View Full Version : Kindle
William Antrim
28-03-12, 20:43
Guys
market research here, who has a kindle? do you read many books on them or know people who do? do you buy books on them? If so do you bother with the cheap ones?
Any thoughts/comments/feedback would be appreciated. I have an idea for raising some money but I want to find out a bit more about them first.
thanks in advance.
W
do u mean just a kindle? or e-readers in general?
I use my phone (nokia n900) to read books, though I have used 3 other phones in the past. I have probably read over a thousand books on my various phones.
Imho there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
First, do you want to read in bright locations, or also be able to read in low light conditions:
- In bright locations, an e-ink (generally monochrome) e-reader is best, as it uses reflected light, and as such is awesome for reason in bright light.
- If you want a more general purpose e-reader, which you can also use in bed or other lower light conditions, or which you want to use for other things beside reading, go with an lcd/oled screen.
Second, do you want to use it for more general purpose activities (games, webbrowsing, music etc), then I would go for one of the new android kindles, or another sort of tablet (ipad or android). If you just want to read books, go for a simpler kindle.
Third, how much are you going to read? there are a lot of stores online that sell epubs or other file format books, that are often cheaper than default amazon prices. However, amazon kindle also has different kinds of subscriptions, that make using a kindle to read a much cheaper proposition if you read a lot, and you're sure the books you wanna read are available in the kindle store (not all publishers publish to kindle/amazon). A more general purpose device generally also allows you to use third party epubs, which can be downloaded for free (such as the gutenberg project, which has thousands of public domain (read: old) books).
and lastly, size matters!
I personally use my phone because I prefer to always have my books with me. Every time I'm waiting for a bus, on the toilet, or waiting for a friend somewhere, I pull out my phone and start reading. In these cases, you really don't want to be walking around with a tablet.
The small screen can be a hassle for some people though, so if either your eyes are perfect, or you only ever use your e-reader at home, a tablet might be easier to read, as well as use.
I don't have a Kindle, but I've got an Sony PRS T1.
Since I'm working as sales in electronics industry up recently, i got a strong touch to Display Solutions.
As Biglines said, it depend what you plan to do.
For replacing paperbooks, i strongly recommend E-Book-Reader with E-Paper Display (e-ink or similar). These work pheromagnetic with an matrix of minature balls that are colored on one side and are electrical stable.
Their advantage:
- Readable in sunlight and outside
- Power consumption only for turning pages, so their accu last for weeks before you have to recharge
- Image and picture very close to conventional paper
- 100% stable picture from all viewing angle and no flickering as from LCD-technology, so good to your eyes
Their disadvantage:
- Only black&white display
- Unable to display videos
- You need light to read anything, they don't work in dark
If you want to do multiple applications as reading a bit and also watch videos plus a color screen, think about Tablet-PCs and LCD-Readers
Their advantage:
- Full color display
- Able to play videos and most other media
- They work also in dark places
Their disadvantage:
- Short accu runtime / high energy consumption
- None or less readable in sunlight/outside
- Liminted angle of view
If you go for Kindle, bear in mind that you'll be limited to Amazon publishing format. Kindle doesn't support e-pub which is used by many ebook stores.
IMHO an e-book reader beats every phone, for you can read from a much larger display and don't have to damage your eyes. The PRS T1 which i got can use epub and can get new books via USB-connection or WLAN. It can also play MP3 files which comes into play when you're about audio-books.
I own a Kobo Touch (http://www.kobobooks.com/touch). It's the same size and price as the latest Kindle, but adds ePub support, a touch screen and a micro SD slot (and loses a bit of battery life and compatibility with Amazon's DRM). I prefer it to my Girlfriend's kindle, the touchscreen is useful (although not a deal maker/breaker), ePub is a better format and I find the grip easier. I've used it hugley, both for reading the huge number of out of copyright classics and some new books purchased from the Kobo and Google stores. It's worth noting that while you get some good sales in the world of eBooks like you do for games on Steam, in general ebooks are not really any cheaper than physical books, especially as in the UK ebooks are subject to VAT.
most books I read are filled with images and/or code examples.
thus I mainly use an iPad and read them in PDF format.
and while I love carefully crafted printed books and spend far too much money on them, I find myself reading the digital copies mostly.
for plain text though, I think there's hardly anything better than a proper eInk reader, such as the kindle
I've got one, but i only use it for university script and papers atm.
I'd be glad to read some books on it, but I don't see why I should pay 6€ for the digital version of a book, when i can have the real book for 8€ and put it in the bookshelf afterwards.
I'd appreciate it much if you could get the digital version for an additional 2 to 4 Euro if you bought the book.
If you go for Kindle, bear in mind that you'll be limited to Amazon publishing format.
Mh, it supports pdf, shouldn't that be enough for like anything you could possibly display on it?
Mh, it supports pdf, shouldn't that be enough for like anything you could possibly display on it?
