eBooks: The Invisible Worm

Over at Dear Author is a post and discussion about the effectiveness of advertising eBooks.

Ouch.

This is an essay in itself, which I don't intend to do today. But I want to touch on some things.

How have I discovered books?

Bookstores and the public library.

I'd go into a Barnes & Noble and browse the new books in fiction, non-fiction, and several genres. I'd note the titles and authors in my PDA. I'd then check to see if I could get them from the NYPL. (Shut up. I've already said why I can't buy print.)

At the library, sort of ditto. I'd see New Releases in several sections. But I'd also browse the shelves. That's how I came across the first Ken Bruen book I ever read.

The trouble with the Internet: No shelves!

How will I -- how will everyone -- find eBooks? Or even writers?

This is an interesting list from my Bookmarks. These are writers I did not encounter until I came across them on the Internet (list is in reverse alpha order by surname because that's how I lazily copied & pasted them):

Zoe Winters -- via a blog post mention somewhere, and she left a Comment on this blog

Anthony Neil Smith -- via Victor Gischler (a writer recommended by Ken Bruen)

Jimmy Lee Shreeve -- I don't recall, probably a blog mention somewhere

L.J. Sellers -- via a Blog Book Tour post somewhere

John Scalzi -- his classic Being Poor post (via MetaFilter at that time)

Jason Pinter -- via MySpace

Melanie Phillips -- don't recall, probably a blog post mention

Martin Millar -- don't recall, probably a blog post mention

J.A. Konrath -- a blog post mention somewhere

Simon Haynes -- via Twitter free eBook offer from a third-party (I think!)

Matthew Gallagher -- don't recall, which is odd, as his blog is very new

Joseph Devon -- via a blog post mention somewhere

Cliff Burns -- he left a Comment at this blog in its first month

Matthew St. Amand -- via MySpace

Notice how only one of these came about because of the writer seeking attention! (Cliff Burns -- and the attention wasn't for himself, it was indirectly as part of a discussion here.)

Most were absolutely indirect. The Internet equivalent of Word Of Mouth.

This is why I mention writers all the time here. This is why I post what books I've read (Category: Reading). This is also why I've changed my Internet habits and have mostly dropped what I used to do daily: visit mostly tech sites. I can't find books to read that way. (Plus, technology qua technology mostly bores the shit out of me these days.)

Do you have a blog? Do you mention what books you've read? Do you mention writers by name and link to their blog or site or a post that inspired you?

That's the first step to helping writers get noticed.

The rest I'll have to save for another time.