After my recent post about the inevitability of e-books, I was surprised that there were so many misconceptions in the comments section about e-readers and e-books.
For the record, I don’t think everyone is going to or should or will like e-books and converting people is not what this post is about. But I do think people should at least have the facts.
Now would also be a good time to state for the record that I have no financial interest in e-books or e-readers whatsoever and in fact, my job would probably be easier if they didn’t exist. But they do exist, I genuinely like them, and I don’t think this industry can afford to be behind the curve on technology.
Here’s my personal Top 10 list of the mistaken beliefs people have about e-books:
1. “They strain your eyes” / “They’re bad for people with poor eyesight” / “I’ll go blind.”
Aside from reading on an iPhone, which I personally love but realize isn’t for everyone, most dedicated e-readers use e-ink displays, which are very different than the backlit screens of computers and televisions and phones. E-ink literally looks like ink on paper, you can read in sunlight, and it’s crisp from any angle.
Also, all e-readers have the ability to change the text size, so you can instantly turn any book into large print if you have difficulty with small fonts.
2. “You can’t back up your files” / “If you lose or break your e-reader or if a new e-reader comes out you lose all your books”
Different devices do indeed favor different formats, but even still the above statements don’t accurately reflect the landscape.
Let’s start with Amazon and the Kindle. Amazon stores the information about all of the titles you have bought centrally, which means that you can access the titles on any device that has a Kindle app, whether it’s a Kindle, iPhone, or a PC (coming soon: Macs). Better yet, Amazon syncs between the different applications so that if you stop reading on a Kindle and open up the app on your iPhone it will turn to the page you left off on. If you lose your Kindle or it breaks or you want to get a new one you can still read all of the titles you bought on a computer or another device.
Now, Amazon usually uses its own proprietary e-book format, and some people want a more universal format. If so, you might consider the Sony Reader or nook. Their stores use the ePub format, which can be read on most e-reader devices, so you’re not beholden to one device or vendor after you have purchased your books and you can always take your library elsewhere.
3. “I don’t want to have to scroll endlessly through a book” / “I’ll miss turning the pages” / “I like taking notes”
Most e-readers, including the iPhone apps, have pages that you “turn” either by clicking a button or tapping/swiping your finger. While I know some people view this as a sign of the apocalypse, you’d be surprised how quickly it becomes second nature.
And most e-readers allow you to take notes, bookmark pages, search within the text, and highlight sections you want to come back to.
4. “They require a lot of power” / “They’re hot to the touch like laptops”
When they’re not using their wireless function, e-readers using the e-ink display consume very little energy, and you only have to charge them once every few weeks, even if you read often.
They’re also completely cool to the touch.
5. “You can’t check e-books out from the library”
According to the NY Times, about 5,400 libraries now offer e-books, and more are signing up every day. Most library programs work like with physical books – you “check out” an e-book onto your e-reader and “check it back in” when you’re finished, and only one patron at a time can “check out” an e-book while you’re reading it.
6. “You can’t lend to friends or family”
Amazon allows up to six users to access the same account for most titles, and nook has a LendMe function that allows you to share a title for 14 days (if the publisher allows it).
Admittedly these aren’t the freest means of sharing content, but my wife and I share a Kindle account and are able to read each other’s books whenever we want.
7. “E-Readers are bad for the environment”
A Cleantech study asserts that e-readers have a much smaller carbon footprint than physical books when book production and shipping physical books are taken into account, though one blogger felt that the Cleantech study didn’t adequately address paper recycling programs. Although, it’s not as if it’s impossible to recycle electronics.
8. “You can’t read an e-reader in the bathtub” / “I would never take an e-reader to the beach
Put it in a Ziploc bag and it’s more waterproof/sandproof than a paper book.
9. “They’re too expensive.”
E-readers may be relatively expensive now for a wide swath of people, but prices will inevitably come down. And because e-books are (usually) much cheaper than print books, it doesn’t take long before an e-reader pays for itself – since most hardcovers that sell for $25 or more are available for $9.99, all it takes is roughly 20 e-books for an e-reader to pay for itself. You save even more if you read e-books on a phone or computer you already own.
For a casual reader: yeah, a dedicated e-reader probably doesn’t make the most sense. But for people who read a lot, especially new books, it can result in actual savings relatively quickly.
