I am about to get a virtual PA to help out with the mountain of admin work I have been struggling with over the past year or so. I’m actually not sure how ‘virtual’ she’s going to be as I know who she is, I know where she lives and sometimes she may be sharing my office, but it did get me thinking about all things virtual.
These days you can get ‘virtual’ just about anything. You can have virtual friends, courtesy of social networking sites; you can do virtual exercise, courtesy of Wii; you can use virtual doctors as Dan Woolley discovered when he was trapped in a lift-shaft following the terrible earthquake in Haiti. He used a medical app on his Iphone to give him information on treating his wounds. You can even be stalked by virtual stalkers as I myself can bear out with the vile posts from ‘Anonymous’ posted on this very site.
Which brings me to virtual books, or e-books as they are more commonly known. What do we, as writers, feel about them? Are they, as many believe, a threat to the printed word or are they, in fact, an amazing opportunity for writers and readers alike?
If you look at the news section of this site you will see that one of my authors is putting together a collection of short stories to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal. Because he is planning to publish the stories as an e-book he can get it out quickly and efficiently without waiting for an editor’s say-so or a publisher’s permission.However, interestingly, he is also publishing the collection as a paperback.
Many people point out that CD sales have fallen since ITunes was launched in this country in 2004. However in my opinion it’s not the same thing as the e-book/book debate. The CD is a mass storage device which has now been replaced by more efficient mass storage devices. The e-book on the other hand is a completely different medium to the printed book and I can see them happily existing side by side. For example I use my Sony e-reader for first readings of manuscripts, but in order to do a proper edit I need to have the full manuscript printed out as hard copy.
And if one needs any more poignant reminder of the importance of the written word you only need to look to the bravery of Miep Gies, who died aged 100 on 11th January. Miep was one of the loyal and brave few who daily risked their lives in order to bring the family Frank supplies as they hid in the famous Secret Annex during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. It was Miep who picked up the abandoned pages of Anne Frank’s diary when the annex occupants were finally betrayed and arrested on August 4, 1944. One can only wonder if Anne’s book would have survived if it had been stored on a laptop or, more importantly, if it would have ever been written at all.
So that’s my say on all things virtual. I’m now off to virtually walk my virtual dog in the virtual rain. If only!
As readers we need more choice as far as ebooks are concerned, and more accessible cataloguing. I think it will be interesting to see what happens to the emarket when Apple launch their much hyped new ‘holy grail’this Wednesday.
Agreed. And I can’t wait for the Apple launch. I’m a sucker for gadgets so I’m sure I’m not going to be able to live without it!
Is it just me or does the IPad look like a giant IPhone? Not sure I want it after all!
I love my little PDA – it means I always have a book with me when out and about and having to wait, say, for an appointment, or if a child client doesn’t turn up at school – currently have an eclectic mix of Warriors, Kellerman and McCaffrey on it in huge doses. But an iPad is way too clever for this usage and a Kindle adds features I don’t need (my computer will read me a manuscript when I get too lazy). So neither is for me yet, I guess. But I agree with Louise they’ll probably co-exist quite happily for ages to come. And e-readers are certainly not as thumb-aching as a paperback to hold open last thing at night!
Thank you for input, Eleanor. Agree about holding open book last thing at night. On the other hand I dropped off to sleep the other night and allowed my precious ereader to drop with a thud to the floor. Was too exhausted to pick it up to check I hadn’t destroyed it (and, as I discovered in the morning, I hadn’t) but how much better to drop a paperback than such an expensive bit of kit! Still love it, though.