As a professional writer who depends on a steady flow of royalties to pay the bills, I’m terrified by Amazon’s Kindle. Why? Two reasons. First, electronic versions of books cost much less than their paper counterparts. Second, I usually get a smaller percentage of royalties on eBooks, which is something that’s totally incomprehensible to me, but that’s how most publishers structure their contracts.
To compensate, I’ve decided to jump on the Kindle bandwagon and start selling these nifty little units. If you click on the image of the Kindle (above) or the link at the end of this post, it’ll take you to Amazon.com, where you can purchase the Kindle for a cool $399. I get 10% through my Amazon Associates account and you save big bucks on future book purchases – a win-win proposition if there ever was one.
I’m also promoting the product because I think it’s a great tool/toy:
- Paper-like screen: This isn’t like reading on your computer screen. Kindle’s screen looks like real paper.
- Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback: Kindle weighs only 10.3 ounces.
- Stores over 200 titles: You can carry your entire library around with you rather than having to choose which two books you’re going to pack for vacation.
- Order books wherever you are: The Kindle has built-in wireless capability, like a cell phone, so you can order and download your books directly from your Kindle, whether you’re lying in bed, riding in a car, or waiting to board a plane. You can order and download most books in less than a minute.
- Access a wide variety of reading materials: Over 100,000 books are currently available, including over 100 New York Times® Best Sellers; newspaper and magazine subscriptions, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes, and more than 300 top blogs.
- Obtain free book samples: You can download and read the first chapter of a book for free before deciding to purchase it.
- Long battery life: Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
- No connection charges: No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments. Amazon takes care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
- Order and download books on your computer and transfer them to your Kindle: If you prefer to place your book orders on your computer, you can download books and then copy them to your Kindle using the USB cable that’s included.
- Be green: If nothing else, wireless books are greener than their paper versions. They conserve paper along with the energy required to print and bind the books and package and ship them. And there’s no paper waste from books, magazines, and newspapers that ultimately find their way into the trash.
I think Amazon’s Kindle and similar devices are well on their way to revolutionizing the publishing industry in an eco-friendly, consumer-friendly way. I dread the thought of what their increasing popularity is going to do to my bottom line, but life consists of change, and overall, I think the changes that Kindle is ushering in are going to be good for everyone.