10. “E-books are bad for publishers and authors”
While most agents I know are not thrilled with the royalties authors are currently receiving from the major publishers, so far the deep discounting has been absorbed by the e-book sellers and publishers have little to lose from e-book sales, at least in the short term. According to reports, most publishers still receive roughly 50% off the list price for every e-book sale, meaning that a $9.99 e-book is a loss leader for Amazon and the other e-book publishers, while the publisher receives the same amount as they would for a hard copy.
And while, again, we agents would like to see authors get a fairer split, authors still receive royalties for e-book sales. The low price points of e-books have attracted some of my cost-minded friends who used to mainly buy used books, for which authors of course don’t receive any royalties, so from that standpoint they are much more author friendly than used books.
I can't have my bookshelves full of digital nothingness. I want actual books with backboned spines sitting on my shelf. They require no batteries or electricity or e-anything. I just use my hands and pick it up. And put it down. It is quite simple.
Nothing is better.
Absolutely nothing.
Nathan,
Do you think the espresso book machine technology will have any impact? It would cut out a lot of those same storage/delivery costs – sort of a combination of the digital and print models. But that technology still seems very very expensive.
Nathan – Great post! I'll be passing it on to my mom, who's shopping for an e-reader.
I think e-readers for kids may come sooner than expected.
Have you seen the Nintendo DS Flip Books? They're bringing authors like Eoin Colfer, and possibly Harry Potter, to your kid's DS. For now, they're only in the UK.
Also there's Disney Digital Books, but they're not handhelds, just on the PC.
The wave is coming.
Ink – people don't have bank accounts in Canada? Did the City of Windsor outlaw those too?
Ah, Windsor… the City of Concrete. Where unemployment is an artform!
Maybe it's a regional thing. Scott commented about how no one he knows is excited about e-books. I'm surprised, because everyone I know, where I live, is talking about e-books. If they don't have an e-reader, they are talking about which one they want, and they are excited. And these are not people in the publishing industry. They are teachers, high-end realtors, people in health professions. My friend who is a realtor and travels between NY and S. Beach, lives for his e-reader on planes. A friend who is an ICU nurse just started reading e-books on her daily commute to work by train. Not everyone I know is reading e-books yet, but I honestly don't know anyone who hasn't been excited about them.
Hail, Borg E-Reading Overlords.
ROFL! Resistance is futile, people!
Espresso book machines? They actually have an e-reader with an espresso machine attached??? How cool is that!
You could stay up ALL NIGHT! Even better than a book light.
I want one of THOSE.
It's possible, and it could help bookstores compete with ebooks, but I think Google Book search is probably going to be the gamechanger here, if the settlement is ultimately resolved. You can bet there's going to be a print component and that's something else that bookstores are going to have to compete against, particularly if that's the primary means by which people locate obscure books. But if people were more confident that they could find virtually every book they could want via the Espresso at their local bookstore immediately that could definitely help them level the playing field some with the people who still want paper.
Oh Nathan, the hero of the myth busters:
Is it e-books, eBooks, ebooks, EBook, Ebook, E-books, e-Books????
One editor told me to only capitalize Ebooks when it is the beginning of a sentence. True?
Thanks, e-damsel in distress.
This was insightful. Thanks!
I feel like it's 1983. If the Internet existed back then, I imagine these same discussions (and level of ignorance by consumers…and thst's not an insult…just the reality with any new technology) taking place online.
"What's up with cable television? I only need 4 channels."
"What's up with the microwave? My oven is perfectly fine."
"Why would I buy a VCR when I have a perfectly good Beta machine?"
"Cassettes are a fad. I'll never give up my records."
People are silly. Eventually, we will all have some form of an e-reader. Of course we will. It's the way technology works. There will still be paper books, just like there are still record players. But convenience always wins out.
As writers, let's learn how to use technology to our advantage instead of remaining ignorant.
What's really scary is that really smart people are already working on a new technology that will eventually make e-readers obsolete. Cassettes, welcome to CDs. CDs, welcome to iPods. And on it goes.
yet, none of these are the reason i don't want an ereader.
nathan, you can be rahrah ereaders, and with your job it makes sense, but your enthusiasm doesn't overtake all the concerns raised in the comments last week.
And, while I enjoy your blog, I come for a humorous insight into agent life. How about a query critique? How about a guest blogger? You're harping on this issue and it is (at least currently) a side issue in publishing.
