Writers Tricks of the Trade May-June 2015

PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY” TO PURCHASE THE BOOK ARE PRINT BOOKS MAKING A COMEBACK? www.scribd.com Advocates of more engaged forms of reading have often warned that the increasing omnipresence of e-reading might erode our capacity to read deeply. SINCE SCRIBD LAUNCHED IN 2013, THEIR READERS HAVE CLOCKED MORE THAN 17 If what appear to be new trends continue, doomsday warnings of the death of print books, and their potential benefits, may prove to have been greatly exaggerated. MILLION HOURS OF READING Multiple studies find that people seem to read differently when viewing the same text on a screen versus on a page. On top of that, there are many more things to claim the reader’s attention, so unlike becoming completely immersed in a print book, less of what we read sticks. Researchers at James Madison University, suspect that readers skim eBook pages quickly and repeatedly, while eye-tracking software shows paper books are read line-for-line. The result is that absorbing the content of eBooks “takes longer and requires more effort to reach the same level of understanding.” TIME ACROSS ALL GENRES. THEY HAVE BUILT A VERY POPULAR OPEN PLATFORM FOR PUBLISHING AND SHARING DOCUMENTS OF ALL KINDS. TO DATE, PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE SHARED MORE THAN 60 MILLION DOCUMENTS VIA SCRIBD, FROM LANDMARK COURT FILINGS TO BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS TO ACADEMIC PAPERS FROM SCHOLARS AROUND THE WORLD. THEY CLAIM TO HAVE 80 MILLION READERS PER MONTH. Since most of the readers of this eZine are also writers, you have probably found that when proofing your work on the screen, you don’t see many of the errors you might find in the printed proof. In addition to the apparent lack of retaining contents of the book as well, add distractions. Lots of eBooks aimed at kids are chock full of animations, games and other digital delights. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop found young kids recall a lot less of the eBook narrative than kids who read print versions of the same story. Another study found young readers frequently skip eBook text, period, and move to the “fun” stuff. Using a Kindle or Calibre-type app on a tablet compounds the problem even more. When notifications of incoming email, status updates, and direct messages pop up, it is so easy to be constantly tempted, basically pulled away from losing yourself in the book. And if your app is on a SmartPhone of iPhone, you also are alerted to incoming calls. Then there is the fact that some people still like the feel of a book, the heft of a book, even the smell of a book. And if you’re reading in bed and happen to doze off, the book will generally gently slip from your fingers while the tablet can smack you in the nose! Just kidding, but it has happened. When reading a print book, the physical act of opening a cover and listening to the whispered crackle of spine and pages is part of the enjoyment. All things and statistics considered, don’t listen for that death knell just yet. Print books are alive and well—at least for now. MAY-JUNE 2015 PAGE 14 WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Writers Tricks of the Trade May-June 2015 | Page 24