Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Is Our Love Affair With Digital Over?

In a recent Opinion piece in The New York Times Sunday edition, David Sax wrote that “Our Love Affair With Digital Is Over”. He goes on to observe that: “Sales of old-fashioned print books 
are up for three years in a row, according to the Association of American Book Publishers, while ebook sales have been 
declining.”

Angela Hoy, publisher of WritersWeekly.com, made a similar observation in a recent newsletter but concluded:
“Authors need to offer both electronic and print editions 
to their readers to attract the largest readership.” 
 
Sax ends his Times article by acknowledging that 
we do not have to make a simple choice between 
digital and analog but rather need to balance the two. 
 
I personally prefer reading print books. However, I read many digital books as well. As a writer, I am not happy unless my work appears both in print and digital editions.

Purchasing hardcover books can be expensive. These days, I generally borrow them from the library. One of the benefits of digital books is that they are so much lower in cost. Also, they are convenient to use on devices.

In addition, there’s the matter of space. Unless you have a large house, bookcases can become overcrowded and your living space becomes cluttered with print editions. When we downsized from a house to an apartment, I was forced to give away several thousand print books. It was painful.


As a writer, I am pleased that many of my more recent books are also available as e-books that are low in price. Current example: THE BURNING which is available both in print and all e-book formats.



What is your opinion? Do you prefer print over digital books? Do you like them equally well? Which are you inclined to purchase?



22 comments:

  1. I never thought I'd enjoy digital books until my children gave me a Kindle years ago. Now I love them! Although, I really love paperback books too. Always a toss up LOL! Great post Jacquie.
    Good luck and God's blessings
    PamT

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  2. Hi Pam,

    I'm still tech challenged, but one of my New Year's resolutions to update my digital skills.

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  3. Jacqueline,
    I prefer print books but, for the same reasons you mentioned, most of the books I buy are eBooks. I WISH I could afford to buy all of them in print.

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    1. Cost is an important consideration for most readers.

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  4. I prefer reading print books, partly because I read so much digital content in my job, so it delineates the experience. Also, since I read many middle grade and children's books these days (author research! fun!), I deal with the shelf space by donating the books to the schools or putting them in a Little Library. That way, I support the author but don't add to the far too many books I already have around the house.

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    1. Ben,

      I've done the same thing, namely donated many print books to my local library over the years. It's a good way to support our libraries.

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  5. Like those above, I prefer print. But I recognize the value of electronic formats, especially for travel. Sales in that format have declined, though. Not sure if it's the format or simply fewer people reading these days.

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    1. I hope the reason isn't that fewer people are reading books, magazines and newspapers, but I fear that is the case.

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  6. I can only answer from my experience as an author writing for teens, and that is to say that they mostly prefer print books. You would think that the digitally savvy generation would prefer digital books, but the opposite is true. For them, having a print book is like truly owning something worthwhile. Having it autographed by the author is a treat. Something like 75% of teens prefer print books. Just speculating, but perhaps they spend so much time on their phones means that "escaping to another realm" means getting away from the phone too. On a more practical note, most teens don't have credit cards to purchase ebooks. They take their allowance (or their parents) to the bookstore instead. I often see them there with friends. Thus, it's an experience, not click and done.

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  7. Diana,

    Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Since I also write for teens and children as well as adults, I find your observations valid. Children and teens like to hold a book in their hands.

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  8. I was dead against digital initially, however, they are fabulous for the visually impaired. Plus they have all kinds of gizmos to enlarge the print, increase the contrast etc. I can tell if my VIP [visually impaired person!] is tired by the size of his font--that's not something you can say in mixed company! 😳

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    1. Maddy,

      Good point. We tend to forget how many visually impaired people benefit from digital books. Myself, I prefer large print books and always go to them first at the library.

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  9. This post gives me added assurance as I set off this week to buy print books for my many grandchildren--a Christmas gift I always enjoy choosing.

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  10. Irene,

    I also think that books are great gifts for grandchildren.

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  11. Like many others I prefer print but I am glad to have my books in both print and digital. And it's always good news to hear print books are selling still, and holding onto their place in the marketplace.

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  12. I prefer print but do both. One other format that shouldn't be forgotten is audio. In today's busy life, a lot of people listen to books on the go. There are also many people out there who can't read. (Reasons variety) It's important to make your stories available to all.

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    Replies
    1. I also appreciate audios. For many years, I had to drive a good distance to work. I always listened to audio books and they made the trip pass pleasantly. These days, whenever my husband and I get in the car, we listen to a book on audio as we travel.

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  13. Except for a few favorite authors whose books I already have been collecting in print, if I'm buying, it's digital. I like control over font, size, and especially love digital for my insomnia reading.

    I think reports like this can be skewed because they don't take into account indie authors who don't purchase ISBNs for their books, so they don't show up in these reports. It also doesn't seem to differentiate between fiction and non-fiction.

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  14. Hi Terry,

    Points well-taken. More info is needed to analyze correctly.

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  15. I love PRINT books. In fact, buying the print book first and THEN downloading it to my Kindle. I am now trying to make space in my tiny house designs for my library

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    1. It is difficult to keep a print collection in a tiny house. You're wise to also use a Kindle for reading.

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