Thanks, Nathan.
Anon-
The amount I'm blogging about it is a reflection of the extent to which that I think this is much more than side issue. It's one of if not the biggest topics facing the business. We can't be ostriches about this!
Nathan,
I think you've done a great job on the topic of eBooks and ereaders, one area I think that everyone forgets about is Higher Ed. I happen to work in the area as a National Sales Manager for ebooks, not a plug, just giving some background. Anyways, the big difference between leisure reading and research reading is that the readers and ebooks have different uses and needs on the user end.
As you said, ebooks aren't for everyone, I personally wouldn't read an ebook for leisure but for research purposes, you bet, all I want is the content and move on to the next chunk of content to write a paper or whatever I am working on.
Question for you, do you see a difference in the response from publishers of academic materials vs the mainstream publishing industry selling into retail? What are your thoughts on the DRM issues and pricing, just curious?
Thanks.
Nathan,
You said, "…I have no financial interest in e-books or e-readers whatsoever and in fact, my job would probably be easier if they didn't exist."
Were you referring to e-books or e-readers? I thought the e-reader had simplified your job a little so are the e-books complicating it?
I loved reading on an ereader when a friend lent me hers. It was heaven on the treadmill!
But the pricepoint is still too high. I buy hardbacks from author friends at signings.
It's been reported that Japanese scientists have invented accessories for the Kindle. One of these accessories is a waterproof indestructible cover that feels like the shiny paper cover of a hardback. Another is timed fragrance of paper release device that provides that real old book feeling. The Fragrance called "Go With the Wind" will retail for about 3.99 a pop and last through two recharges.
Amazon syncs between the different applications…
Can they monitor reading? As in know that 10,000 people bought BookA but only 2,000 read it past chapter 3?
I liked this – especially the point about ziplock bags (though I doubt I'd have the temerity.)
The one thing I think about whenever I think about e-readers and prices though is Saundra Mitchell's post from a few months ago. She responded to Sherman Alexie's claim that the Kindle was elitist, and at the very least gave me food for thought.
This is the link: https://anywherebeyond.livejournal.com/170385.html
alex-
I actually think price will be what eventually drives most people to e-books, and in that sense I think they're (eventually) going to be seen as anti-elitist. Yes, they're expensive right now. But that's always how it is with new technology. It starts expensive, but then prices come down and eventually the devices achieve mass adoption. That's true of everything from televisions to DVD players to cell phones to calculators to refrigerators to, as someone pointed out last week, digital wrist watches.
In the short term, yeah, only people who are relatively well off can afford e-readers and smart phones. But that's just right now – things aren't always going to stay that way. E-books are going to force lower price points and make books more affordable.
Once the devices that can best display e-books become more common I think you'll see the same thing you now see with vinyl and CDs- they're the collectors items of the well-off, while the masses buy CDs and mp3s.
I was in the habit of copying your articles and pasting them (and the comments) into a word document so I could read them later, at my leisure.
The ability to scroll down the text, copy and paste it elsewhere no longer seems to work for your type of Blog. You might want to find out why this is.
I think that's on your end, anon. Works fine for me.
Great job debunking the myths. There are loads of advantages, but no one is challenging the space saving and portability of ebooks. I carry 25 books in my purse when we go on vacation. My husband usually has to make an additional trip to the bookstore after reading the latest hardcover blockbuster novel.
One other advantage for authors is that their books remain for sale in the publisher's virtual store for infinity if the author chooses to leave it there.
Ash
This was really informative. Thanks. I've never even looked at these, but I do like the idea of being able to search within the text of anything that I'm reading…
As a book reviewer, I would consider a Kindle if one of the publishers wanted to spring for one for me and then let me download all the ARCs. I would love to not have my living room overflowing with ARCs. I would love not trying to find a home for all of them after I read them. I would love to just go to a section of the publisher's website and download the ARCs that actually fit my review specs. The only drawback would be that they aren't graphic novel friendly and I often do books with unique illustration elements — like graphic novels.
Still the very thought of making these ARCs more efficient makes me giddy. But until then, I'll not have a Kindle. I only very rarely buy books since I don't have time to read books that aren't for review.
