Hello from pr28

pr28 · 05-21-2007, 11:27 PM

My name is Peter and I work in publishing. I recently bought myself a SOmny Reader to explore it and to help with my reading load. A lot of what I get sent these days is sent electronically. I'm also working on an article about the possible future of the publishig industry.
Thanks,
Peter

NatCh · 05-21-2007, 11:48 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, pr28!

We'll be especially pleased to hear something of the publishing industry point of view on e-books. We've got a few authors, a whole mess of readers, and even a few reviewer types. I'm sure your views will be a welcome addition to the discourse.

Neophyte · 05-25-2007, 12:29 AM

hey pr28!

two questions:

1. If I may ask, which publisher are you working for? I'm interning right now, so I'm interested in speaking to people who actually have jobs in the field.

2. How's the Sony Reader working out for you?

pr28 · 05-26-2007, 07:43 PM

I'm a literary agent, as well as published writer in my own right, so I work with all kinds of publishers, bioth big and small.

As for the Sony Reader, while I think it is really fascinating, and is helping me with .doc and .txt files submitted to me by clients and potential clients, I think the real revolution here is the the E-Ink technology that creates the screen. They're already on a new generation with 9" screens available, and that is what I really want to see. I think the Sony has a lot limitations moswt of which have been self imposed by Sony, who never seem to lose an oportunity to screw up a good idea, particularly if you try and use it "out of the box" including e books that are far too expensive and no search function or wifi.

I find downloading .doc files and converting them, and using Bookdesigner has proved very helpful. You need to want to "get under the hood" a bit to get the most out of unit at present. That will limit its popularity for a while, but will also allow enough people to write software for it that it may help it catch on eventually.

Eventually however, I believe readers like the Sony (think 78 records in terms of an evolutionary timeline" will replace the mass market paperback. There will need to be a major move in the drm situation, which was dealt a big blow recently by Steve Jobs saying it's a failed philosophy, and also a couple of hundred thousand units of some kind of reader out there making it viable to sell ebooks in the kind of numbers now being sold in paperback. I'm actually writing an article about this now.
Peter

Alexander Turcic · 05-28-2007, 02:41 PM

I am happy you think that way, Peter. Let's hope other publishers will follow your lead soon!

Neophyte · 06-02-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr28

I think the Sony has a lot limitations moswt of which have been self imposed by Sony, who never seem to lose an oportunity to screw up a good idea, particularly if you try and use it "out of the box" including e books that are far too expensive and no search function or wifi.

I find downloading .doc files and converting them, and using Bookdesigner has proved very helpful. You need to want to "get under the hood" a bit to get the most out of unit at present.

So does the lack of a search function and wifi actually impede your using the reader, or is that a relatively minor problem? I'm also kind of curious to know whether the lack of touch screen (ie inability to annotate) ever creates a problem.

BTW, will you be posting a link to your article when it's done? I bet a lot of people are interested in it.

JSWolf · 06-09-2007, 12:54 AM

When I read a paper book, I do not try to search or try to annotate the book. Don't do the same on the Sony Reader. It's just for reading stuff. Does that very well overall especially with the great tools we have for it.

Neophyte · 06-09-2007, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When I read a paper book, I do not try to search or try to annotate the book. Don't do the same on the Sony Reader. It's just for reading stuff. Does that very well overall especially with the great tools we have for it.

Yeah, I figured that any sort of reading activity that requires note-taking or page marking would not be helped by the Sony. I'd have to cary around an extra notebook, and that's just self-defeating.

RWood · 06-09-2007, 08:13 PM

I come from the old school of thought that held books in high regard. Do not mark in them. Even college and grad school did not cure me of this. Therefore the ability to mark a page in a book is wasted on me.

pr28 · 06-13-2007, 10:37 PM

Well, while I'm old school like yourself, truth is, there are occasions when I was reading something pretty intense (say some Bertrand Russell, or Stare or something) when I would find the insight such I would have to highlight it in some way. In my current position, as I am partially an editor and reading as many manuscripts on the Sony as published books, it would be very helpful to have some minimal way of highlighting text (for editorial reasons, for example). Plus, with a book I can turn easily to page whatever. It's a minor aggravation, to be truthful, but nevertheless, I would like it to be a larger screen (8inch diagonal like a real book page), to be able to find minimal stuff (I can use an index in a book if one is provided), and the ability to delete if I want what I've read and don't need any more. I'm curious to see if someone writes some compewting software for the Connect software that came with my Sony, because that is one rather sad piece of minimal programming that seems more concerned with protecting digital rights (read Steve Jobs comments about this recently) than facilitating the effectiveness of my reader. What aggravates me is that the most impressive piece of this is not even what Sony has done, because the screen is made by eInk and they sell a "kit" that looks a lot like the SOny running on Linux. HAve no idea of the price however.
If I ever get the article finished and printed I'll let you guys know where to find it.

NatCh · 06-14-2007, 12:28 AM

The Sony Reader uses Unix as an OS, and that kit you mention is $3k, if memory serves me. How sad is it that I was actually occasionally tempted to order one before the Sony Reader came out?

