I recently watched Richard Nash’s talk about the future of books and publishing. (I found it here, on Booklife.)

There are some great points made in the presentation, but there were two that really stuck out:

1. The reminder that the long form narrative is a feature, not a bug.
2. Most writers — whether they know it or not — want a connection.

Feature, Not a Bug

Some writers and publishers are thinking short and gimmicky these days.

They see a report saying books sales are a little down and they think people don’t have time to read, so they must go with shorter content, or make enhanced e-books that can compete with video games and the Web. (At the same time, many people miss the line in that linked report stating that adult long form fiction saw an almost 7% increase in sales in 2009.)

Nash talks about the strength of the long form narrative, how the medium is a feature, not a bug.

I’ve seen a lot of buzz about this video for an enhanced e-book version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland the past couple weeks. If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know I’m in favor of e-books. But this enhanced e-book demo leaves me flat. There’s nothing I see in the demo that enhances the reading experience. It looks very distracting and gimmicky.

More than that, it seems to treat the long form narrative as a bug — not a feature, like something in need of repair.

There’s strength in the time it takes to read a book.

Nash talks about this and the importance of connections for writers and readers.

The Connection

Nash has seen many writers who thought being published would make them happy. He’s seen writers who seemed let down when they finally got a book on the shelves and was left with a feeling of is that all there is?

More than being published, Nash speculates, most writers really want a connection.

Nash talks about the investment of time, and what readers and writers get from the time it takes to read a book. (By treating the long form narrative as a feature, not a bug.)

Nash talks about how when you buy a book the author is “…inside a person’s head for 15 hours and you own that proxy object, that cultural proxy object that connects two people to one another in a deeper, deeper way than any other medium.”

Books connect people.

Deeply.

When I’ve heard people talk about TV shows at jobs, the talk is rarely deep. But when I’ve heard people talk about novels, there’s a much deeper connection. They don’t just talk about what happened like TV talkers — they talk about how what happened affects the world around us. They often talk about symbolism and social issues, not just who kissed whom in a grab for TV ratings.

The writer, Seth Godin, is big on Tribes. He sees importance in being the person who connects people to other people, even if that connection doesn’t directly benefit you as the leader of a group. It’s about sharing and connecting people; it’s about being altruistic and hopeful.

Writers have the ability to connect people like this in big ways.

Even if you never hear from the fans reading your writing, if you have a following that’s stuck around or grown, it’s a safe bet that it’s at least in large part because you connect people.

Readers invest more hours with one story or idea than any other medium out there. To stick with it, whether they contact the author or not, the author’s made a connection with the reader. And when a reader has invested so much time in something and they find somebody else who invested that much time, they connect and talk, sharing the experience and the ideas that came with the experience.

The act of writing is the act of creating tribes.

If you’re looking forward to having time away from your day job this weekend to write, think about how readers will connect with you and how you will connect readers when you sit down to write.

Writing can be a very powerful thing.

*          *          *

If you have some time to kill, here’s Richard Nash’s presentation:

Yesterday, The New York Times ran a story about book covers and e-books.

I know we’ve all heard that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but covers do matter.

I’ve judged more than a few books by their covers in my time (found my favorite book that way), and in almost every case the art director and cover artist tapped into the heart of the book better than the jacket copy.

Images are powerful things.

The New York Times article discusses something we lose with e-books: if everybody is reading e-books on the subway or in other public places, we don’t see the covers. Publishers lose out on free advertising, and conversations about books slide a little.

There’s no doubt that moving toward e-books comes with some huge changes to how publishers will do things. One of the biggest changes I’ve thought about, even before a good friend sent me the link to this article, is how e-books will affect cover artists.

I started out writing independent comic books. More than working in a scripting format I liked, I loved working with artists. I met one of the nicest people and best artists I know through those early days of independent comic books.

I rarely read genre fiction, but I will eventually read the book below based solely on the cover.

Covers matter to me.

The couple times I’ve bought an e-book that didn’t have the cover image from the book, I’ve felt a little ripped off. Even on my iPhone screen, I want to see cover art. The weak graphics for the Kindle are one of the reasons I never bought one. Call me shallow, but I like seeing color covers. (Fortunately, the iPad and what follows will support large, full-cover colors.)

While good artists will always find work, it is unfortunate that the work of Chip Kidd, John Picacio, and other artists and designers won’t leap out like they do when people hold physical books in their hands.

