This post was written for me by Author, Joan Ellis, whose new book 'I am Ella, Buy me' is currently enjoying a blog tour. I am very excited to welcome Joan and Ella to my blog today. Hear Joan's views on technology and the future of books right here, right now and hear my views on I am Ella, buy me later today. Follow Joan on Twitter @JoanSusanEllis. I also highly recommend following Leah from @GirlsLoveToRead who organised this blog tour.
I am a luddite. No point pretending. You’d see right through me. Or your Google-glasses would. I don’t own an e-reader but I am sure it is only a matter of time. I’m a ‘late-adopter’ as marketeers dub people like me who are the last to catch on to gizmos and are forever playing catch-up.
Technology, or rather what technology can do, terrifies me but I’ve learned to love it all the same. (Did I really just say that?) Thanks to mind-boggling wizardry, my first two novels: ‘I am Ella. Buy me’ and ‘The Killing of Mummy’s Boy’ are now available to the world at the touch of a button. How good is that?
Readers can still decide whether or not they engage with technology. They can pick a book off a real shelf or a virtual one. Authors, especially newbies like me, need to ensure their work is available in all formats to reach the maximum number of people. As a writer, I must evolve because we all know what happens when we don’t.
My PC can’t write my books for me (now that would be a tragic day for creativity) but it does make the process much easier. If I’d used a typewriter, I’d still be tapping out the first chapter, drowning in a sea of Tipp-Ex as I corrected, edited and rewrote. Now I just hit delete and Hey Presto! the embarrassing first attempts are relegated to cyber space where no-one can hear me scream. Copy and paste is a miracle. And don’t get me started on the joy of automated page breaks and pagination.
That said, a screen will never take the place of a book in my heart. I love books. They evoke long-forgotten memories in a way no e-reader ever could. Yesterday, I was at my Mother’s house, sorting through some stuff and I came across a box of books she used to read to me as a kid. Each chapter ignited a different emotion as I looked through their gloriously musty pages, marveling at the beautiful illustrations, taking me back to joyful times spent with my Mum. Sometimes she would embellish the tales, going off-book to give an imaginary backstory to one of the characters or even invent a new plotline for them. The animals and children in those books were my friends, making me smile and laugh, teaching me new things. The books, mostly paper, some cloth and others card, came in all shapes and sizes. Being the youngest of four children, the stories had already been read by my brothers and sister. I could still picture them, sitting with Mum, turning the pages and running their fingers along the lines as they followed each word.
I’d never have got all that from a screen.
When it comes to books and technology, it’s the same as most things in life. It’s all about choice. Some days we want nothing more than to kick back with some retro vinyl on the turntable, others times it’s all about you and your iPod.
With technology breaking new boundaries every day, it’s important to keep an open mind as well as an open book.
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