Welcome E-Book. Goodbye bookshelves?

This September, online book giant Amazon arrived in Spain.

Since June we’ve been looking, with persistent futility, for a new flat in Madrid; preferably one with a nice big bookshelf. But what about couples looking for flats in 10, 20, 50, 100 years? Will the entire concept of a bookshelf eventually become as outdated as the flying racism faced by Iraqi psychologist Mo in my Madrid-based novel ‘Selfishness’, which is out now as an E-Book on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Selfishness-ebook/dp/B005KN8388/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316111178&sr=8-1)?

As you can see, authors of electronic books still need all the publicity they can get. In Spain the percentage of digital books sold does not yet amount to 1%, whereas in the US it is already a considerable 20%.

That leaves a great margin for development and growth in the digital book market in Spain. But there are those too who oppose the new arrival (http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/tide/of/dread/meets/Amazon/dawn/elpepueng/20110918elpeng_2/Ten).

Before the late summer inauguration of Amazon.es, I talked to Roberto Dominguez Moro, a literary agent at ACER Literary Agency Madrid. And it seems that the oldest literary agency in Spain is entirely conscious of the need to adapt to the digital book revolution.

“We’re negotiating all the digital rights for all our already existing authors,” Roberto told me, “with caution still, working with short term contracts because we don’t know how the market will evolve, but all the books we have need to be negotiated to transfer them to E-Book, Kindle, and so on.”

So is a complete shift to the digital domain likely in the coming decades? Will a one-click buy and instant read at home eventually make that regular visit to the bookshop a rarity? And can bookshops continue to cope with the speed, flexibility and pricing of their online counterparts?

Amazon’s arrival on the Spanish market has given these anyhow relevant questions a renewed urgency. For as everything moves to the digital domain with increasing ferocity, isn’t it overtly romantic to think that the paperback book still stands a chance in the long run? Will it soon develop into a co-existence like payments with card and cash? A few of your favourite books in paperback, perhaps, but the rest in electronic-format?

There are the obvious E-comforts. A high capacity E-Book is obviously much lighter to carry than a stack of heavy books, giving it relevance not just in the private sphere but also in schools and universities. And digital reading can also be much lighter on your budget.

So prices may eventually become the determining factor in bringing about the decline of the paperback (see also: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/It/is/the/time/for/necessary/enemies/elpepueng/20110907elpeng_1/Ten). Many young authors like myself are already delaying paper publishing and going straight for the electronic option. For the author, an E-Book saves a great amount of time. Finish writing novel. Edit frantically. Upload.

A further 24 hours later it is already available to the reader. And it’s not just available for those with a Kindle reading device; there’s the option of PC, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad or Android reading.

As compatibility continues to increase, the boundaries of digital reading seem to be fading. I’m currently organising my first E-Signing for readers of my book. While I do so, I’m debating whether I really need such a big bookshelf in that new flat.   

 

What’s your opinion on the future of the E-Book and that of traditional paper publishing?

 

Matthias Krug is a Madrid-based writer of fiction and journalism. His first novel ‘Selfishness’ is available in English as an E-Book on Amazon.

Comments

[Publicado por: Serge]

"Gibberish" is staying in one´s coach waiting for nobody knows what. Let´s shake our conscience to see what falls: acorns or selfishness. It is your choice! YOUR choice, not other´s choice. Therefore, welcome E-books, good-bye E-Selflessness.

[Publicado por: El de abajo abajo]

Is this post just an excuse to promote the mediocre gibberish you claim as literature?