Recently, on a friend’s Facebook page, the subject of e-book pricing came up.

Right now, it seems many people think e-books are priced too high. When people hear about publishers going from the $9.99 Amazon standard for an e-book up to $14.95, they say, “That’s ridiculous!”

One can definitely make that argument; after all, the cost of editing and many other larger costs publishers bear is covered in the creation of the printed book. Theoretically, the only additional cost for creating an e-book is coding it for publication and proofing the flow in e-readers.

What many people don’t seem to understand, though, is the cost of printing and shipping a book is still just a small percentage of the overall budget of a book.

As e-books become more accepted (if they become the norm), all the effort that goes into print books (with the exception of printing, shipping and returns), will still be necessary. At that point, pricing e-books at $14.99 will be necessary for publishers to not just make money, but to make sure that the e-books they release are quality books. (Granted, we can argue what quality means when it comes to certain authors, but I’m talking about a book that is free of typos and other issues.)

I know many people are on Amazon’s side when it comes to pricing; people naturally seek out the best prices–it’s why Wal Mart is in business. But while somebody might buy a T-shirt and shorts at Wal Mart, I don’t know anybody who’d go there for a bespoke suit or an evening gown.

T-shirts and shorts are something that can be made by unskilled [and often, abused] workers for next to nothing. A bespoke suit or evening gown takes more skill to make, so it costs considerably more than clothing that will eventually be donated to a charity, or turned into rags.

Writers and artists striving for more than mediocre; agents recognizing that talent; editors and art directors shaping that talent; and publicists spreading the word involves skill and money. While there are many books published that I think are cruddy, even the cruddy books are professionally created, free of writing errors and physical errors that I’ve seen in every self-produced e-book I’ve checked out. (“‘Which is why I have yet to make it through a self-produced e-book,’ he retorted snidely while smirking fiendishly and chuckling to himself regarding his sinister sense of humor.” Yes, I’ve seen writing that bad — even worse — in self-produced e-books).

Creating 55,000 – 100,000+ words free of errors takes skill, time, and money.

The cost of printing and shipping factored into releasing books accounts for a smaller percentage of the budget than many people realize.

While I know people love cheaper, if they also want quality, they’re going to still have to pay…even for digital titles.

I have a very busy friend — he’s the Assistant Vice President of Application Architecture for a large company. Almost every morning, he’s up early for a run in his neighborhood or on his stationary bike. He has two young daughters who keep him very busy. He’s not the kind of father who puts work and other things before family, so they get a lot of his time.

This friend has many hobbies, and he finds time for them. He’s very active at church. He finds time to relax.

He has more things going on in his life than most people I know — he juggles all he has going on very well.

Obviously, somebody so busy doesn’t have time to read, right?

*          *          *

I hear a lot of people not as busy as this friend say they don’t have time to read.

“There’s just not enough time in the day to take in stories.”

While my friend has always loved reading, there have been times he didn’t have time for stories, other than the occasional television show or a movie.

In recent years, though, this friend has been taking in more stories than even me.

How does he find time? What contributed to his return to taking in stories?

Technology and a busy lifestyle.

Traffic!

*          *          *

During any given month, you can find articles that say people aren’t reading as much and articles that say reading is on the rise.

One thing you can be certain of: the way we consume content has definitely changed.

We used to tell stories around campfires. We used to paint stories on cave walls. We went to the theater. We read books. Along came the radio, and we listened to stories. We crowded movie theaters and watched stories on the big screen. Television came along, and then the Internet.

One thing that has never changed: people seek out stories.

Sure, the way we consume stories has changed, but we’ve never existed without stories.

My friend’s busy lifestyle contributed to him taking in more stories. I’m guessing he’s never read a short story in The New Yorker or Esquire, but his iPhone is full of podcasts, many of them focused on short fiction. For longer stories, there are also podcasts and audible.com. He sometimes listens to stories during his morning workout, and his commute to and from work isn’t spent listening to the same old song or talk on the radio — it’s spent listening to stories.

With e-book readers for his iPhone, when he gets a break during the day, he pulls up a book and reads.

From the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep, this busy friend works stories into the gaps.

*          *          *

As a writer, I can’t ignore technology. Yes, I love books. If the novel were to die tomorrow, I’d still write novels because it’s something I enjoy. But I can’t ignore all the other possible ways to write and tell stories.

