buggy whips are sexy too, but *not in that way*

I came up with an idea for a device back in the early 2000's that was remarkable similar to the Kindle and Ipad of today. I tried to get it built, and even discussed this device with venture capitalists and several publishers. One publisher was interested: Jim Baen. He had just launched his Baen Library, and saw immediately that this would be a compliment to his business model, but wasn't able to finance the creation of the device.

The venture capitalists thought the idea of a book reader was "dumb" and that no one would be interested in reading in a few years. The very large cable company I went to with the distribution scheme famously said that my idea "would not be lucrative." My attempts to get "The Device" into hands at Apple were fruitless as well.

I walked away. I had an idea, and the world wasn't ready for that idea. No biggie.

Fast forward 8 years, and we can see that they were wrong. Far from bitter: I am happy that someone created the device and it was a hit! I finally have a way to read my trashy sci fi that I so dearly love, and not have to constantly run to the store to buy new ones. I am still buying those books, but I can now buy MORE and keep them in my bag.

The publishing industry would have you believe that the E-reader you hold in your hand is going to be a toxic mess in landfills, conveniently forgetting that they, themselves are a vast destroyer of natural resources.

8.85LBs of carbon go into each and every book that you hold in your hands. No word on the returns that never make it into the hands of consumers--those are typically pulped and turned into toilet paper after publishing, trucking and then sitting, unsold, on a shelf for less than 6 weeks. The paper used for most paper media is from virgin forests: while recycled content is becoming more common, that book you hold in your hands was a tree in its most recent incarnation, not a cardboard box.

That is not to say that the E-reader is environmentally sound: I am quite sure its filled with nasty chemicals that will sit in a landfill for millenia. Not unlike the tires used to deliver and return books, or the ballasts in the bookstore lighting. As one rude publisher once pointed out to me: life isn't a zero sum game.

What they don't seem to be "getting" tho, is the scope of what people are discussing here.

A book is a container. A vessel. As such it is incredibly useful: it conveys information until it breaks down. An ereader, if used properly, could easily last a decade or more: My Kindle is a single use device: it does one thing and it does it very very well.

While their paper media is easily composted, an e-reader can be used over and over and over and over for the life of the device. Given how little damage mine has after fairly constant use over the course of a year, I would be surprised if I am not able to get a decade of use out of it.

Power? I figured out that each charge of my kindle costs around a quarter of a penny, and I charge it every 3 weeks or so to keep it topped off.

Most of us can see where this is going.

So what can retailers do to blunt the oncoming train? niche market themselves.

If they were *smart* they would position themselves in *concert* with digital media:

Fade into a commercial: Have a huge stack of paperbacks with a Kindle on top. then focus behind the stack of books to the gleaming shelves of the Rose room.

"for some books there is digital. For all others there is Powells"

That won't happen: I am not seeing the publishing industry embrace e-media in a way that will save their skin.

Instead their furious bleatings are sounding more like the buggy whip manufactures of old. Without question a physical book is a pleasure, but so was the morning commute in a horse drawn carriage. Once one gets past that moment of luxury however, you are left with the book. A dead tree that you will, statistically, never pick up to read again, Or the poop and straw, to carry our analogy further.

To be sure, in todays fast paced world, we still see carriages. They aren't used for daily commuting, any more than I should use a bookstore for the latest pulp sci fi novel: instead, they are used for luxury. A romantic ride in the park, or a memory from a wedding. A coffee table book to inspire, or a reference work that will "work" forever, regardless of electricity or owner.

There will soon come a day with the physical book is less common than the digital version of the same work.

What can you the writer do? Divorce yourself from the notion of being a "book" author. You are the content creator, not the vessel containing the content.

Decide for yourself which is more important. Would you rather have people reading your work, or would you rather see a dead tree with your name on it?