@ J. Matthews Saunders,
What you are describing regarding books is very interesting from a historical point of view, but it really has nothing to do with e-readers. Those books you mentioned are historical objects. They will always be historical objects. So, go ahead and collect them by all means. That's what bookshelves should be used for. I bought "Under the Dome" by Stephen King so I could own a historical object (1st print, 1st edition hardcover with dust jacket).
I mean, imagine if you had a scroll from the first century of one of the Gospels. You can get a copy of, well, Matthew, anywhere including on e-readers, but the scroll would be a historical object.
Your argument in my opinion is comparing apples and oranges. And there's a bit of irony in it, too. I was reading your post, and I was truly interested in what you were saying and revealing. I really thought it was neat what you were talking about and the books and stamps you were describing–and I was reading that off a computer screen.
I just want to say that I hear you; I understand you; and I agree. I only want to add that historical objects will always be historical objects and e-readers won't take that away. One day, my first generation Kindle will be a historical object.
Take care, my friend.
Gordon
Can't seem to tweet your page from the share button at the bottom.
Thanks for the info, Nathan! My books with Leisure are available in print and as ebooks simultaneously. I think lots of publishers are doubling up on the formats because the more ways to reach readers, the better.
Still haven't bought a reader myself though. I'm sort of waiting for the industry to standardize things more.
Interesting. Most of the issues folks have seem nitpicky to me. No offense, but 1-2 second delay to turn a page is about the same – maybe less – as when you accidentally turn 2 pages in a print copy, which is something I do all the time. And it's never taken me out of the story.
Anyway, here's my big issue (which, to some, may seem hypocritically petty): When I bought an iPod several years ago, the first thing I did was I spent a weekend ripping my 500-600 CDs into iTunes. Instant library.
The eBook readers out now cost about the same as I paid for that iPod several years ago. And yet, there is no way to "rip" (electronically 🙂 the hundreds of print books I already own and transfer them, selectively or en masse, to the device. Not even a way to "rip" the several dozen books I have that I haven't yet read. The only way to get those on the device would be REpurchase them.
Honestly, I have no really good ideas about how to fix this.
Further, try – just try – to go out to an electronics or bookstore and actually hold an eBook reader in your hands. The major electronics superstores don't carry them (at least in my neighborhood). B&N does not have a nook on display. (But they are taking preorders, of course.) Amazon has no local brick & mortar I can go to. Target has the previous generation of Sony Reader on display. I played with it and didn't like the way it drove. But, then again, I have nothing to compare it to except the eBook reader app on my old PDA.
Comparing the ubiquitous nature of MP3 players and the like, I don't think print book lovers have much to worry about. Ebooks won't be taking over if the hardware is only available to buy online. I know a lot of people like myself that need to "kick the tires" before making such a large purchase. (And, yes, I consider several hundred dollars a large purchase.)
Finally, I have read eBooks, as I alluded to, on my old PDA. I feel I must be missing something because I have never experienced any eyestrain, I have never felt like it was a lesser experience than reading the paper book, nor any of the other (to me) seemingly minor issues people raise. I love BOOKS, whatever format they come in. I just want to (a) be able to somehow incorporate my existing and future libraries (a pipe dream, I realize) and (b) be able to sample eBook readers like I can digital cameras, stereos, or even books themselves. 🙂
Nice post. Do to lack of space, I am moving to all ebooks. I have 6 bookshelves stacked to overflowing, and since I also get arcs to review on the blog, it has gotten out of control. I've pretty much stopped requesting arcs, unless they are digital (which most don't do yet). I like reading on my iPhone, and had pre-ordered a nook. While waiting on the nook, i bought a netbook from Best Buy to try. Turns out, I like the flexibility of the netbook. The computer screen doesnt bother me (I turn the brightness all the way down), and I never have to worry about ebook formats, since I have programs to read them all. And the FBReader software is awesome, especially the text rotation, so that I can turn the netbook 90 degrees and hold it like a book. I decided to keep the netbook and just cancelled the nook. Sure the nook is lighter and smaller, but I like the extra features of the netbook, and the 10.1 inch screen is nice. Its also nice not needing a booklight to read in the dark.
Thank you for this post. I'm going to print it out to show people who are constantly asking me about my Sony reader. Someone once said that once you go ebook, you seldom go back. I'm not that far but definitely read more now that I can take it with me on the bus, coffee shop, doctor's office.
As an ebook publisher, I also appreciate you debunking some of the myths. We don't expect to replace print but it's a very nice option.
