Lynda Fitzgerald is a multi-genre author, teacher and speaker. Her debut novel, If Truth Be Told, was released in June, 2007. Of Words & Music, her second, came out in March of 2009, and her mystery series, LIVE, was launched in Spring 2010 with the release of LIVE Ringer. LIVE Ammo followed in 2012, with LIVE in Person due out in early spring 2013.
Although Lynda was born and spent much of her life in central Florida, she now lives in Snellville, GA, a small town just east of Atlanta, with her three rescue dogs. Check out her website, http://www.fitzgeraldwrites.com, for more about Lynda and her books, including excerpts from each and some beautiful pictures of the area where her books are set.
I’m going to step out on a slippery limb here and announce that I LOVE MY KINDLE. I know. That’s a scandalous thing for a published-in-print author to say. And I don’t even have an official Kindle. I have the app on my iPhone.
Before you ask, no, the print isn’t too small to read, although I have to flick to the next page pretty often, especially since I’m a fast reader. But think of it. One device. On it, I can read innumerable books, pay my bills, check my email, play games with friends, take and share photos, order prescription refills with a swipe, check the weather, manage my calendar, surf the net, organize my grocery list, and listen to music. Oh, and make phone calls.
Maybe I should say I love my iPhone, which I do, but this is about the Kindle.
When the Kindle first came out, I like many authors, felt a sense of impending doom. The world was changing too fast. Technology was taking over. Soon print books would be only a vague memory, much like typewriters and dial telephones. When was the last time you saw one of those? It was the end of the print world as I knew it.
Of course, it wasn’t, but that’s how it felt. There are still dinosaurs―uh, I mean, people―who prefer holding a print book in their hands. Let me assure you immediately that I’m one of those. I resisted the Kindle for years as if it were the devil’s spawn. Then I went on vacation for two weeks.
Normally, I have to pack an extra suitcase full of books to satisfy my reading lust while I’m away, and I almost did this time, too. Then I remembered the airlines charge for baggage these days, and I had this free app on my phone I’d never used. Yes. Kindle. As a test, I downloaded a fellow author’s book I’d been wanting to read, skeptical that the experience would come close to reading a print book. How wrong can you be?
So I downloaded twenty more. All those books (and my bank and pharmacy, et. al.) fit into a small side pocket in my handbag. How’s that for packing efficiency?
And cost efficiency? Her book in hardback cost $24.99. Paper was $9.99. It was $4.99 on Kindle. All my worries about her royalties (and mine) dropping because the book cost less were unfounded. I don’t know about other publishers, but our publishers pay higher royalties for Kindle sales. Less overhead = more money in the author’s pocket.
Yes, I still order print books. I love to browse book stores looking for just the right book. My bookcases at home runneth over. So does my Kindle, and it still fits in the same little pocket in my purse.
So, here I am, a print author who’s unashamedly singing the praises of the Kindle. I don’t believe for a moment that print media is a thing of the past. There will always be those who want that signed first edition. There will always be those, like me, who gain a sense of well-being from walking into a room lined with overflowing bookshelves. I’m even comforted by the smell of paper and glue and the dust that loves to collect on my books. That won’t change. But when I travel, when I need something to read and there isn’t a bookstore within a hundred miles, I’m glad to know I have an alternative in my Kindle.
Did I mention all my books are on Kindle?
Okay. I’ve donned my body armor. Let me have it. How do you feel about the Kindle?
Buried Under Books 