According to a Smashwords press release:
"The mission of Read an E-Book Week is to raise international awareness about the benefits of ebooks to authors, readers, educators and the media," said Rita Toews, founder of the non-profit event. "As a sponsor of the event, Smashwords will help promote the initiative, and will work with its authors to develop special Smashwords book promotions during the week."In the press release, Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, said:
Thanks to advances in e-reading devices such as the iPhone+Stanza, the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader, electronic reading is often more enjoyable than paper reading. Once book lovers try ebooks, they're hooked.E-Book Week, a not-for-profit initiative, was started in 2004 by novelist and children’s author Rita Toews. The list of sponsors is growing and includes not only Smashwords, but Sony Canada, Steve Jordan Books, and others.
If your books are published in e-book form or you read e-books, be sure to check out the E-Book Week site.
I've already got an interview and feature going up for the week with Rita!
ReplyDeleteL. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
Yay! I think it's gonna be a week for celebrating.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had an e-book ready to launch for next week. I hate to miss the perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteBTW: It's great to see your face!
Ha! I didn't know if anyone would notice the new picture. I had to have one done for a book cover. I rather liked hiding behind the sunglasses, but decided to update since I actually had one done by a professional.
ReplyDeleteI like the new photo, Helen. It lets us get to know you better. :) I think that ebook week is great. My books also available as ebooks, including Kindle, but I still like the feel of a paperback when I'm reading in bed at night. That will change, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteJean
http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com/
I agree, Jean, I think it will change. Even I am beginning to want a Kindle. Maybe I'll talk to Santa.
ReplyDeleteWow - great value today with this post, Helen. I just signed up with smashwords. I have two books available in Kindle and the new book (Free Spirit anthology)ebook version just MIGHT make it on time.
ReplyDeleteOops! this is a SELF-pub deal! OIC now said the dummy (grin) - Hmmm I'd hafta work really fast - still a great tip and post. Love the new photo - you're younger than the mental image I had.
ReplyDeleteE-book doesn't mean self-published, Marvin. If you're books are available in digital form, like for the Kindle, then you have the E-book Week celebration to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Is that good or bad that you had been envisioning me as an old hag?
Oh ok - cool! I'll get right on it.
ReplyDelete"Old hag" indeed - snort - No I've always thought you were drop dead gorgeous, just with the other shot your hair looks gray. Are you using a rinse? Hmm - only her hairdresser knows for sure.
It's not called "rinse" anymore. We call it "highlights." Tee-hee. I would snort, but we rarely do that unless we're drinking tea and laughing at the same time.
ReplyDeleteLove the new pic Helen. You look lovely. As for ebook week - I thinks it's a great initiative. I'm an ebook addict as well as an ebook author. So it's good news all round for me.
ReplyDeleteJoan De La Haye
http://joandelahaye.wordpress.com/
With each day, I begin to more and more want a Kindle. Would that make a good Valentine's gift?
ReplyDeleteI think ebooks are the future, both for traditional publishing and for self-publishing. Younger readers are quite used to reading in the electronic form. As the reading demographic shifts (more old folks like me moving on - so to speak) a younger readership will have no problem buying their books in electronic form.
ReplyDeleteI also think that traditional publishers will begin to see an erosion of market share to self-publishing. The stigma of self-publishing is slowly beginning to fade. New filters will inevitably be developed, so that well written, well edited works generate the appropriate buzz.
Once such filters reduce the crap shoot factor to an acceptable level, self-publishing will gain respectability. With respectability will come market share. The times, they are a changing.
~jon
p.s. Great picture, by the way. What book is it for, or is that still under wraps? ~jon
Jon - Thanks for such a sane, well thought out, response. I think you're right. My kids live by the computer (heck, I do as well) so they are totally comfortable reading online, although my son reads a ton of print books. Even I'm wanting to get an e-book reader. And once the filters, as you say, are in, we'll reach that tipping point.
ReplyDeleteThe picture is for a Tech Career book coming out next month. It's called: Automotive Technicians. I'm now working on the next in the series, called Avionics Technicians. They're the men and women who work on aviation electronics, like what you see in the cockpit.