This American Life, The Moth, and other story-based podcasts are loaded on my iPhone. While I prefer to read fiction (there’s something about reading fiction vs. listening to fiction for me), many people listen to fiction on their commutes. If I’m stuck in a long line or find myself with some extra time during my day, I have a library of e-books on my iPhone. There was a time I only read at night; now, despite being busier than I’ve ever been, I’m never without stories! And, consequently, I’m taking in more stories than ever.

*          *          *

There’s always been an effort to get kids reading; in part, because it’s an important part of their development, but it’s also an act of self preservation for publishing. Get a new generation reading, figure out how to keep them reading despite all the other distractions in their lives, and you have a large group to sell stories to.

One day, though, those kids will grow up to become busy adults who say they don’t have times for stories.

If my busy friend with two young daughters and a company that depends on him can find time for stories, anybody can. Granted, the way stories are consumed may be different, but with the leap from live storytelling to books, theater, radio, movies and television, people said the same things.

In my pocket, I can now carry a device that allows me to listen to stories, read books, watch theater, listen to radio, and watch movies and television.

Stories aren’t going anywhere.

As a writer, I need to realize that and adapt.

In the comments of a recent post, a member of the writing group I’m in said this about e-books becoming more common:

“I suspect it will be easier to get an audience via the e-book revolution, and harder to make a career”
- Mark Felps

I’ve seen things get harder when the self publishing boom of the 90s hit comic books and things got crowded. And while I see a lot of good things as e-books become more accepted, I agree with Mark that it will be harder than ever to make a career strictly writing in the future.

In the comments of that recent post, Mark goes on to talk about the “long tail.” For those not familiar with the long tail, it’s a retailing concept for selling things that don’t have a large audience.

With music, most stores stock popular musicians, but obscure musicians often don’t see rack space. That doesn’t mean there’s not demand for obscure bands–it just means there’s not as much demand for obscure bands as there is for very popular bands.

The “long tail” is comprised of all those obscure brands. The concept is, if you can be the person being the one-stop place for the obscure bands, you can make money by focusing on a niche that larger retailers usually ignore.

The problem with the long tail as a creative individual is, unless you are the person selling all the obscure bands, you’re a handful of sales out of thousands of obscure bands. In other words, while you and a thousand other obscure bands may see 25 sales each, the person organized enough to bring all the obscure bands together sells 25,000 units. (The organizer makes a living–the obscure artists in a flooded market still don’t.)

You may only sell a handful of e-books without a publisher backing you, while the group compiling and handling the sales of all the obscure writers out there offering e-books sells enough to make a living.

*          *          *

Here’s my dream writing job: I wake up and write for several hours. I have lunch with my wife, or meet friends for lunch. I write some more, and then run errands. After dinner, maybe I edit, maybe I write, I go for a walk, or maybe I relax. I produce books on deadline and my agent sells them and gives me money. Maybe I do book signings, here and there, but in general, I write, turn it over, and let others do what they do best so I can do what I do best (write).

I’d love a flying car and world peace, too.

Things have changed.

*          *          *

It’s easy enough to make a living as a decent-enough programmer, salesperson, or manager.

To make a living writing, you have to be your best, and even then, that best may not be enough to support yourself by strictly writing stories.

Sitting down to write, selling what you’ve written, and making a living with words happens to very few people who set out for the dream.

The odds are against you; the odds have always been against you.

Yet, somehow, there have always been writers who rose to the top.

I think Mark is right, it is harder than ever to make a living writing.

But each year, some writers still do it.

*          *          *

While there are writers who do make it each year, there are more who slip from the midlist each year and have to find other ways to pay the bills.

I think Mark is right: because of a coming flood of e-books, it will be harder for a writer to make a living in the future; in fact, we’re already seeing it.

If you write fiction, many agents hope you can also write non-fiction so they have more to sell. Agents want writers who aren’t afraid of getting up in front of people and speaking. Writers are expected to spend almost as much time selling themselves as they do writing.

It’s not all bad, though.

While it may be harder than it’s been to make a living just sitting in a room and writing fiction, there are more opportunities than ever for a writer willing to work hard writing fiction, non-fiction, speaking, and doing other things only limited by creativity and drive.

What do you think: do e-books and other changes in publishing make it harder or easier for a writer to earn a living?

“Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.”
- Tim O’Reilly

Tim O’Reilly’s quote (often attributed to Cory Doctorow), has always rung true with me. Not that I like the thought of people taking and trading an artist’s work for free, but if people are sharing your work illegally, it’s likely that your work is good enough to make money.

In the music industry, the people who share the most music are also the people more likely to buy music, attend concerts, and buy the shirt to prove they were there. (This works for books, too: when people share books with me and I like them, I’m more likely to buy the author’s next book.)

With e-books becoming more accepted, it’s easy to be smug, angry, and even worried about the piracy of content. But anybody who has ever recorded an album to a cassette tape back in the day has committed piracy. And just like with books or file sharing, if I liked what I heard, I was more likely to buy it.

Please don’t think I’m saying I’m all for piracy, but as somebody who recorded albums I didn’t buy from friends as a teenager, I can’t be high and mighty about piracy.

And I can’t stop it.

If you put me up against 1000 people in a fight, I would hurt a couple people, but I’d lose. If I healed and went back at the 1000 people, I’d lose again. Sure, I could convince myself that I’m chipping away at my 1000 enemies, but what if their ranks continued to grow? What if the 2-3 people I hurt each battle were replaced by 20 or 30 more people?

I’d be a fool to keep attacking them day after day.

It’s a battle that I could never win, even though I’d be well within my rights to fight as hard as I can…even though them attacking me is wrong.

Now imagine if that group of 1000, instead of attacking me, told their friends how much they loved my writing. Instead of a handful of people reading my writing, maybe I’d find an armful of fans. And as word spreads, I’m more likely to gain a following and find people actually willing to pay for what I do.

Again, I’m not saying it’s right, but as somebody who probably still has old cassettes recorded from friends’ music collections, I can’t point any fingers.

*           *           *

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
- Ray Bradbury

For all the talk of piracy destroying the industry and how to stop it, there’s something far worse that every writer faces: competition with other media!

Television, the Internet, and movies satisfy the urge to have stories told to us more efficiently than books. With videogames, we can actually take part in the stories.

It’s much easier to come home after an 8-12 hour day and have a story told to us by the television than it is to make the effort to read a book. In one-and-a-half to three  hours, a movie tells the same story that may take a week (or longer) to get through as a novel.

It doesn’t matter that there are subtle things to be appreciated when one reads a novel that aren’t in movies–the reality is many people don’t have time to read. [Or have at least convinced themselves that they don't have time to read.]

Maybe there really will come a day when enough people don’t read for pleasure and the industry crumbles to nothing. It would be a sad day, but just like fighting 1000 pirates, it’s a battle I wouldn’t be able to win.

The best I can do is change with the times, try to find ways to share my love of reading with others in the hope that people keep reading, and keep doing what’s right for me: writing the best stories I can tell, whether people read them or not…

While I’ve spent some time touting e-books, I am not one of those people shouting, “Death to print! E-books now!”

E-books have some serious drawbacks, and the biggie to me as a writer and a reader: an inability to share.

Oh, sure–the Barnes and Noble Nook allows limited sharing with other Nook owners. And if you own a Kindle, you can download an e-book to your Kindle and one mobile device, like an iPhone. But it’s nothing like being able to pass a book around to friends.

I tend to give books away. Unless it’s a book that becomes dear enough to me to hold on to, when I hand somebody a book, I hope to never see it again. I don’t want the clutter of a ton of books in the apartment where I live, and I want somebody to keep the book if they love it, or pass it on.

I’m the kind of reader who goes to a bookstore and buys stuff from people I’ve never heard of. I’ve found a couple of my favorite authors that way. Most of my other favorite authors, though–probably the bulk of my favorite authors–I read because somebody loaned me a book.

When a friend with similar tastes gives me a book and tells me I’m going to love it, most times I do. And…when the author’s next book comes out, I buy it.

Any author who objects to somebody sharing their books with others doesn’t really want to be read.

One of the things I like about e-books is the ability for me, if I choose, to spread my writing for free. If I want to release my first novel as an e-book and encourage readers to copy, share, and distribute far and wide, I like having that option.

When it comes to reading e-books on my iPhone, I tend to use the Kindle app and Stanza. When I went to check for app updates today, I was notified that the Stanza app had an update.

“Cool, wonder what new feature they’ve added?” I thought.

The only change with the current Stanza update is removing the ability to share e-books by a USB connection. This is mandated by Apple.

A little research online reveals that it closes access to a shared iPhone folder in the next release of the iPhone developer’s kit.

