Ambivalent in the 21st Century

Just recently, my book, Non-Federal Censuses of Florida, 1784-1945: A Guide to Sources, came out in a Kindle edition from Amazon.com (through an arrangement my publisher, McFarland, has with Amazon). I am ambivalent about this.

On the one hand, it is the current trend and, I suppose, the wave of the future. E-books are here to stay, I know. And I am getting the same royalty rate on Kindle sales, just not the same amount, of course, because the Kindle edition costs less than the print edition. Of course, the Kindle reader itself is not exactly inexpensive, which has an effect on the dissemination of the electronic texts made for it. As the technology develops, as with other electronic innovations we have seen over the past few decades, the price will come down as they become both more common and more sophisticated. E-books do have the advantage of not requiring bookshelf space.

On the other, I am an old-school sort of person who prefers the feel and versatility of a print book. I would not read a Kindle or any other e-book in the bathtub, for instance (though I rarely read in the tub because I prefer showers). I cannot really mark in an e-book (though there are, I know, provisions for making some sort of notes and comments in them) like I can in a print book. As a historian, I read a lot of histories and related works, and I like to argue with my texts by making marginal comments. Print books are not at the whim of ever-changing technology and the problem of "platform creep." And print books are easier on my old eyes.

I also remain unconvinced that e-books are piracy-proof (though, come down to it, print ones are not completely piracy-proof, either). I suppose it is a toss-up, and I have to say I am in favor of whatever method will result in sales of my works, of course!
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Going Electronic

I have a book coming out later this year, which examines sources relating to the colonial, territorial, and state censuses of Florida from 1784 to 1945, and their supplements and substitutes. The cover design is already done and you can see the announcement here: Non-Federal Censuses of Florida, 1784-1945. I really like the cover design they came up with.

More interesting news came today in the form of an e-mail from the publishing company, to the effect that right after being published in a nice trade paperback edition, my book will also be published in an electronic edition. Happily, my royalty rate will remain the same.

Technology hasn't been nice to me lately. A cell phone I recently received turned out to be a dog, and our connection to Comcast is acting up. But having my book come out in an electronic edition is intriguing. I do have to say that, being a former military officer and being married to a certified computer security professional, I tend to think in terms of security, and I wonder what sort of security measures the electronic edition will have. I was disturbed enough at seeing copies of my first book, which is still in print after nearly 13 years, being sold for ridiculous prices on eBay when it was available for much, much less directly from the publisher. I would be rather distressed if a "wild" electronic copy got out there under the Jolly Roger, so to speak.

Unfortunately, part of the wondrous technology we all benefit from these days is that there are some very bad people out there who will abuse the thing to an absurd extent. Dare I wish for a miracle that someday they might just surprise the whole world and grow up?

Nah. Too much to hope for.

But having another book coming out is enough for me. It's a great feeling.