JSWolf · 06-14-2007, 01:17 AM

What I do is if I find an error or something I want to change in a book I am reading and I have the source file, I'll bookmark the page and go back to it later and reread and fix.

yvanleterrible · 06-14-2007, 08:39 AM

Hi pr28! You might want to have a chat with our e-writer friend Steve Jordan.
In the mean time have a look here.

He's got great ideas on the subject and he's living them today.

05-21-2007, 11:27 PM	#1
pr28 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York Device: Sony Reader	Hello from pr28 My name is Peter and I work in publishing. I recently bought myself a SOmny Reader to explore it and to help with my reading load. A lot of what I get sent these days is sent electronically. I'm also working on an article about the possible future of the publishig industry. Thanks, Peter

05-25-2007, 12:29 AM	#3
Neophyte Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2007 Location: New York Device: A dinky Motorola. Looking forward to an e-reader.	hey pr28! two questions: 1. If I may ask, which publisher are you working for? I'm interning right now, so I'm interested in speaking to people who actually have jobs in the field. 2. How's the Sony Reader working out for you? Last edited by Neophyte; 05-25-2007 at 12:29 AM. Reason: misused word

05-26-2007, 07:43 PM	#4
pr28 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York Device: Sony Reader	Reply to Questions I'm a literary agent, as well as published writer in my own right, so I work with all kinds of publishers, bioth big and small. As for the Sony Reader, while I think it is really fascinating, and is helping me with .doc and .txt files submitted to me by clients and potential clients, I think the real revolution here is the the E-Ink technology that creates the screen. They're already on a new generation with 9" screens available, and that is what I really want to see. I think the Sony has a lot limitations moswt of which have been self imposed by Sony, who never seem to lose an oportunity to screw up a good idea, particularly if you try and use it "out of the box" including e books that are far too expensive and no search function or wifi. I find downloading .doc files and converting them, and using Bookdesigner has proved very helpful. You need to want to "get under the hood" a bit to get the most out of unit at present. That will limit its popularity for a while, but will also allow enough people to write software for it that it may help it catch on eventually. Eventually however, I believe readers like the Sony (think 78 records in terms of an evolutionary timeline" will replace the mass market paperback. There will need to be a major move in the drm situation, which was dealt a big blow recently by Steve Jobs saying it's a failed philosophy, and also a couple of hundred thousand units of some kind of reader out there making it viable to sell ebooks in the kind of numbers now being sold in paperback. I'm actually writing an article about this now. Peter

06-13-2007, 10:37 PM	#10
pr28 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York Device: Sony Reader	Well, while I'm old school like yourself, truth is, there are occasions when I was reading something pretty intense (say some Bertrand Russell, or Stare or something) when I would find the insight such I would have to highlight it in some way. In my current position, as I am partially an editor and reading as many manuscripts on the Sony as published books, it would be very helpful to have some minimal way of highlighting text (for editorial reasons, for example). Plus, with a book I can turn easily to page whatever. It's a minor aggravation, to be truthful, but nevertheless, I would like it to be a larger screen (8inch diagonal like a real book page), to be able to find minimal stuff (I can use an index in a book if one is provided), and the ability to delete if I want what I've read and don't need any more. I'm curious to see if someone writes some compewting software for the Connect software that came with my Sony, because that is one rather sad piece of minimal programming that seems more concerned with protecting digital rights (read Steve Jobs comments about this recently) than facilitating the effectiveness of my reader. What aggravates me is that the most impressive piece of this is not even what Sony has done, because the screen is made by eInk and they sell a "kit" that looks a lot like the SOny running on Linux. HAve no idea of the price however. If I ever get the article finished and printed I'll let you guys know where to find it. Last edited by pr28; 06-13-2007 at 10:40 PM.

05-21-2007, 11:48 PM	#2
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Welcome to MobileRead, pr28! We'll be especially pleased to hear something of the publishing industry point of view on e-books. We've got a few authors, a whole mess of readers, and even a few reviewer types. I'm sure your views will be a welcome addition to the discourse.

05-28-2007, 02:41 PM	#5
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	I am happy you think that way, Peter. Let's hope other publishers will follow your lead soon!

06-09-2007, 12:54 AM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,683 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	When I read a paper book, I do not try to search or try to annotate the book. Don't do the same on the Sony Reader. It's just for reading stuff. Does that very well overall especially with the great tools we have for it.

06-09-2007, 08:13 PM	#9
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	I come from the old school of thought that held books in high regard. Do not mark in them. Even college and grad school did not cure me of this. Therefore the ability to mark a page in a book is wasted on me.

06-14-2007, 12:28 AM	#11
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	The Sony Reader uses Unix as an OS, and that kit you mention is $3k, if memory serves me. How sad is it that I was actually occasionally tempted to order one before the Sony Reader came out?

06-14-2007, 01:17 AM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,683 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	What I do is if I find an error or something I want to change in a book I am reading and I have the source file, I'll bookmark the page and go back to it later and reread and fix.

06-14-2007, 08:39 AM	#13
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Hi pr28! You might want to have a chat with our e-writer friend Steve Jordan. In the mean time have a look here. He's got great ideas on the subject and he's living them today.

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