Now that Apple is really jumping into e-books with the coming release of the iPad, sharing is bad.

I know this doesn’t prevent me from still offering my writing for free if I want to, but it eliminates another method of sharing. Some writers want readers to copy and share their writing in any and every way possible. More than that, it shows the biggest complaint I think most people will have about e-books when e-book readers get even better: an inability to share e-books as freely as they can share physical books.

As somebody open to reading e-books, I won’t pay $15 for an e-book I can’t share.

As a writer, I want people to be able to share a story they bought with friends who are then more likely to buy more of my writing.

It will be interesting to see if publishers and retailers make some of the same mistakes that the music industry made when the MP3 format became popular.

Things change.

I grew up with three major networks on television and PBS. UHF channels were like cable…that is, until cable came around.

I grew up reading books — I love books! Lately, though, most fiction and non-fiction I’ve purchased has been electronic, read on my iPhone with the Kindle app and Stanza.

Later today, Apple will announce a tablet that many say will revolutionize e-books. I think that’s a bit much (it sounds like it will still be backlit, not electronic ink, which is easier on the eyes while reading), but it’s become clear with the Kindle, the Nook, and Apple’s new device: people are at least willing to consider e-books.

Digital Book World is happening as you read this. (Follow the #dbw hashtag on Twitter for a barrage of updates from the conference.) It’s not a little gathering in Sioux Falls — it’s an impressive gathering in New York City.

Electronic books aren’t just for novels and business books, either. Terry McGraw, of McGraw-Hill let it slip that textbooks will soon be available on iPhones and the Apple tablet.

With all the e-book hype, there are those who aren’t fans.

Many readers still insist that books are the only way to read.

Some publishers and agents wonder, “Where do we fit into all this?”

Many writers wonder that, too.

For decades (and perhaps longer), publishing has been able to get by on, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” While slow, publishing always basked in the time it took to get things on the shelves. A fan of slow things, myself, there are even reasons to like slow in publishing: you rarely see typos in novels.

But even that’s changed. Many publishers sound more like enthusiastic MBAs instead of people who love books. Publishing houses don’t support writers like they once did. Editors frequently change in the middle of the time it takes to get a book on the shelves, leaving the author with somebody not as enthusiastic about their story.

At the 2009 South by Southwest Festival’s “New Think for Old Publishers” panel, publishers out to show they were with the times proved they weren’t, and ended up asking the audience what they should do.

Change can be hard to deal with; fortunately, many publishers are finally adapting.

Realizing that many people who read want e-books, they’re going to where the money is moving. Don’t believe me?

Amazon.com CEO, Jeff Bezos, said that where Amazon offers a physical book and a Kindle version, the Kindle [electronic] version accounts for 48% of sales (December, 2009).

That’s up from 35% in May of 2009.

Granted, you won’t see buildings like this constructed to house e-books, but it’s clear they are finally becoming a viable way to publish.

*          *          *

I really do love books. One of my favorite things I own is a signed copy of Carl Sandburg’s The Sandburg Range. (I grew up in northern Illinois and went to Carl Sandburg Jr, High…Sandburg was kind of force fed, even if you weren’t a fan. Growing up with my mother reading Rootabaga Stories to me, I was always a fan.)

We are obviously inspired by books. I think a society that builds magnificent buildings to honor books is a society filled with hope. When I look at beautiful libraries, I appreciate them for the craft and hard work that went into writing and publishing every book contained within. I love the architecture. But what I love most is what’s inside the buildings and between the covers: information!

I don’t care how I get information, although I’ll admit that an evening reading physical books in the living room with my wife is one of my favorite things in life.

I’ve found I can still have a small glass of wine or scotch, still have the ambiance of the evening, and still enjoy quiet time reading with my wife even when I’m reading an e-book in the living room. (And I love being able to read with the lights out in bed while my wife falls asleep so she doesn’t have to deal with the light from my bedside lamp.)

When I look at the bookcase in our living room, I see the future of publishing. (And it’s a future where books still exist; it’s a future where books are, perhaps, even more cherished than in recent decades.)

The bookcase in our living room is where we keep the special books: my wife’s Sherlock Holmes books and her Peanuts comic strips reprints. It’s where my two favorite signed books sit: the signed Sandburg Range and The Sport of Falconry. My favorite novel is on that shelf (scroll down if you click the link), and I never grow tired of reading the travel descriptions in The Gentleman’s Companion. There’s also an electric outlet in the built-in shelf. It’s where we charge the iPhones that hold even more books than the shelves. Granted, those books are e-books, but physical or electronic, information is information.

