Recently I sat in on a presentation on publishing- Caribbean Publishing 2.0: Digital Opportunities for Publishing and Selling Books.
Who knows I may feel inspired to write a book and publish it some day.
It was a very interesting presentation
They spoke about the shift from the actual book to the virtual
Which is made so much easier with the Ipad, ibook and the Kindle.
They spoke about the possibility of getting more readers for your virtual book than through traditional means.
It was even boasted that soon the virtual book could replace the actual book and become the king book ( ok that is my wording)
And though this makes for a very interesting time for the self publisher
I really hope that the virtual book never actually replaces the actual book.
It would be sad if the young of this world were to miss out on the delights of a book.
The way it feels
The turning of it’s pages,
The way it smells both old and new
The images that it causes to form in your imagination
The many worlds and characters that you get to explore .
Yes it would be sad if we let the Kindle or the Ibook replace the book
Because at the end of the day to me the virtual book is no different than a portable television
Which is entertaining but no match for the imagination of the unchartered mind of the young.
Leave a comment