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I have to admit I was disappointed to hear that JKR’s wonderful story wasn’t going to be published for some time to come. I was hoping she would decide to publish through the regular book stores at least for a period of time and let people wander back to Pottermore on own.
My frustration over this publication delay made me think about the paradigm shift that’s take place in my lifetime; to me, until a book is published in eBook form it hasn’t been published, that’s why I’ve bought eBook versions of my favorites. Obviously not everyone thinks that way but honestly, the objections I’ve heard feel like someone in the 15th Century telling Gutenberg: “What’s your hurry, the monks will make another copy soon enough -- if another copy is needed.”
The world has indeed hurried up, time itself has been compressed. When I started my career we had three week deadlines to report important information. Then they installed typewriters with built in correction tapes and Xerox copiers so the typists only had to type one copy and could correct any mistakes at the touch of a key, and now they wanted a reply in ten days or less. Then they put in FAX machines and now they wanted an answer in two days. Next, email, and they wanted to hear back the same day. With each change there was a gain in efficiency and better service but you see, our concept of time kept being crunched just like it was when publishing first began.
eBooks are all about the rapid distribution of ideas and wider access to world literature, they let me join the culture stream within the flow of my personal timeline. Time is a big subject, well beyond an Internet post, but I wanted to express the source of my disappointment and frustration. It’s more than just being told to wait a bit longer, it means putting many other things on hold and re-planning to work around this. There is no doubt that JKR has the right to hold off or whatever she wants to do, nor do I fault her for doing it. The idea that her work is an important part of world literature, and all that means, must be daunting. And of course I can reorganize my priorities to fit Harry Potter back into my life at a different place, it’s just so frustrating having to do it.
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