Has the EBook Changed the Way We Write?
Novel writing has always evolved. I’m not talking about changes in fashion – the prevalence of Science Fiction in the 1960s, the rise of the Fantasy Novel, the misery memoirs, the Vampire novel and the Dystopian novel. Each decade popular fiction embraces a new genre. My belief is that today’s writers are adapting their writing style to ensure that their novels meet the changing requirements of the eBook. For many novelists, especially indie writers, eBook sales far outweigh physical book sales and an increasing number of novels are only ever published in eBook form. Writers cannot afford to ignore the demands of the eBook.
Format
The most obvious difference between the book and the eBook is the way it fits on the page. Fewer words can be fitted onto the eBook page and it needs more white space to make it easy on the eye. So paragraphs have to become shorter. Even scene and chapters breaks come more frequently. It’s also a fact that novels have become much shorter. Check the number of pages of novels published this year compared with ten years ago. Many recent books are padded out at the end with the opening chapters of another novel so do compare like with like.
Style
You could argue that these changes are the result of the changes in readers’ habits. The idea of leisurely curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) has been replaced by snatched moments with the eBook while travelling to and from work. As writers, we have always needed to ensure we hold our readers’ attention but the distractions of reading in a public place have exacerbated this requirement. Today’s novels are pacier than they’ve ever been. Whether consciously or unconsciously our writing styles adapt. Even if we only use eReaders on holiday, writers are readers and we cannot help but be influenced by the books we love to read. If there is a trend, we will inevitably be steered towards it – knowingly or unknowingly. I confess it has crept up on me. I’m in the final throws of publishing 'Blood Hits the Wall' and it was only when I downloaded it onto my Kindle to see how it looked on the page that I realised. Yes – some paragraphs do fill the page. The ‘rules’ of paragraphing means that I can’t just chop them in half. It will take a rethink and a rewrite. Overlong descriptions stand out and need to be amended accordingly. Would I have bothered for the paperback? There would have been no need.
Covers
My first four novels were published in book form before the eBook boom. I spent a long time sorting out what I wanted for my covers. I visited bookstores and libraries studying which covers were eye-catching at a distance as well as in the hand. Two of them were part of a series. Naturally, I wanted to continue the look and the style of the earlier novels, but do they work as tiny thumbprints on that all-important Amazon page? In all honesty, no. For a start, the titles are too small. I just haven’t got round to changing them. Part of that reluctance is because I like my old covers but, more importantly, I can’t think of a suitable alternative. Many writers are now adopting different covers for their eBooks when they produce their early novels in electronic form. I wonder if they change the internal format too – dividing long paragraphs into two and so on. I know I have – even if I haven’t changed the cover. I wonder if anyone has made significant differences between the book and the eBook versions of their novels. Does anyone know? Have you done it?
End padding.
Today’s eBooks, especially from indie authors always end with a request for a review. Not something we would ever thought of doing with a physical book. And how about those opening chapters of the next in the series that I mentioned earlier? Personally I find them annoying. With a physical book, I can always tell how near the end I am. EBooks can be deceiving with their ‘time to end’ or percentage read. Just when I’m settling down to read the last 10%, the novel ends and I’m not ready! There may be as many as three chapters of another novel. I know the theory – they help to encourage the reader to buy the next in the series – but does anyone bother? If I start a book, I want to finish. If I like the book I’ve just read, I may well decide to buy another. Reading the start of another is not going to change that decision. Besides, even if I do choose to download another by the same author, I will want to read something by another author before I reading it, however good the first was.
What else?
Does the fact that eBook market is now much more global than ever influence our choice of vocabulary? I am conscious of not using some words my American readers might find puzzling or obscure. Though my novels can be classed as cosy because they don’t contain bad language, I am conscious of the fact that some swear words that might be deemed mild by British standards, are not considered such in America. I’ve not heard or read of anyone else mentioning this phenomena. Is it only me? There are probably several other subtle changes that I’ve missed. Perhaps you’ve never thought about these things until now. I would dearly love to hear your views.
See blog on my website - www.judithcranswick.co.uk
Format
The most obvious difference between the book and the eBook is the way it fits on the page. Fewer words can be fitted onto the eBook page and it needs more white space to make it easy on the eye. So paragraphs have to become shorter. Even scene and chapters breaks come more frequently. It’s also a fact that novels have become much shorter. Check the number of pages of novels published this year compared with ten years ago. Many recent books are padded out at the end with the opening chapters of another novel so do compare like with like.
Style
You could argue that these changes are the result of the changes in readers’ habits. The idea of leisurely curling up with a good book and a cup of coffee (or glass of wine) has been replaced by snatched moments with the eBook while travelling to and from work. As writers, we have always needed to ensure we hold our readers’ attention but the distractions of reading in a public place have exacerbated this requirement. Today’s novels are pacier than they’ve ever been. Whether consciously or unconsciously our writing styles adapt. Even if we only use eReaders on holiday, writers are readers and we cannot help but be influenced by the books we love to read. If there is a trend, we will inevitably be steered towards it – knowingly or unknowingly. I confess it has crept up on me. I’m in the final throws of publishing 'Blood Hits the Wall' and it was only when I downloaded it onto my Kindle to see how it looked on the page that I realised. Yes – some paragraphs do fill the page. The ‘rules’ of paragraphing means that I can’t just chop them in half. It will take a rethink and a rewrite. Overlong descriptions stand out and need to be amended accordingly. Would I have bothered for the paperback? There would have been no need.
Covers
My first four novels were published in book form before the eBook boom. I spent a long time sorting out what I wanted for my covers. I visited bookstores and libraries studying which covers were eye-catching at a distance as well as in the hand. Two of them were part of a series. Naturally, I wanted to continue the look and the style of the earlier novels, but do they work as tiny thumbprints on that all-important Amazon page? In all honesty, no. For a start, the titles are too small. I just haven’t got round to changing them. Part of that reluctance is because I like my old covers but, more importantly, I can’t think of a suitable alternative. Many writers are now adopting different covers for their eBooks when they produce their early novels in electronic form. I wonder if they change the internal format too – dividing long paragraphs into two and so on. I know I have – even if I haven’t changed the cover. I wonder if anyone has made significant differences between the book and the eBook versions of their novels. Does anyone know? Have you done it?
End padding.
Today’s eBooks, especially from indie authors always end with a request for a review. Not something we would ever thought of doing with a physical book. And how about those opening chapters of the next in the series that I mentioned earlier? Personally I find them annoying. With a physical book, I can always tell how near the end I am. EBooks can be deceiving with their ‘time to end’ or percentage read. Just when I’m settling down to read the last 10%, the novel ends and I’m not ready! There may be as many as three chapters of another novel. I know the theory – they help to encourage the reader to buy the next in the series – but does anyone bother? If I start a book, I want to finish. If I like the book I’ve just read, I may well decide to buy another. Reading the start of another is not going to change that decision. Besides, even if I do choose to download another by the same author, I will want to read something by another author before I reading it, however good the first was.
What else?
Does the fact that eBook market is now much more global than ever influence our choice of vocabulary? I am conscious of not using some words my American readers might find puzzling or obscure. Though my novels can be classed as cosy because they don’t contain bad language, I am conscious of the fact that some swear words that might be deemed mild by British standards, are not considered such in America. I’ve not heard or read of anyone else mentioning this phenomena. Is it only me? There are probably several other subtle changes that I’ve missed. Perhaps you’ve never thought about these things until now. I would dearly love to hear your views.
See blog on my website - www.judithcranswick.co.uk
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