Why So Many Newby Writers Without a Device - Page 11

cfrizz · 07-29-2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellmark

I think the idea was that if you are to use ebooks, you have to have something to read them on. If they don't have anything to read them on, then they're not fans of ebooks, and are just seeing us as potential sales and nothing more. For instance, the one example of the author trying to shill their books, but then stating that they don't actually read ebooks because they like real books. It can kinda be insulting.

I'm sorry but this is really turning into nonsense & clique-kish.

I started reading ebooks on my pc 3 months before I got I got my Sony. I had to wait to get it at a price I was willing to pay. I was doing my research and posting here before I had it.

So long as these writers post their announcements in the proper forum which I studiously ignore whether they have an ereader or not is not important.

If they post in a wrong thread, the mods should send them a PM telling them where to post it correctly.

I think we are starting down a slippery slope if we start making all these arbitrary rules about one MUST have and ereader to participate etc.

anamardoll · 07-29-2011, 10:04 AM

I also don't find it insulting for an author to prefer "real" (i.e., "paper", but most people aren't used to calling those books "pbooks", and use "real" to differentiate "physical" versus "non-physical". And yes, ebooks exist in a physical form, strictly speaking, but most people don't visualize it that way.) books to ebooks.

Why would that be insulting? People have different needs. Some people want/need paper, others want/need ebooks. I don't require everyone to have the same wants/needs as myself as a form of self-validation.

The point of publishing in ebook form isn't because the author has fuzzy feelings about ebooks, it's because we have ereaders and we want to fill them with ebooks we like. Really, I would find it more insulting if an author DIDN'T publish an ebook version because she/he didn't like ebooks much.

MikeB1972 · 07-29-2011, 10:34 AM

Neil (mainly and others)

Now I am a techie (IT manager, programmer and gadget freak), and I didn't put any devices in my profile for about a year (of course I'm not on facebook either, walking a labrador seems to be a full time occupation

).

I agree with you that there are probably a large percentage of fly by advertisers.

But I suspect that most first posts don't have a device in their profile regardless of if they are trying to plug their book or not - who spends the time to fill out all the info if they are not going to post all the time.

Hey I just looked at my profile I'm averaging 0.08 posts per day chatterbox that I am.

Ah, well, back to lurking

JSWolf · 07-29-2011, 11:01 AM

Actually, what bothers me the most is not the authors. Nope. Not even close. What bothers me is when someone comes on, asks a question and doesn't comes back to read the replies or even participate in the thread that person started.

JSWolf · 07-29-2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Oh, great, let's pick on the homeless authors now.

(Kidding.

)

See, they cannot have a reader if they have no home. No home, no electricity to plug in the reader to charge the batteries.

So what we have here is a bunch of homeless readerless authors creating eBooks in an Internet cafe or public library.

DiapDealer · 07-29-2011, 11:58 AM

Anamardoll made JSWolf grin! Karma all around to encourage more such behavior.

anamardoll · 07-29-2011, 12:09 PM

I make everyone grin, don't I?

DAHayden · 07-29-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

The point of publishing in ebook form isn't because the author has fuzzy feelings about ebooks, it's because we have ereaders and we want to fill them with ebooks we like. Really, I would find it more insulting if an author DIDN'T publish an ebook version because she/he didn't like ebooks much.

I agree. It is insulting for an author, or a publisher, not to offer an ebook version. Bad business practice, too.

And while it is questionable for an author to design and offer products for a device they don't own, Amazon and B&N offer reading device preview programs since realistically an author may not own every device out there.

jaxx6166 · 07-30-2011, 08:44 PM

Argh! Stupid Cmd+Z deleted my whole post...!!!!

I wanted to spread Karma cookies around to everyone for voicing the frustrations that drove me away from here for months.

Nice to know I wasn't in the minority.

I missed all my old curmudgeonly friends...

So..yeah. Thank you Neil, Harry, and Wolf

Rock on!

FizzyWater · 07-30-2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phogg

I thought to have an opinion you had to trace your ereading device geneology back to late 90s PDAs.

Hey....!

I still read on my late 90s PDA. Depends on where I am, the lighting options, and whether I've forgotten to charge my 650 lately. (I have the same intermittent issue with the battery not holding a charge until I do hard reset).

I was a little concerned that my backup battery was reaching it's end-state life, but I was able to find a new one that works.

There's a program on the PDA that I use every day that hasn't been ported over to Android yet

- otherwise, I'd probably just use my Smartphone and finally let the old PDA gently fade away.

JSWolf · 07-30-2011, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I make everyone grin, don't I?

This is a silly thread.

Who cares if the authors have a reader or use software on the computer or just didn't fill in a single field on a forum? If you care, don't answer. Only answer if you truly do not care.

anamardoll · 07-30-2011, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is a silly thread.

Who cares if the authors have a reader or use software on the computer or just didn't fill in a single field on a forum? If you care, don't answer. Only answer if you truly do not care.

That emoticon is hypnotic. I've been watching it for several minutes now.

Anke Wehner · 07-31-2011, 05:33 AM

Maybe it's "guilt by association" with the kind of author who say that they will never get an ereader because they spend too much time at the computer, and don't fancy reading on a screen, or similar things that show they didn't bother to do the least bit of research before dismissing ereaders?

Billi · 07-31-2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

I make a habit of dropping a line of welcome to all newcomers to MR. ... I always say a polite hello.