The ereaders all support pdf, but it isn't exactly a pleasurable experience (depending on how the PDF is formatted. Incidentally, most of the other ereads also support the kindle (.mobi) format, although I've noticed that the Kobo support is less than ideal.
Yes, Kindle supports PDF. However, most e-books that I've seen so far get published via e-pub.
My Sony PRS T1 uses IR Touch
Here is an comparasive chart for ebook readers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers)
E-Books are some Euros cheaper then Paper books. To be perfectly honest there, I love the sound in a train or aircraft cabin of people turning sides. My problem is though, due to my passion for novels, my bookshelf is in immediate danger of breaking. And then, i can't bring it over me to throw them away :(
I think the new kindles that are based on android will actually support 3rd party epub readers. (edit: yup: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156983 )
But remember that the kindle does offer subscriptions which might be a lot cheaper.
And yes, in reading pleasure a bigger and e-ink based reader is the best, though only in traditional situations where you would normally read a book (words, not images). If you want to gain more advantages from the digital device and/or multi-functionality, other factors are important, as a lot of the posts demonstrate.
Guys
market research here, who has a kindle? do you read many books on them or know people who do? do you buy books on them?
I don't own a Kindle as such, but buy books for Kindle on WP7/Android.
If so do you bother with the cheap ones?
No, but unhelpfully, I'll say if my guess at your plan is right, then yes, of course :)
the screen estate on the kindles is simply not enough to accomodate standard A4 or letter sized document in or close enought to 100% view. as such viewing PDFs on these devices is a huge PITA, hence the iPad.
as for kindle being limited to mobi... most epubs can be converted to mobi via calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) without a problem.
the screen estate on the kindles is simply not enough to accomodate standard A4 or letter sized document in or close enought to 100% view. as such viewing PDFs on these devices is a huge PITA, hence the iPad.
as for kindle being limited to mobi... most epubs can be converted to mobi via calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) without a problem.
Calibre is a neat bit of software. It even managed to put my PhD thesis in ePub format surprisingly well.
the screen estate on the kindles is simply not enough to accomodate standard A4 or letter sized document in or close enought to 100% view. as such viewing PDFs on these devices is a huge PITA, hence the iPad.
as for kindle being limited to mobi... most epubs can be converted to mobi via calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) without a problem.
Using Calibre (including Kindle Collections Plugin) with my Kindle too.
It is also great for fetching meta information.
Since I've got my Kindle I don't read any normal books anymore. It is great for a short read for example, when you do not have the time to get your 1000pages book out, searching the right page and read. Kindle saves your last position on every book you opened.
William Antrim
29-03-12, 20:25
StevenJ you got me.
Biglines thank you for great information but I am not looking at buying a Kindle I am thinking of publishing to it. I have a story (which i have posted some samples of on here over the years) that is almost complete save for a few final edits for chapters, spelling mistakes and possibly a translation.
It is huge. I was going to post it on here for free but I have since been advised that it might be worth publishing it on Kindle. I can make 70% profit for myself based on the unit price per book. This is a serious margin.
The person advising me has already successfully published and made a small amount of money on said publication.
Basically I am considering splitting my story up into a probable trilogy for example to maximise profit and minimise boredom for the reader. It needs to be entertaining after all. If it works then I should stand to make some money. If not then it cost nothing and so has lost me nothing. I wrote it for pleasure and it has been a hell of a lot of fun for a long time.
I have all sorts of ideas for spin offs and I want to make some money on behalf of nc.
The biggest pitfall is no advertising from Amazon. I would have to rely on reader reviews boosting the credibility of the book before Amazon would take any notice and then it goes on some list of theirs to say how good it is and opens up the exposure to more people. I only need a small sample of reviews and people willing to pay £1.50 or so to buy the book for their kindle.
If this works (and it is massive in America) then it could make a serious amount of money. I want to invest said profits into NC. I have already pmed Kirk about it. I am just waiting on a reply. I read about a woman who did it and she has already sold over 1 million copies of her book via kindle alone.
This is all theoretical of course but I would love to be in a position to offer up a serious amount of money towards the development of this game and this is my passion and my talent and I think honestly if I am going to contribute in any way then this will be it.
Thank you for reading.
Ah lol, ye that wasn't very clear from your post ;)
tbh, go for it, if it doesn't work out, you should be able to publish it personally anyway wouldn't you? Unless amazon requires you to sign a non-compete agreement, you could probably sell epubs yourself as well (an epub is just a zip with some html files anyway, lots of software to author that).
StevenJ you got me.
Biglines thank you for great information but I am not looking at buying a Kindle I am thinking of publishing to it. I have a story (which i have posted some samples of on here over the years) that is almost complete save for a few final edits for chapters, spelling mistakes and possibly a translation.
It is huge. I was going to post it on here for free but I have since been advised that it might be worth publishing it on Kindle. I can make 70% profit for myself based on the unit price per book. This is a serious margin.
The person advising me has already successfully published and made a small amount of money on said publication.
