Paper or Digital Versions
Many do not ponder whether or not we would trade our paper copies of books for digital versions. Yet, this is a topic that should be very relevant in a world where technology can do anything for you. Replacing paper copies of books with digital versions could come with many problems both for the author and the reader, taking away the joy from reading. Apps that sell digital books could lose a lot of money on every book they sell. Not to mention how many problems technology can come with. This is such an important topic that it is not necessary to enjoy reading to care about this because anybody that goes to school is going to be assigned a book to read at one point or another.
According to an article from Author Earnings, when it comes to the profit that authors get through printed books versus a digital version, the amount remains the same. However, according to the same article, the publishers and the apps that sell the digital versions of books are the ones that lose money ("May 2015 Author Earnings Report." Author Earnings. Web. 05 May 2016). Of course, there will always be a cost for the materials used to print a book, and a good amount of the money made by publishers has to go to printing books. Yet, because of the discounts and appealing prices, many publishers lose their money through ebooks, even if there is no printing or shipping cost ("May 2015 Author Earnings Report." Author Earnings. Web. 05 May 2016). Is it cheaper to sell on the internet than it is to sell in bookstores? Yes, but is it really fair to take money from publishers if they do not have to pay for shipping, and printing books? It would make more sense, at least financially, that books be sold in print rather than through digital copies. Technology has always worked in our favor, from text messaging to typing an essay on a computer to avoid letting a teacher see sloppy handwriting. It is fair to say that in almost every sense that having important documents at a touch of a button is very convenient. However is it really all that convenient and easy to have books on a device? According to an article on Wired, books that are bought in apps are sorted on a device by app, compared to, as said in the article, “books arranged on your bookshelves don’t care what store they came from”. In the same article it states the obvious. If people are reading with an ereader it is simply impossible to buy books from another company on that device (Abell, John C. "5 Reasons Why E-Books Aren’t There Yet." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital. Web. 05 May 2016). This leads to yet another argument with ebooks. It is so much easier to just carry a device with various books, rather than carrying a bag with many books. Now this is true, but what happens if the company behind an ereader does not carry a book that someone wants? Or what happens when one device is not enough for all the books someone wants to own? Sure, one device can carry more than one book, but it is not worth buying an ereader or multiple books on …show more content…
These are advantages that printed books have always had, yet as a modern culture those things tend to get tossed to the side in order to have the latest technology advancement. Until publishers can find a way to sell digital books at a price high enough to make a good profit, printed books will be more convenient to sell. When people can put all their books into one file, the organization of ebooks will be much better, but when will every company offer every single book out there? If there were a way to annotate in an ebook then it would be very convenient to just carry any academic books in one bag, but the distractions of technology will always be present. Convenience does not always mean having smaller gadgets, or an easier way to reach any reading material. Convenience is about what helps a person go through their everyday activities in the smartest ways. Having a printed book makes life easier in ways that an ebook simply
Many do not ponder whether or not we would trade our paper copies of books for digital versions. Yet, this is a topic that should be very relevant in a world where technology can do anything for you. Replacing paper copies of books with digital versions could come with many problems both for the author and the reader, taking away the joy from reading. Apps that sell digital books could lose a lot of money on every book they sell. Not to mention how many problems technology can come with. This is such an important topic that it is not necessary to enjoy reading to care about this because anybody that goes to school is going to be assigned a book to read at one point or another.
According to an article from Author Earnings, when it comes to the profit that authors get through printed books versus a digital version, the amount remains the same. However, according to the same article, the publishers and the apps that sell the digital versions of books are the ones that lose money ("May 2015 Author Earnings Report." Author Earnings. Web. 05 May 2016). Of course, there will always be a cost for the materials used to print a book, and a good amount of the money made by publishers has to go to printing books. Yet, because of the discounts and appealing prices, many publishers lose their money through ebooks, even if there is no printing or shipping cost ("May 2015 Author Earnings Report." Author Earnings. Web. 05 May 2016). Is it cheaper to sell on the internet than it is to sell in bookstores? Yes, but is it really fair to take money from publishers if they do not have to pay for shipping, and printing books? It would make more sense, at least financially, that books be sold in print rather than through digital copies. Technology has always worked in our favor, from text messaging to typing an essay on a computer to avoid letting a teacher see sloppy handwriting. It is fair to say that in almost every sense that having important documents at a touch of a button is very convenient. However is it really all that convenient and easy to have books on a device? According to an article on Wired, books that are bought in apps are sorted on a device by app, compared to, as said in the article, “books arranged on your bookshelves don’t care what store they came from”. In the same article it states the obvious. If people are reading with an ereader it is simply impossible to buy books from another company on that device (Abell, John C. "5 Reasons Why E-Books Aren’t There Yet." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital. Web. 05 May 2016). This leads to yet another argument with ebooks. It is so much easier to just carry a device with various books, rather than carrying a bag with many books. Now this is true, but what happens if the company behind an ereader does not carry a book that someone wants? Or what happens when one device is not enough for all the books someone wants to own? Sure, one device can carry more than one book, but it is not worth buying an ereader or multiple books on …show more content…
These are advantages that printed books have always had, yet as a modern culture those things tend to get tossed to the side in order to have the latest technology advancement. Until publishers can find a way to sell digital books at a price high enough to make a good profit, printed books will be more convenient to sell. When people can put all their books into one file, the organization of ebooks will be much better, but when will every company offer every single book out there? If there were a way to annotate in an ebook then it would be very convenient to just carry any academic books in one bag, but the distractions of technology will always be present. Convenience does not always mean having smaller gadgets, or an easier way to reach any reading material. Convenience is about what helps a person go through their everyday activities in the smartest ways. Having a printed book makes life easier in ways that an ebook simply