Reading in the 21st Century: What eReaders Mean for Writers

chillibreeze writer — Snigdha Manickavel

For those who make their living through words, depending on how you view technology, the past few years have been either terribly frightening or unbelievably exhilarating. Publishing technology has changed dramatically not just for readers but for writers as well.

Perhaps you are already wondering if books have become antiquated? Relics of the past, fast on their way out, along with the newspaper? For those who have grown up reading, holding, sharing and filling their homes with books, the thought of a world without them is terrible. That one day, children will pick up a book and gaze at it with suspicion, look for the button to switch it on and wait for the pages to turn themselves, is not so far away.

While it could be the end of an era, for thousands of writers, this is an exciting time. The days of writing with pen and paper are long past and today, writing is more often than not, done with fingers poised over a keyboard. If today most of us write on screens, it seems only logical that the day would come when we all read on screens, as well. That is what an e-reader helps you do.

So what exactly is an e-reader? An e-reader, also known as an e-book reader is a portable electronic device that allows you to read digitized versions of books, magazines, newspapers or any other printed material. An e-reader is roughly the same size as an old-fashioned diary and uses "ink screen technology" to make reading easy. Some mobile devices now have reader applications but far more popular are the devices dedicated to just reading like the Kindle, the iPad and the Nook.

What do e-readers mean for writers? By and large, the news is good. While we can mourn the loss of the romance of bound pages, of messages scribbled on back pages, it feels good to know that people are still reading. They are still looking for information, comfort and escape in words.

Veterans of the publishing industry feel that the evolution of e-readers is a positive development. Already, there are instances of the electronic versions of books out-selling their physical counterparts. Popular authors like Nora Roberts, Stieg Larsson and James Patterson have already crossed the million mark in electronic sales of their works. The evolution of the e-book, to many, seems like a natural evolution, the form that books will take in the 21st century.

As a form of technology, the internet abhors intermediaries. It is a mode of communication that embraces the immediate and the direct. Writers can now publish their work directly, without an agent or a publishing company. Thousands of writers offer free downloads of their work and can do this thanks to the internet and the inexpensive distribution it offers.

E-readers also allow writers to experiment with multi-media like never before. A writer can now even add music and visual elements to their work enabling them to explore the craft of writing like no generation before them. Hyper-linking, cross-linking and live discussions are also things that are possible with an e-reader, taking reader interaction to a new dimension. For a writer, there are many things about an e-reader that are hard to resist, like basic editing functions, which can now be done from anywhere.

Will e-readers change how writers write? They probably will but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Many of Charles Dickens’ works were first serialized in magazines. The need to keep the reader engaged and eagerly awaiting the next installment, which could even be months away, were reflected in his story construction. Molding his craft to fit the medium in no way lessened the beauty of Dickens’ work and there is no reason why e-readers would do otherwise.

E-readers give writers not just larger audiences and new techniques but also the freedom to use writing forms like the novella and the short story. Prohibitively high production costs for such short selections had made them almost obsolete, but now, thanks to the e-reader, they are enjoying a revival.

E-readers have become extremely popular with the reading public owing largely to their addictive nature. Not surprisingly, people using e-readers tend to buy more books. E-readers are easy to carry around and great to travel with.

Technology can be scary but a good writer has nothing to fear from e-readers. How books are published and how books are read may be changing but, the reason why people read, the love of words, has not changed. Well-written articles, thoroughly researched news articles and lovingly written stories will always have an audience. The written word has survived for centuries as a way for us to share our thoughts, fears, hopes and dreams and that is something no technology can change.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in August, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Snigdha Manickavel has completed her master's degree in Communication and has several years of experience in public relations, English language teaching and banking. She is a hard-worker, with a curious mind who enjoys a challenge. Nothing excites her more than the thought of living in a time where words can reach across distance and space, and create something new and wonderful.

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