Basically I am considering splitting my story up into a probable trilogy for example to maximise profit and minimise boredom for the reader. It needs to be entertaining after all. If it works then I should stand to make some money. If not then it cost nothing and so has lost me nothing. I wrote it for pleasure and it has been a hell of a lot of fun for a long time.
I have all sorts of ideas for spin offs and I want to make some money on behalf of nc.
The biggest pitfall is no advertising from Amazon. I would have to rely on reader reviews boosting the credibility of the book before Amazon would take any notice and then it goes on some list of theirs to say how good it is and opens up the exposure to more people. I only need a small sample of reviews and people willing to pay £1.50 or so to buy the book for their kindle.
If this works (and it is massive in America) then it could make a serious amount of money. I want to invest said profits into NC. I have already pmed Kirk about it. I am just waiting on a reply. I read about a woman who did it and she has already sold over 1 million copies of her book via kindle alone.
This is all theoretical of course but I would love to be in a position to offer up a serious amount of money towards the development of this game and this is my passion and my talent and I think honestly if I am going to contribute in any way then this will be it.
Thank you for reading.
Best of luck with it. However, a couple of minor points:
A) Lots of people are doing this. Most of them sell very few copies of course. To be one of those people who does sell well, you're going to have to put a lot of work in to promoting it. You know whether you can spare that time or not, and if it matters to you enough. (And that's after the task of editing, formatting suitably, etc)
B) If you only use the Amazon store, you won't be selling to me, as I have a Kobo. Nor Kamuix99. Nor anyone else with a Nook/Kobo/Sony/whatever. Might want to look at putting it somewhere else.
William Antrim
29-03-12, 21:16
yes very true. i am still learning about all of this stuff. i think e-pub is the way to go with it all for the first go at least. If i find i am successful then possible contemporary publishing will come next.
yes have nothing to lose basically so will have a bash at it. its free anyway!
William Antrim
29-03-12, 21:23
True Cmaster.
To be completely honest I realise there are a few million people at it already but see I have a loyal fanbase already (to the core component that is my work - NC) so i am figuring that if I can get a few people from here to read it and write reviews (possibly even read for free) then i am up on the competition. I need to speak to some people about proper advertising. hence i pm'ed Kirk and the GMs.
however if i can get a few people here to write some honest reviews then i figure its a bloody good start. the more good reviews the more it kicks off, the more recognition/ratings i get the better.
I have no free time currently as I am still in Afghanistan but I fly home in the next fortnight and so have some due leave and what not. Possibly more time for nc then and other related matters. I think this could work. I am truly passionate about it.
I was hoping to use some of the box art for a front cover. I figured with all of the people who drop into the forums and stuff I might pick up a few more readers there.
Kindle was merely a suggestion for market research. I can hopefully publish on multiple formats. the key is keeping down the price to a bare minimum for each user. I want to entertain, not rip people off.
ePub and google/kobo/barnes and noble whatever bookstores are great, but you do genuinely need to be on Amazon, it is the biggest market. In all honesty I'm not to sure how much of the NC fanbase are big into reading obscure fiction, but you can only try. Best of luck to you.
William Antrim
30-03-12, 16:42
Yeah I not all fans of the game are likely to be fans of reading. It seems like some people who play nc cant actually read at times but there we go.... :D
However I figure there plenty of adults who like to read and also play games. As the storyline is heavily based in NC1 and up to the point that the anti city factions left for the Dome I figured it might inspire nostalgia in some and just an entertaining read to others.
MadMeleeFreak
30-03-12, 17:19
A decently written story in NC's Universe? Good idea. I'd definetly read it and pay for it. Depending on quality you should get some readers in here and if they write nice reviews on the various platforms you could get interest from general Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk Fans. Also vice versa it could generate some interest in the game aswell.
I'd say just go for it. As you said yourself: you've got nothing to loose since publishing is for free.
This sounds good William.
Personally I'm a great fan of novels and oftenly the connection between books and games is very fruitfull (in example Metro 2033). The german made X-Series also has some novels written by a guy named Helge Kautz.
I think electronic publishing can help for reaching a wider audience, as printmedia will naturally be limited in numbers and need greater efforts.
As for Amazon and Kindle, I'm not sure. Maybe because Kindle features Amazons own format, Amazon might support interested writers in one or the other way. So it could help starting things. On the other hand, you'll be limited to Amazon format. Please take your time for making a good decision.
William Antrim
30-03-12, 20:38
you can read a sample of it in garriotts diner madmeleefreak. you make great points. Kamui I am not sure that i will be tied to publishing in one format. I dont see any reason why i cant publish elsewhere as technically i still own the book. I will receive royalties for it anyway. So its still mine to publish elsehwere i think. I have to check on this though.
edit:
http://forum.neocron.com/showthread.php?p=2179407#post2179407
I actually use the Kindle App on my android tablet. its one of the better E-Readers out there. And you can upload up to 5 gigs of books to Amazon's servers which will appear on your ebook. This is a great option if you have PDFs.
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