Reading e-books
I must admit a preference to reading paper books. There is something about the feel of them, and especially, the smell of old books. However, I've recently discovered the joy of ebooks.
My novel Sakhira was first published as an e-book. Then I discovered an author I really liked (Frieda McFadden) and couldn't find her books in my local library, but they were on Kindle Unlimited. I'm particularly enjoying the twists in her stories.
The upshot is that I have lately been reading electronically, and have really enjoyed it. There are no lost places for dropped books, no piles of books around (not that that is ever a problem) plus you can search for sections or quotes if you want. (This feature is really useful for teachers and students of English Lit.)
A few friends wanted my novel in paperback, which they can now buy. Others said they didn't have a Kindle or other device to read the e-book. However, you can download the software for free to read e-books on any electronic device: The app is on Google Play or you can download directly from Amazon. I found reading on my phone a bit small, but I've set up an old tablet, and love it. It is so easy to find and read the books I want. I've done some book reviewing, so already had Kindle Unlimited, and I've occasionally used it for reading magazines on my phone. However, I discovered there are loads of books by authors I like on Kindle Unlimited, so I have been reading avidly. It costs £9.49 per month, and there is a deal at present to sign up for 99p for 3 months.
For those of you considering self publishing through Amazon, you can also download the software to prepare your manuscript for publication.
At the risk of sounding like an advert for Amazon, I also wanted to say that you can read e-books for free from a range of sources:
Project Gutenburg has a huge selection of books that are in the public domain
This blog lists a huge range of other options.
Many of the sites which have published my short stories are also free to read. (Commuterlit for example)
I will of course continue to read on paper, but now that I've discovered the joy of reading e-books, I will keep the tablet going too!
