Here to Stay

 by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

Last week a writer friend posed a question that many of us have probably asked ourselves in recent years: Will books ever be replaced?

It's a simple question, but a gut answer soon begs for some second guessing, because ever-advancing technology and the even more fickle public continue to surprise each other.

If we look at communication and entertainment in general, mankind has always clamored to possess that which they enjoy. Before there were VCRs, movie fans could only see a flick during the weeks that it appeared at their local theater, and then hope it will show up on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies a year later.  But once video stores popped up, the ability to revisit their favorite flick on demand changed everything. DVDs and streaming now take a huge bite out of theater attendance.

Prior to Edison and his fellow audio pioneers, music fans had to rely on live bands, sheet music and music boxes to recreate the songs of the day.  But once the gramophone came along, music could exist in every household.  We've since seen record players replaced by 8-track and cassette tapes, CDs, MP3s and, like video entertainment, streaming.

But long before phonographs and videotape, there have been books. Since the first mass-produced bibles in the 1400s, the public has bought the published word voraciously and increasingly year after year. Taking home a favored tome in print and displaying it on a shelf provides a sensorial satisfaction that is unlikely to be replaced by pixels on a tablet, which by their very nature are here one moment and gone the next.

It's rather encouraging that the printed book has not changed much in six centuries. Certainly, printing technology changes with the times, but at the end of the day it is still ink on paper. Some people collect books the same way others collect works of art.  To a true appreciator of the printed word, an excellent book is a very civilized and cultured prize. I treasure a well-worn book on music that a friend gifted me with years ago, a book decades older than I am.

Despite the advent of e-books, we have seen that digital books and printed books coexist just fine in the publishing world, one of the reasons we offer both digital and printed editions of Southern Writers Magazine. The convenience and immediacy of digital, for some, will never hold a candle to holding real paper and turning real pages.

It's human nature to want to keep close to us that which we love. There will always be a place for good books as long as there are good writers to write them.  I find this very inspiring, even a call to action.  I hope you do too.

Look Who's Talking

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

What started out as a gift to the blind has become an enduring way to enjoy books.  When the Library of Congress first began distributing books for the blind in the 1930s, it wasn't long before the sighted also came to appreciate the appeal of the recorded word on vinyl. 

The Bible and other classics were the early leaders in sales.  By the 1980s, the cassette made motivational tapes especially popular.  Today more than ever, book lovers on the go are finding that audiobooks are a great traveling companion.  On a long drive, a compelling book is just the cure for highway hypnosis. 

Even as we see eBooks leap forward in the marketplace, audiobooks continue to claim a growing piece of the pie that used to be dominated by the printed medium. In both 2011 and 2012, sales of audiobooks have increased more than 30% over the previous year.

Some of Southern Writers' favorite authors know the value of the audiobook, and are making their novels available to an eager new audience.  Sandra Balzo, our current cover story, is about to release her second audiobook.  Tamera Alexander, Robert Whitlow, and Andy Andrews are other front pagers whose works are readily available.  These days, you can find virtually any bestseller on CD.

Clearly, books and audio will remain close friends for some time.  Which is why we want you to know about Take Five, one of our new online venues for authors.  At Take Five, simply click a button to listen to a five-minute excerpt from a variety of new Southern books, often read by the author.  As I write this, Pamela King Cable, Kimberly Rae, and Philip Levin's latest can be previewed in Take Five.

Not every sample you'll hear in Take Five is available as an audiobook, at least not yet.  But an aural appetizer is a quick and fun way to get a taste of these great Southern writers. If you like what you hear, the book itself is just another click away.

Give a listen to Take Five now, and be sure to come back again periodically to see who's waiting to talk to you. And if you're a subscriber with a book to promote, you're invited to be on Take Five.  Details on how to get a good recording, along with an easy means to upload your audio to us, are right there on the website.

Whether you're an author who likes to read, or a reader who likes to listen, we hope you'll take part in Take Five.  A few minutes there will be a sound investment.

eBook Sales Surpass Print Books!