I have a kindle…and at first, I didn't think I would like it. But as a stay-at-home mother of 3 who never finds the time to leave the house to actually get a new book to read, the kindle is a lifesaver. I've found that I'm reading A LOT more nowadays, although I do still read my paper books as well.
And I don't have any eye strain from reading on the kindle, even after hours at a time.
I'm always astonished by the number of people whose main objection to ebook readers is the lack of "new book smell" (or actually, old book smell). For me, this is one of their pleasant side benefits–the dust etc. generated by old books gives me allergic reactions comparable to a bad case of the flu. And I have a LOT of old books, and I have spent so much money on them I can't afford a maid to come dust them for me. I also delight in being able to read while I eat without getting gunk all over the pages, which are pinned down precariously with salt shakers, silverware, or other books, not to mention being able to read a book over the back of the cat parked on my chest without straining my hands and wrists.
I understand that ebooks are not for everybody, but it does disturb me the smugness of people who are so attached to books as physical objects as opposed to content. I do wish ebooks displayed graphics better, but I am also confident that it's only a matter of time. As someone who reads books into oblivion, I am resigned to the fact that I will purchase the really important books in my life multiple times. And I also suspect that the market is going to push ebook-reader purveyers to do things like freely/cheaply upgrade the books in your library if there is a major software upgrade, and I do not see Amazon going out of business in the foreseeable future. But even so–are paper books so incredibly resilient as objects? Yes, there are a lot of old books around, but it isn't like every copy of E. Phillips Oppenheim's Enoch Strone: Master of Men is still in existence after 90 years. Books decay; books burn (anybody remember the Library of Alexandria? Or the Los Angeles Public Library, for that matter?); books are written in languages that become extinct (Tocharian, anyone?). What I want is the content of books and the ability to read them whenever I want, and ebooks do that for me.
DRM'ed eBooks are not portable between devices. A paper book can be read by anyone anywhere without restriction.
eBooks can only be shared between people with the same brand of device. A paper book can be shared between any two people without restriction.
eBook manufacturers may back up your books online for you but those backups do not store your markups. Those are only stored on the device. Further, sharing that book doesn't share your markups.
eBooks are still expensive and fragile. I can drop my paperback book into a pool and only be out $8. If I dropped my Kindle into the same pool … yea, you get the picture.
You misrepresent the "greenness" of ebooks. Take into account the lithium ion batteries and the fact that it's a petroleum product (read foreign oil). It takes a lot more shipping and releases many more greenhouse gasses to create a reader than over 4,000 copies of a book. Most will land in the dump regardless of some future recycling program. Books wlll biodegrade naturally; eBooks will still be around for centuries.
That's enough for now.
Steve-
Not quite true. epub books can be read on multiple devices. You also don't lose your e-books if you lose your device provided you've either backed them up or bought from Amazon, who knows you bought them. I'm not an expert on the green issue, but I've only seen studies that say that they're green – the only dissents I've seen have come from nonexperts.
Oh – but yeah, if you drop your Kindle in the pool you're out a Kindle.
Thanks so much for this. I've been considering getting a Kindle once the price goes down and this really helped seal my approval for them. I wasn't worried about too much… I think anyone who's actually seen an E-reader in real life knows most of these myths to be untrue. Still, some of those tidbits were really helpful. I, for one, would've never considered putting an E-reader in a ziplock bag for the beach XD Thanks again!
Does anyone know if Kindle or Nook plan on having the technology to play a short video within a book file? We love pictures in books. Why not a short movie in an e-book? Imagine a memoir with tightly edited shorts within the pages. Mine can be the first. 🙂
I'm thinking shorts no longer than two minutes long that would add to the experience. Still lots of work to do on the videos and more revisions on the book itself but something along these lines.
https://thechinproject.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/round-em-up-chapter-8-excerpt/
@Ryan, check out the Vook, which actually looks very cool and has LOTS of possible applications (the cooking and exercise books being great examples of a good use for this): https://www.vook.com/
I love reading on my iPhone. I reread War and Peace, and it was a fabulous experience. Now I am rereading Proust. It works very well for very long books.
THANK YOU.
Thank you so much for this information. I've been debating whether or not to purchase a Kindle or similar reader. I like to read when I'm on a plane but it's hard to predict what I'll be in the mood to read. An e-Reader would take up less space in my carry-on than the three or four books plus crossword and sudoku magazines I generally bring.
