson I am learning-that e-commerce is truly the wave of the here and now. People are learning of TARGETS OF DECEPTION on-line via a new means of word of mouth. Chat rooms. Facebook. E-whatever the heck you call it. Then they simply log onto the virtual bookstore provided by Amazon and presto! In a matter of moments my novel is downloaded on their screen for $9.99, a 40% discount compared to a discounted purchase of the hard cover version from the very same Amazon site. But with Kindle there is no waiting or paying for delivery, no trees killed to print the thing, no book to lug around.
A close friend of mine bought me a Kindle some time back, a wonderful gift. At first I was not sure if it really made sense for me. As you may recall, I started the writing life with a Parker fountain pen and a lined pad, and I was not sure I could read an entire novel on this gizmo. But on my first trip after receiving the gift I realized I was able to take five new books without adding a single ounce to my suitcase. Fantastic. And I can change the font size so I can read the Kindle anywhere, in any light, with or without glasses. A neat trick.
So, although I will never lose the enjoyment I feel from holding a brand new hard cover book in my hands, I now understand that this brave new world of technology is here to stay-and I'm all for it. It makes sense on so many levels I had not realized before. As for those of you who have already purchased my novel on Kindle, or in hard cover for that matter, my undying appreciation. For those of you who have not, it's time to turn on (your Kindle) tune in (to the Bookstore) and enjoy the read.
I concede that this is an act of sheer laziness. The use of word processing from the very first draft simplifies the endless parade of rewrites I do. Why write things out in longhand? I'm only going to have to type it out on Microsoft Word later.
And so it goes, all in the name of progress.
I remember reading how the late Michael Crichton would set up his novels. He not only began with word processing from the get go, he had outlines and flow charts and even timelines telling him how much he would or should or could write in a given day. A remarkably clever mind, designed for the modern era.
It leads me to wonder, though, how did Tolstoy keep track of all the subplots and characters in WAR AND PEACE or ANNA KARENINA without all this high tech support and an Edit-Search function key? After all, the man had no choice but to write everything out in longhand. And in Russian, for goodness sake!
But I digress.
The point I want to get to is how technology changes everything, including art. What I specifically need to tell you is that I recently discovered my novel, TARGETS OF DECEPTION, has now sold more copies on Kindle than in hardcover. I don't know about you, but I find this astonishing. I mean, it occurs to me that Kindle didn't even exist a few months ago, am I right? And now this e-book format is outselling the palpable, hold-able, dog-earable, make notes in the margin-able version of my book, the kind we all grew up with, with pages, and numbers and all of that. Simply amazing.
I am extremely gratified, of course, that there is a new world of tech savvy readers willing to take a chance on a well reviewed first novel-brilliantly written and suspensefully plotted, I should add-by purchasing a copy for their Kindles. And even more stunning is the fact that the sales on Kindle have been increasing each month from the first of the year. Thank you everyone, you cannot imagine how gratifying it is to think that thousands of you are out there reading my book.
How conceited must I be, you may ask, to be crowing about this good news? It is not vanity, I promise you, it is because of the surprising lesson I am learning-that e-commerce is truly the wave of the here and now. People are learning of TARGETS OF DECEPTION on-line via a new means of word of mouth. Chat rooms. Facebook. E-whatever the heck you call it. Then they simply log onto the virtual bookstore provided by Amazon and presto! In a matter of moments my novel is downloaded on their screen for $9.99, a 40% discount compared to a discounted purchase of the hard cover version from the very same Amazon site. But with Kindle there is no waiting or paying for delivery, no trees killed to print the thing, no book to lug around.
A close friend of mine bought me a Kindle some time back, a wonderful gift. At first I was not sure if it really made sense for me. As you may recall, I started the writing life with a Parker fountain pen and a lined pad, and I was not sure I could read an entire novel on this gizmo. But on my first trip after receiving the gift I realized I was able to take five new books without adding a single ounce to my suitcase. Fantastic. And I can change the font size so I can read the Kindle anywhere, in any light, with or without glasses. A neat trick.
So, although I will never lose the enjoyment I feel from holding a brand new hard cover book in my hands, I now understand that this brave new world of technology is here to stay-and I'm all for it. It makes sense on so many levels I had not realized before. As for those of you who have already purchased my novel on Kindle, or in hard cover for that matter, my undying appreciation. For those of you who have not, it's time to turn on (your Kindle) tune in (to the Bookstore) and enjoy the read.
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