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief

Global Post is an online US news company that focuses on international news. Their stated goal is "to redefine international news for the digital age."

Recently their headlines stated “Kindle eBook Sales Surpass Those of Print Books."

Amazon.co.uk, the UK's biggest bookseller, claimed the eBook sales herald a reading "renaissance" in the region.

The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper founded 1821 and said, “It seems the old leather bound's days are numbered. One hundred and 14 e-books are downloaded for every 100 hardback and paperback books sold by Amazon UK. That’s not including free e-books.

“These digital readers appear to be voracious: the average Kindler buys as many as four times the number of books than before buying the gadget,” said the BBC

“The company sold two million electronic editions of the crazy-popular novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" in only four months.

“However," the BBC continues, "these tech-savvy readers are not limiting themselves to mere reading. They're also publishing up the wazoo—Amazon UK cited a whopping 400 percent increase Kindle Direct Publishing in the last year.".

And they're reading one another's self-published works. Three out of the top 10 most popular Kindle authors of the year came by way of Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, this is according to the BBC.

According to GoodEReader, “Publishing companies are seeing a massive influx in digital revenue in 2012."

While some of us still want to hold the book we are reading in our hands, others are happy to be part of the eBook frenzy. Authors now are having to make decisions on whether to go the eBook route or the printed book route. I firmly believe it is time to do both. This way you will have two avenues of sales.When you talk with your publisher, be sure this subject is brought up. If they aren’t going to do an eBook, then I suggest you opt to do it yourself.

Have you published an eBook? What was your experience?

Tuning in to 2012

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director

In my early teens, my favorite radio station was the kind you don’t hear anymore. They played pure Top 40, had “boss jocks” with echo on their voices, and, best of all, they had a request line where you could record yourself and dedicate a song to a friend. You’d listen all night to see if they played your request with your intro, and it was 15 seconds of fleeting – but very satisfying – fame when they did.

One night the DJ made a comment that I’ve never forgotten. He said he had a board in front of him full of lights that showed all his listeners, and every time someone tuned in or tuned out, a light reflected that. Even as I heard that, it sounded a bit far-fetched, but I didn’t know for sure until I met a DJ who straightened me out.

Many is the time I’ve wished that had been true, so that somebody somewhere would notice how quickly I change the station anytime “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” comes on.

These days – with the advent of cable TV, where everyone’s interconnected by something more tangible than mere airwaves – it’s a credible possibility that our television viewing habits may be automatically calculated via master control computers. Just in case, I leave Nickelodeon on all day for the dog instead of the Game Show Network, lest Baggage get any points for accidental viewing.

In a short time, modern technology has changed everything we know, and is continuing to. In the year ahead, this is especially good news for writers. While corporate greed (and the ability to air 24-hour national programming on all its stations) has broadcasting chains sending local DJs to the unemployment line, the publishing industry is seeing a huge chunk of its power going to the little guy. Writers are e-publishing their own books, and doing just fine.

In 2011 Amazon reported that its sale of e-books is now slightly surpassing sales of print books. This news has brick and mortar bookstores shivering in their Rockports, but despite the demise of Borders last year, there’s no need for Barnes & Noble to get out the white flag yet. A great number of readers still prefer reading from a printed page rather than peering at pixels on an e-reader.

Which, by the way, is one reason we offer both print and online versions of Southern Writers Magazine. Currently our readership is at exactly the same ratio that Amazon reports, with e-subscriptions hovering just above those receiving the print edition.   

What this all means to us writers is, we have more ways than ever to get our words out to the public. We can still pursue the traditional route of going through agents and submitting to publishers, or we can create an e-book and test the online waters ourselves. In addition, there are corporate blogs which hire writers to create their content, and companies willing to advertise on your own site if your blogposts generate a buzz. None of this was possible even a decade ago.

Isn’t it great to be a writer in 2012? I hope all your writing dreams come true this year, and I only wish there was still a radio request line somewhere so I could dedicate “Paperback Writer” to you and your upcoming e-book.