I don’t think books are going anywhere. Publishers like Subterranean Press have been publishing limited edition runs of books people reach deep into their wallets for.

I don’t think anybody is going to pay hundreds for an e-book (and you can’t autograph an e-book), but some publishers are already dealing in collectible books.

I  think the future of publishing is a place where hardcore readers will devour content on e-book readers and hardcore fans will still buy special-edition novels and put them on shelves. People will consume digital content, and people will still frequent old bookstores, garage sales, and antique shops, looking for out-of-print books. Authors will be able to keep their out-of-print books in circulation as e-books, and agents and publishers will still serve an important purpose, even though some people will have great success doing it all on their own with independent editors and cover artists.

The future of publishing is going to look different, but I think it will also look very familiar.

Call me an optimist, but sometimes the more that things change, the more they stay the same…

In August, 3 million people read ebooks on their iPhones.

A school library in Massachusetts went digital.

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and other companies are investing more in ebook readers.

It looks like ebooks are finally becoming accepted.

I’ve been buying more ebooks than regular books, lately.

At first, it was non-fiction. I vowed to never read fiction on my iPod Touch or iPhone, but I gave in and read Jeffrey Ford’s The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque on the iPhone Kindle app. My wife is on an ebooks kick, lately — finally catching up on a pile of classics she’s wanted to read forever.

Does this mean we are done with regular books?

Of course not!

My wife loves The Complete Peanuts books, and the Annotated Sherlock Holmes books. I’d love to find a hardback copy of my favorite book. We like books.

I think there’s room for ebooks and regular books.

Even if there comes a day when ebooks are the norm, I don’t see physical books going anywhere. Subterranean Press and Golden Gryphon Press specialize in limited, special edition printings. Some readers will always love the sound and feel of a book in their hands, even if it’s just a paperback. And you don’t have to turn a book off during the first and last 10 – 15 minutes of a flight.

What do you think will happen as ebooks become more acceptable? Do you think they will never become the norm? If you think they will become the norm, what do you think will happen with books?

Discuss it below…

Earlier this week, Jason Pinter announced that he was giving his book, THE MARK, away for free as an e-book. I’ve been reading more books on my iTouch, using the Kindle app. I’d planned to read THE MARK, so I downloaded the e-book and have it for when I’m ready to read it.

I stumbled upon Jason Pinter while doing a search for authors who looked interesting to follow on Twitter. While I typically don’t read mysteries and thrillers, following Jason’s tweets and reading his blog piqued my interest. I plan to read THE MARK after getting through some other books.

One of those books is Chris Anderson’s FREE. (It was a free download when I got it.)

I’m currently reading FREE. I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of giving something away and seeing what comes back, or seeing how giving something away for free can create a loyal, paying following.

When Cory Doctorow released DOWN AND OUT IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM for free, I talked about it with friends and family. Some people thought it was a bad move, but I was fascinated to see what happened. And what happened? Well, people know Cory Doctorow’s books, now, and from everything I’ve read, he’s a very happy and successful writer. In large part, he made it by giving something away for free — a plan that many said wouldn’t work!

I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends I have sat down with and actually know. I also have a Twitter account, but a lot of my friends don’t like Twitter. In fact, I have some friends who say they can’t stand Twitter…and for their uses, I can see why they prefer Facebook. When I chat with some of these friends, they say Twitter is just noise; that it serves no purpose.

I’m guessing I would have eventually seen Jason Pinter’s books at some point, but I wouldn’t have known his name right now without Twitter. And while I planned to buy THE MARK, it would have been lower on my reading list than it is now because it was accessible and free. I’ve peeked at it and it’s safe to say that I’ll be buying his other books.

Generosity and social interaction of any sort go a long way with me. And it seems to be working for some people. Granted, the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List is not the New York Times Bestseller List, but through word of mouth and the power of free, a book that’s been around a while unseated Dan Brown’s new book for the #1 spot…and has for days since Pinter announced on Twitter, Facebook, and other places that he was giving THE MARK away for free.

If you doubt the power of social networking and free, consider this: it very well may have created a new Jason Pinter fan out of somebody who normally doesn’t pick up the kinds of books he writes.

I’m sure I’m not the only one…