Linda Taylor

I saw a Kindle for the first time this past weekend. To be honest, I really haven’t paid much attention to the hoopla about e-readers. I read on screen all day long at my computer and figured that for my own personal enjoyment, I would be reading books by my lamp and firelight in the evening, thank you very much.

I recently read an article in Slate titled “Fear the Kindle” with the tagline, “Amazon’s amazing e-book reader is bad news for the publishing industry.” And, since I work in aforementioned publishing industry, this caught my attention. Will this little piece of technology put me out of a job?

So this past weekend, I was speaking about the publishing industry to a group of students and professors at Houghton College. Part of my talk addressed the future of the industry and, of course, mentioned e-readers. Without a doubt, e-books will have a huge impact on the industry. However, I disagree that they’re “bad news” for us. I think they may just be good news all around.

I asked if anyone in the room had a Kindle. Sure enough, a young woman pulled one out of her purse. It was wrapped in a cover, and she opened it up to show it to me. This was the “older” version because the Kindle 2 has just been released by Amazon. Even though Kindle 2 is heralded in the Slate article as being “unlike its bulky predecessor,” it must be quite amazing for I found myself completely intrigued by Kindle 1, not finding it bulky at all.

She showed me how it works. The screen was not at all like looking at my computer screen, no backlighting to tire out my eyes. She scrolled through her “library” and explained to me that many classic works can be downloaded free from Amazon, with most other books being available for $9.99. She showed me how she can have several books going at once, and how to bookmark where you leave off (it looks like you’ve folded down the top corner of the page, something I would never do with my real books!).

She had me at “I have one.”

However, at this point the $359 price tag is a bit too high for me. I can buy a lot of books for that price. But I’m always several years behind the technology curve anyway; I know that I will have a Kindle (or a similar e-reader) eventually.

That’s not to say I’m giving up on books. I love books. Truly. I have shelves and shelves at home to prove it. I will always love the feel in my hands of a good book. But when I travel, I’m always faced with a dilemma about which book to bring along (inevitably I’m in the middle of a very heavy tome and don’t want to add it to my luggage). How terrific to toss in my e-reader and go—knowing I have a library of books to choose from, not to mention all the other features that these devices offer (or will soon offer).

As for the future of the publishing industry? I don’t think the e-readers sound the death knell. First of all, people will always continue to write books (even King Solomon knew that; see Ecclesiastes 12:12). Sure, the method of delivery may change, but books still need to be written, edited, revised, copyedited, and proofread—even if they’re going to an e-reader. Sure, more books may become available by way of self-published authors, but the gatekeepers at the publishing houses will still be making sure to publish quality material edited by professionals so that the books become their very best.

In fact, I think this very change could be a huge boon for the industry and authors alike. Maybe publishing houses will be more willing to “take a chance” on an expertly-written story by an unpublished newbie. The publishing house won’t need to expend their resources printing quantities of books that may come back. Instead, they can make the book available in e-book format only—once it’s sold, it’s sold. No pesky returned books. No lost money. And since e-books currently can’t be shared, if word of mouth should spread and someone else wants the book, he’ll have to buy it for download as well.

Not to mention how “green” this is. Fewer unsold books to destroy. And imagine if textbooks companies get on this bandwagon. Wouldn’t every college student love to have all their textbooks on one e-reader instead of breaking their backs in overloaded backpacks?

So I’m not afraid for my job. Writers will always have stories to tell and books will always need to be written. We in the publishing industry need to be here, honing our craft in order to find those stories and make them shine—whether it’s read between the covers of a book or on the screen of an e-reader.