I can't see my having an e-Reader causing me to stop purchasing hardcover books and such. There's something intimately tactile about having a physical copy of a beloved book in your bookcase. Besides, I imagine they haven't figured out a way for authors to leave a personal inscription in an e-Book.
Thanks again for compiling this information. At the end of the day I think anything that has the potential to get people to read more should be welcomed and embraced.
Some things I can add to this…
According to ophthalmologists, even backlit screens in use today are much better for your eyes than the old CRT screens. They recommend them for their vision impaired patients. The only caveat is that you should not use backlit screens in a completely darkened room. THAT is bad for your eyes.
Many places you can purchase e-books have a bookshelf for you, so you can download books again in case of catastrophic loss. And, only DRMd (secured) formats are difficult to back up. Indie press usually uses unsecured formats which can be backed up. In addition, many of the unsecured formats can be converted to other proprietary formats AND there is such a thing as backward compatibility.
Not all e-book readers are expensive. While Kindle admittedly is, other readers, like the Cooler, eBookwise, and others are very reasonably priced. The eBookwise–which is a very basic reader, durable, able to be taken into schools with kids, and so forth–is selling for less than $100, including shipping.
I'm glad to see you singled out the major conglomerates as giving low royalties on e-books. Indie/e tends to give between 30 and 50 percent on site sales and that amount of net on third party sales.
Brenna
I don't think Anonymous has much to worry about, personally. There's all this scare going on about $10 for e-books, but the fact is that it's the high end Kindle set, not the average or low end or (heavens forbid) a price they set and give publishers no choice in…and it's the high end on a book also available in hard cover.
If you check indies selling through Amazon, you will find Kindle books selling for $2-7, depending on length and genre. Even if Amazon made it difficult for indies to sell through them,– and they don't want to do that, I'm sure–you can covert books bought other places for use on most readers. There's currently no way to force readers to purchase from just one place.
Brenna
Ghostfolk,
Usually you can purchase certain formats elsewhere and convert them for the reader you own. The easiest things to convert are things like RTF, DOC, HTML, and ePub. The hardest would be some forms of PDF, DRMd of all types, and proprietary formats.
And yes…you can purchase e-books direct from the publisher and then put them on your handheld, as long as you're buying the right formats.
Brenna
Matthew,
The point is that e-books aren't about killing the print book. They are about choices for readers and increasing markets (books available nearly worldwide in English language from day one, expats buying books, and so forth). If your tastes run to print books, read them. Personally, I read about half and half these days. Some of my favorite authors are available in e first, so I get the books the week they come out, just as I do with a bestseller I adore that comes out in hard bound…or something that comes out in mass market.
Brenna
> For a casual reader: yeah, a dedicated e-reader
> probably doesn't make the most sense.
You should have added "financially" here as overall, an e-reader still makes sense even for a casual reader.
Point No. 2
It is not a myth. I have lost ebooks because of software upgrades, changing pcs etc.
I "bought" adobe drm files (more fool me) because I liked the they looked on my pc. I don't have an ebook reader, I can't afford it. They ARE expensive for someone on a low income.
Anyway back to the adobe books that I lost because of the FORCED upgrade. I couldn't not upgrade. I have back-up copies but adobe won't read them. I can't redownload because the store no longer exists. Another time I changed computers and I had to redownload my books. A couple of them I had apparently reached some arbatory limit set by the publisher. I contacted the store back in February when I bought my new pc. I'm still waiting to hear back.
So while you may be having a great time with Amazon and your Kindle. All stores, and all ebook formats are not equal.
Some now I'm out $30+ on these books that I have lost. It doesn't encourage me to buy ebooks with drm I can tell you.
This is not comparable this to the music industry where even if I buy a track with drm I can burn it to disc and play the track in another computer. I can't do the same with a drm'd ebook.
Sarah
As an author who has published primarily in electronic format, I can't tell you how nice it is to read such a positive post on electronic media. While I do have some books available in both print and e-book (one of my books is only available in paperback, and I also have a book available in audio) the royalty rates for the e-books can't be beat.
Thank you, Mr. Bransford, for setting the record straight.
As someone who is e-published as well as traditionally published, let me just say thank you for this post. you made a lot of my fellow e-pubbed authors very happy as well…