I find it great that you and your "colleagues" in the "Introduce yourself" section welcome warmly every single newcomer. I still remember that I appreciated that very much when I left my first post here.

amo · 07-31-2011, 01:28 PM

Umm, not that I know anything, but... if I was an author (which I ain't) I'd create me a second profile with my real name (or pen name, if that was different), and promote my book under that, and continue to participate in discussions under my screen name which I use for all kinds of other online activities where my RL identity is irrelevant. My opinions on how my Kobo runs have very little to do with whether I can write a good novel (the only relevance would be that my posts show how well I can use language).

And I'd not list a device (or maybe say something like the aforementioned "yes") because, as a reader, I'd be leery of an author who has a device really different from mine. If an author lists their device as a Kindle, I'd think "Gee, I want epubs; they might not have formatted the book properly for that because they can't try it out on their machine." It's prejudice, I know, but that's my knee-jerk reaction, which might make me pass up a perfectly good epub by a Kindle owner and look for another one by a Kobo owner. If their device listing was "device-neutral", I'd be more objective. Maybe that's just me, but I'd think that in terms of marketing, a lot of it depends on these split-second, unconscious decisions on the part of the buyer. So not listing a device might be a conscious decision on the part of the authors?

Incidentally, I didn't find the OP rude, either. Frustrated, yes, rude, no. Might be a bit of a cultural mis-communication thing? What sounds rude in one country might just be expressing their opinions in another.

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07-29-2011, 10:04 AM	#152
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I also don't find it insulting for an author to prefer "real" (i.e., "paper", but most people aren't used to calling those books "pbooks", and use "real" to differentiate "physical" versus "non-physical". And yes, ebooks exist in a physical form, strictly speaking, but most people don't visualize it that way.) books to ebooks. Why would that be insulting? People have different needs. Some people want/need paper, others want/need ebooks. I don't require everyone to have the same wants/needs as myself as a form of self-validation. The point of publishing in ebook form isn't because the author has fuzzy feelings about ebooks, it's because we have ereaders and we want to fill them with ebooks we like. Really, I would find it more insulting if an author DIDN'T publish an ebook version because she/he didn't like ebooks much.

07-29-2011, 10:34 AM	#153
MikeB1972 Gnu Posts: 1,222 Karma: 15625359 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: UK Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type	Neil (mainly and others) Now I am a techie (IT manager, programmer and gadget freak), and I didn't put any devices in my profile for about a year (of course I'm not on facebook either, walking a labrador seems to be a full time occupation ). I agree with you that there are probably a large percentage of fly by advertisers. But I suspect that most first posts don't have a device in their profile regardless of if they are trying to plug their book or not - who spends the time to fill out all the info if they are not going to post all the time. Hey I just looked at my profile I'm averaging 0.08 posts per day chatterbox that I am. Ah, well, back to lurking

07-29-2011, 11:01 AM	#154
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,796 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Actually, what bothers me the most is not the authors. Nope. Not even close. What bothers me is when someone comes on, asks a question and doesn't comes back to read the replies or even participate in the thread that person started.

07-29-2011, 11:58 AM	#156
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,622 Karma: 204624552 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Anamardoll made JSWolf grin! Karma all around to encourage more such behavior.

07-29-2011, 12:09 PM	#157
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I make everyone grin, don't I?

07-30-2011, 08:44 PM	#159
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	Argh! Stupid Cmd+Z deleted my whole post...!!!! I wanted to spread Karma cookies around to everyone for voicing the frustrations that drove me away from here for months. Nice to know I wasn't in the minority. I missed all my old curmudgeonly friends... So..yeah. Thank you Neil, Harry, and Wolf Rock on!

07-31-2011, 05:33 AM	#163
Anke Wehner Addict Posts: 249 Karma: 177956 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: PRS-650	Maybe it's "guilt by association" with the kind of author who say that they will never get an ereader because they spend too much time at the computer, and don't fancy reading on a screen, or similar things that show they didn't bother to do the least bit of research before dismissing ereaders?

07-31-2011, 01:28 PM	#165
amo Teaist Posts: 230 Karma: 74542 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: British Columbia, Canada Device: Kobo WiFi, Kobo Aura ONE, Android cell phone	Umm, not that I know anything, but... if I was an author (which I ain't) I'd create me a second profile with my real name (or pen name, if that was different), and promote my book under that, and continue to participate in discussions under my screen name which I use for all kinds of other online activities where my RL identity is irrelevant. My opinions on how my Kobo runs have very little to do with whether I can write a good novel (the only relevance would be that my posts show how well I can use language). And I'd not list a device (or maybe say something like the aforementioned "yes") because, as a reader, I'd be leery of an author who has a device really different from mine. If an author lists their device as a Kindle, I'd think "Gee, I want epubs; they might not have formatted the book properly for that because they can't try it out on their machine." It's prejudice, I know, but that's my knee-jerk reaction, which might make me pass up a perfectly good epub by a Kindle owner and look for another one by a Kobo owner. If their device listing was "device-neutral", I'd be more objective. Maybe that's just me, but I'd think that in terms of marketing, a lot of it depends on these split-second, unconscious decisions on the part of the buyer. So not listing a device might be a conscious decision on the part of the authors? Incidentally, I didn't find the OP rude, either. Frustrated, yes, rude, no. Might be a bit of a cultural mis-communication thing? What sounds rude in one country might just be expressing their opinions in another.