Why I'm publishing ebooks 2.

So, what was one more leap of faith in a series?  Each time I put a project out on my own I had some degree of success.   Why was I so slow to launch my books into cyberspace?

I came to the conclusion my hesitation was partially because I liked the way a good book felt in my hands.  I liked being able to use its jacket flap as a bookmark.  The books on my shelves mark periods of my life, and to have the passages accessible to me, even with those little dust mites crawling around seemed important.  I cherish books, the ones I read during college, pregnancy, bus rides to and from Manhattan.  I thought about novels I read in hospital rooms as the people in my life departed.   Couldn't I keep the voices or spirit of my books the same way I held onto people who had died?  Wasn't reading always more of a spiritual experience? 

Adapting to a device would mean my entire manner of reading would change.  It had always been so exciting to open a new book and anticipate the experience.  I wouldn't hear the sound of the paper as I turned pages or feel it against my fingers.  I wouldn't be able to eyeball a book and see the approximate number of pages I had left to read.  But on the other hand, physical books could be bulky.  If you fell asleep under one it could fall and poke your eye.

I borrowed my husband's Kindle and gave it a try.  And just like when I went from a manual typewriter to an electric, an electric typewriter to a PC I could immediately feel a rush of excitement.  I tried to keep my mind on the book I was reading, but it wasn't long before I began thinking about the convenience of having a portable library.  I compiled a mental list of books I'd love never to be without.  And in less than an hour I was back on the computer choosing which of my manuscripts to test publish.