Comments on: Paranormal Short Story and Authors Digitizing Their Backlists

By: Ann-Kat

Ann-Kat — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 09:38:12 +0000

@Coral: That makes sense. I’m usually only reading the PDFs on my laptop or printing them so I can bring a hard copy with me. Rarely do I even *attempt* to read a PDF file on my mobile, but you’re right that it’s much easier to read the HTML. Hmmm, food for thought.

By: Estara

Estara — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:58:21 +0000

senetra: pdf files are hard to convert, don’t always resize the font well (at least on the Sony), and are impossible to convert if they’re Adobe digital editions.

*cough* unless you use illegal scripts to break the DRM.

By: Coral

Coral — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:52:31 +0000

@Ann-Kat
I use an iPod Touch to read books and I don’t think PDFs are “mobile” friendly ie the text doesn’t wrap to fit the screen if you re-size the text. Yes, the whole page displays but is so tiny that I found I had to zoom in and then scroll… tedious to read every line. I read Karin Slaughter’s interview with Lee Childs just recently on my iPod Touch and choose the PDF option, had to finish reading it on the Mac. I don’t think the PDF was originally intended for use on these devices, therefore the limitations. html on the other hand is supported by most readers or can be easily converted. But basically it comes down to my personal preference…
@Estara — thanks for the links, checking them out now…

By: SWesley

SWesley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:25:03 +0000

I adore Anne Frazer’s books she wrote as Weir. I have tracked down copies of all of them and have savored every single one.

Good to know she is doing this. I hope more readers will discover what a truely unique voice she was in romance. Wish she’d write more.

By: Avid Reader

Avid Reader — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:52:10 +0000

@Ann-Kat, thanks for the Scribd link! I added it.

By: senetra

senetra — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:06:56 +0000

SarahT: I would love for more authors to make their titles available to readers as ebooks, preferably without geographical restrictions. For example, I’ve been wanting to read the Patricia Gaffney’s ‘To Have to Hold’ for years but I don’t want to buy an expensive used copy.

SarahT, depending on where you are, if you are able, try requesting it via ILL. I just checked WorldCat, and there are about 170 copies cataloged in the US, UK, and Canada. It was even released as a trade, which might make getting it easier. I'm a little annoyed by all the Kindle love. I have a Sony and I buy a lot of books and wouldn't mind getting MJPs new book for free! Ann-Kat, pdf files are hard to convert, don't always resize the font well (at least on the Sony), and are impossible to convert if they're Adobe digital editions.

By: Ann-Kat

Ann-Kat — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:17:37 +0000

By the way, I don’t have a Kindle, so I couldn’t purchase it from Amazon. After a quick check, I see that it’s also for sale at Scribd for anyone else who wants to give it a read.

And out of curiosity, Coral, why no PDFs? I actually prefer the PDF version to straight HTML.

By: Ann-Kat

Ann-Kat — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:07:23 +0000

That would be awesome of more and more authors would begin to do this. And definitely no DRM*…if that whole fiasco with the Wal-Mart Music/Movie store taught us anything.

*Any industry folks reading this comment, we aren’t saying no DRM because we’re pirates or thieves, we just like feeling secure in knowing we can enjoy the content we’ve paid for for as long as possible and not need to worry about losing access because a server somewhere goes down.

By: SarahT

SarahT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:41:07 +0000

I would love for more authors to make their OOP titles available to readers as ebooks, preferably without geographical restrictions. For example, I’ve been wanting to read the Patricia Gaffney’s ‘To Have & to Hold’ for years but I don’t want to buy an expensive used copy.

By: Estara

Estara — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:11:11 +0000

Looking beyond romance books have you seen the efforts of some very well-known female sf&f writers to do just this? Book View Cafe Home Wave Without A Shore Very encouraging. I could wish more would jump on board.

By: Avid Reader

Avid Reader — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:46:34 +0000

Hi Coral,

I did ask Ms. Fraiser if she would make her digital books accessible to non-Kindle readers and so she just might but it will take time. Amazon offers authors easy access to make their work available digitally whereas others do not (that I know of).

By: Coral

Coral — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:47:00 +0000

There are people outside of the USA who would be interested in author’s backlists and where Kindle readers aren’t available. I would think something like .html or ePub would be more universal (please avoid .pdf files, yuk! — no flow). But I think it’s great that authors are taking the initiative to control their works and have them available to their now worldwide audience forever plus no DRM.