There isn’t a winner, except the bibliophile. Neither of the three types of books available is going to dominate the market. Each of the three different mediums have appeals and setbacks, and because of that, I don’t think any one of them will take a monopoly over the other. But, let’s take a closer look:

1. E-books:

 Electronic books are the newest form of storytelling. E-readers changed the market drastically when they came out, and innovations are still being made. This created an entirely new author. Many who had been unsuccessful in finding a publisher or an agent to get their work off the ground suddenly found an outlet counter-culture to the standard idea of book publication. Sites like Smashwords popped up, giving the opportunity for authors to get their work out and develop a portfolio for future attempts at publication, or to have their work available under their own terms. E-books are the most accessible, since the internet is everywhere, and downloading an e-book is often the easiest route as it doesn’t require people to leave the house. Tablet PC’s and the latest e-readers give their reader base a menu of options that aren’t available to the standard paperback or the audiobook. Many books are out there that aren’t in any other format. The downside is, an e-book is a file, and just like any other file, it can be copied and shared. The other issue is that readers need an electronic device that is capable of reading it, while anyone can pick up a paperback and start enjoying a book. Paperbacks don’t need to charge and don’t need batteries.

2. Audiobooks

Books on CD (or tape if you are that old-school) are the in-between format. Some of my favorite novels have been on audiobooks and offer a presentation that is under-appreciated. The reader hears the voice(s) of people portraying the characters in the story, or assuming a narrator position. This can add a depth to reading that can’t be found on the other two. It also allows the reader to perform other tasks while still enjoying their novels.  The biggest advantage to audiobooks is that presentation, however. A good reader can bring a novel to life. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, read by Charlie McWade, is a great example. Any book read by Neil Gaiman or Tim Curry also provide a wonderful reading experience. The biggest downside to an audiobook is that a great book can be ruined by a bad reader. A picky bibliophile can find great books, but stopping by the library and just picking up an audiobook is a gamble. Also, like E-books, audiobooks can be copied and stolen with ease.

3. Paperback

It’s the oldest format for storytelling, second only to oral tradition. Good old fashioned books. There’s a sense of invitation to picking up a well-loved novel. Dog-earred pages, the smell of an old book, cool bookmarks; there’s really no denying that physical books have held the market for the longest time. They are harder to steal than a digital file, allow for easy note-taking and highlighting, and are relatively affordable. There’s something to be said for a bookcase full of books. Of the three, paperback novels are the largest of the format. There’s no way to take an existing hard copy of a book and shrink it without making it an e-book or an audiobook. The only drawback, and it really isn’t a drawback, mind you, is that reading a paperback occupies you. Unlike an audiobook, reading is the hobby, and doesn’t allow for other tasks to be done at the same time.

The three different forms of a book have found their niches. One won’t win out over the other, but allow everyone to find and read what they love. I think the true bibliophiles will have all three in their libraries, and be able to recommend the right format for the right book to the right person. What matters most is that the reader of any book comes away better. Whether it’s Jesse Eisenburg reading to a microphone or Honor Recanteur finishing her e-series or Suzanne Collins autographing a copy of the Hunger Games for me (I wish), the different formats aren’t in a perpetual rock-paper-scissors contest, but raising their rings in the air and commanding “Our powers combine, we promote… LITERACY!”

What was suggested in a panel on writing short stories is to take one idea, one story, and write it in three different genres. Same story, same characters, but different genres.

My first thought when I read that was to see Juniper Crescent as a steampunk novel, since I’m still fascinated by the culture. Could you imagine Oksanya racing through the streets of a Victorian City, or Ezra sporting a monocle and a pistol? That produced a lot of good images.

And, much like the road less travelled by, way leads on to way to produce a lot of images, ideas, and feelings. What a spark of imagination seeing a similar idea in a different light can create!

It cured my writer’s block already, and set me back on my course to creating stories with vigor. But, like most important things in life, having one plan of action rarely causes the success we want to see. So, I managed to find a second method to push writer’s block away. This one comes from my ENG 221 class at Pikes Peak Community College. Our most recent assignment was to hand write a page from one of our favorite books. This let’s a person see deeper into a different author’s style. (For this project, I chose Brandon Sanderson’s Alcatrax Versus the Evil Librarians.) The second part of the assignment is to write a scene in the style that was just hand written. You’re familiar with that new style now, and with that new style, you’ll find yourself phrasing things a little differently, using words you know but don’t use.

I tried it, and it worked amazingly well. I once again felt the spurious drive to write, to place the images I had seen into words so others could see what I’ve seen.

Fellow authors, I hope this helps.

All joking aside, I remember wanting to be an author and get a great idea published, but didn’t know what every author had that I didn’t. What was their secret? How did they go about getting that idea down? Where do they get the magic fairy dust to sprinkle on their work so it sounds as awesome as I read it?

The secret that authors have stumbled upon as far as writing can be explained in 2 axiomatic words: DO IT. There’s a whole lot behind those two words, and it’s seeing what’s behind that will give aspiring authors the success they want.

DO IT #1: If it’s important, make it a priority. I’ve heard several aspiring authors talk about great ideas for novels. Many of them are better than my ideas. But when it comes down to it, the difference is that instead of beating Halo 3… again… authors sat and wrote. There is enough distraction in the world that people can spend their entire lives and not accomplish anything, but look like they were busy. The hard part is that we often make these choices without thinking. For me, my big struggle was not watching House. It was a relaxing break from work and college to simply drop myself on the couch and not move until TBS stopped showing episodes. But then my ART 101 professor stopped his lecture on Renaissance masters and said, “imagine how many more Da Vinci’s there could be in the world if it weren’t for World of Warcraft.” I knew I wasn’t like them. Even gamers refer to it as WarCrack. But then I turn around and watch TV. Make the choice to sit and write. I don’t think TBS missed me.

DO IT #2: There’s no such thing as good writing. There’s only good rewriting. A lot of great authors never even put their pens to paper after the initial chapter because the idea sounds stupid. Almost any published author will say “and?” This part of “DO IT” means do it anyways. Keep writing. The first draft of a work probably won’t get published. Many times, not even the second, third, or fourth draft will published. But that isn’t enough reason to quit. Some writers have a rule of thumb that there will be ten complete rounds of editing before submitting a work for publication. Learn to love editing. The cool part is, this is where you can recruit others. If you’re working on something, chances are your friends have heard about it. Let them take a look at it. They’ll see ideas and mistakes you hadn’t even thought of. Encourage that. Angela Carlie, a young adult author I follow, sends out unpublished copies of her novels to her critique groups to let them slash through it with a red pen. I’ve even had the privilege of reading through Loramendi’s Story before it hit bookstores. It’s a win-win situation. I got to read new books, and she got a fresh set of eyes on a story she’s made sacrifices to write. I employed that with Hallow Terrace, the next book in the Juniper Crescent series, and it’s amazing how much support I got. Basically, write. Once you have it on paper, take a break, then go back through it and fix it up. Whether it’s an essay for school or the novel you’ve been toying with for months, it works.

DO IT #3: No time is better than the present. You just had the coolest daydream ever, and you think it would make a great story. What are you waiting for? Pull out a notebook, text it to yourself, email it to yourself, but find someway to get that idea on paper. I keep a notebook on me that I use whenever the spontaneous idea hits me. Guaranteed I’ll forget it throughout the mad dash of the day, but, if I took 5 seconds to write the idea down, that has often been the seed I need to motivate and inspire my writing. Ideas are everywhere, it’s just a matter of someone with a pen and paper capturing it.