Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Genuis
Despite all those nails in book's coffin, there is one spark of life that ereaders can't extinguish: Author promotions. From Oprah handing out copies of your latest masterpiece to her studio audience, to doing the bookstore circuit- ebooks just stand there in the dust looking confused and lost. Yes Oprah could post the book on her site and let you download it for free, but it's not the same as getting a something in your hand to take home with you. As for signings what are they going to sign? Your precious ereader? No way jose. They're not promoting the company that makes your ereader, they're promoting their BOOK.
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These are all promotional ideas, developed to get people's interest... meeting authors... celebrities promoting a book or giving it away... signatures. When you look at the inherent "value" of those promotions, you realize there isn't any. There's no value to someone else's signature... that, and a buck, will buy you a candy bar. A book isn't more valuable because Oprah handed it to you (or had an intern stick it under your seat, having never touched you at all). It's a false value that fades with the moment. That's what makes them PR gimmicks.
As ebooks develop, and as promoters look for new ways to promote them, we can expect to see PR events and gimmicks designed around the ebook, that will likely be different from the print-based promotional gimmicks of today. Some will be similar, like "First X customers get a FREE book," and some will be different, maybe like "YOUR NAME will be added to every Special Edition" or "Author's Edition includes X, Y and Z."
In our global marketplace, the idea of physically going somewhere to enjoy a promotion is becoming increasingly scarce. I might like an author in Tokyo, but am I likely to fly there for a signature? No way. But if I can buy a Special Edition ebook that includes his comments about the development of the book, or first edits of certain passages, say, that can entice me to buy.
In time, we will stop thinking of "signatures" and "handouts," and start thinking of "bonus content" and "participation perks," etc... and we will have moved on.