Where are the books you love?

2017 was a very bad year if you prefer to read your romance in a traditional paperback book. Publishers have been cutting back on paper release of series romance - not because readers don't still love them, not because the they are no longer being written or published, but because shelf space has become such a rare commodity.

With the loss of bookstore chains such as the much-lamented Borders and with supermarkets cutting space for everything but the fastest moving titles, publishers have been forced to reduce paper sales of some of their series to their bookclub subscribers and online sales.

Series that are now digital only include Harlequin Romance but to reassure you, they are still available in paper direct from Harlequin and from Amazon.

But...

While online sales and digital work for the dyed-in-the-wool, hard-core fans who know what they like, have authors they auto-buy and have access to a debit or credit card, the sad fact is that the point-of-sale reader, the woman who, passing the shelf during her weekly shop and makes a spontaneous decision to buy a book, no longer has the same wide choice.

She may have always bought from her favourite series in the past, grabbing one with the right colour cover and buzz word title in the few seconds she has to make her choice because she knows it will deliver the romance hit she loves. If that option is no longer open to her she may choose from what is there - or not buy at all. It's a bit like the supermarket reducing your choice of cookies to a few top-selling brands. Their only interest is, after all, the bottom line and they figure that you'll buy something even if it isn't your first choice. Or, of course, you may go somewhere else. If it's cookies, not a problem. If it's books it may mean the local thrift shop where there will be secondhand copies of the books she loves. At least for a while.

Meanwhile the  paper copies are only available in limited numbers and you can't buy them secondhand. Even when there are fabulous deals - a lot of my books are on special offer at the moment - they are available only to those with an expensive eReader, computer or phone and access to a debit or credit card. For vast numbers of readers the books will simply have disappeared. They won't know why. They'll merely shrug and stop looking for them. Maybe they'll stop reading romance.

I have no answers, just a sore heart.

Addison Fox: Do You DNF?

I read a fascinating article last week that’s stuck with me. Apparently, like every other digital device we’re attached to, our ereaders are a wealth of information about our habits.

While I’m not quite ready to envision a future where instead of receiving a set of edits, I get a detailed list of where readers left off in my last book, the article does make several interesting points.

What makes readers stop reading?

Can that be treated as a data point that can be fed back into your next book?

Are there some books where the buzz and copies sold has nothing to do with reader enjoyment?

Personally, I don’t have all the answers but I do (as I’m prone) have a heap of opinions. Most especially, what struck me personally was that there are lots of reasons I don’t finish a book and, quite often, it has nothing to do with whether or not I’m enjoying it.

I purchase roughly 3-4 books a week. It’s an addiction and a sickness and one I gladly own. I love books. And I’m constantly purchasing stories that pique my interest. There’s the authors I have on auto-buy. The series I read a great review or blog post on. The book a friend said I had to read. The books written by friends. Books I already own in printed form that I’d like to have in digital. On and on, there are these reasons and so many others.

Amazon, for example, recently did a sale on the first eight In Death books by J.D. Robb. I own the entire series (I am now the lucky owner of Naked in Death in paperback, hardcover AND e) and likely will skip around in my digital versions of those titles to passages I love or as a way to pass the time one afternoon. Very little rhyme or reason to the reading itself, but its certainly not for lack of enjoyment of the work.

I’m curious to know what others think. I do know I’m a bit of an odd reader. I have books stashed all over the house. There are books next to my bed, in my office, in the kitchen, in the living room, in my purse, on my phone, on my tablet….they are EVERYWHERE! I pick books up and set them down, jumping into where I left off, sometimes hours later and sometimes months. There’s very little that’s predictable about my reading habits.

So I’d love to hear what you think. Am I the outlier, or is the idea of keeping track of where readers start or stop a book not nearly as valuable as whether or not they continue to purchase them?

Thanks for joining me today!

XOXO,

Addison

Despite early ambitions of being a diver, a drummer or a doctor, Addison Fox happily discovered she was more suited to life as a writer. She lives in Dallas and - thankfully - doesn't have to operate on anyone. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com. Her latest book, SILKEN THREATS, is out now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense in February 2015. You can visit her at her website at www.addisonfox.com

E-readers and me by Michelle Styles

My husband always declares that I am difficult to buy presents for. (I disagree. I am very easy -- I like lots of things. I just don't like filling out  lists of things I might I like.)  However this wedding anniversary (our 23rd last month), he knew precisely what to get -- a kindle (with a pink cover!) In the UK, the kindle dominates with something like 80% + of the market. There is no nook in the UK.
After all what do you get a woman who loves to read and who is rapidly running out of bookcase space..particularily when you are stumped?
Although I had read books on the computer, I had resisted getting an e-reader. The expense was one consideration and I do like the feel of paper. It was not on my top ten list. It was something I had planned to get around to at some point.  However I do take his point about the number of books in the house...
I do like my kindle. It is light weight and I can make the font size the correct size for my eyes. This is a consideration in dealing with something like the GRR Martin books which are huge and printed in mouse print.  A Dance with Dragons is 983 pages long and the print is fairly small and this is a hardback!
Best of all, it has a free sample feature. Forget the free books on kindle (to a certain extent), I like the free samples, particularly as I can then just buy the book. With teaser pamphlets, I have to go into a shop and buy the book but this way, I can just download and keep reading.
There are a number of authors who I have heard about but had not tried. In the UK, particularly in the North East, it can be difficult to find the authors I like, so I have often resorted to Amazon. Sometimes with mixed results. So I have become wary.  But now when I hear about a book, I can download a sample and see if the book is really going to be for me or not. Personally I like having the time to read the sample rather than just flicking. (Actually kindle does have free apps for just about any electronic device you might like to use from PCs to Ipads and Andriods. So you could do the free samples with any device. Just saying )
It is also easier to read in bright sunshine or in the dark.  And it fits in my purse which means I should never have to resort to reading the posters in the doctor's office again because I have run out of reading material.
The RWA National was also all about going digital. Since Christmas and really within the last quarter, publishers have seen a huge increase in digital sales. The revolution has gone from sometime in the future to now. It brings a wealth of opportunity for everyone but also a lot of change. For readers, particularly ones with poor eyesight, it means the ability to make the font size larger without paying Large Print prices OR dealing with the added weight. It also means people do not have to be as concerned bad covers. (I never minded the romance covers but my husbands and sons are of a more delicate nature...) The content stays the same. The delivery method is slightly different. That is all.
My husband was slightly shocked at the suitcase of free books that I brought back from the conference but that is another story...
One great thing for all lovers of Harlequin Historical is that they are moving to simultaneous publication in the UK and the NA market next Spring. This is because of people downloading the books from both sides of the Atlantic. It means that readers won't have to wait.
Anyway, now having received a kindle as a present, I can understand what the fuss is about. I still like print but will be saving it for special books. And if you like books and an e-reader is low down on your list...move it up.
My husband now faces another problem though...what to get me for Christmas...He has already started muttering about me providing him with a list...how hard can it be? I love books and lots of other things!
What do other people think about e-readers?

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance for Harlequin Historical. Her latest release in the UK is To Marry a Matchmaker (both print and ebook). To learn more about her books, visit her website www.michellestyles.co.uk