Ebooks are the WORST

Maurice Sendak (1928 - 2012), writer of Where the Wild Things Are, 1963, said the following regarding ebooks in one of his final interviews of his 84-year-long life,

"Fuck them is what I say. I hate those ebooks. They cannot be the future. They may well be. I will be dead. I won't give a shit!"

This was, after all, the man that told parents who think the Where the Wild Things Are movie is too scary for their kids to, "go to hell."

Sendak really said all there is to say about ebooks, but for the sake of wanting to write a full blog today, I'll get into the topic of ebooks a little more.

Full disclosure: I hate ebooks.

I thought, as I was getting ready to leave Canada for 6-months and backpack Europe, that an ebook reader would make a lot of sense. Ebook readers are an easy way to transport a library's worth of books with you and they weigh as much as a cell phone.

Makes sense, right?

Sure.

But one of the most enjoyable parts of my travels abroad has stopping off at a place for a couple of nights or a couple of weeks and raiding their book collection. Hostels, Airbnb's, Workaways, a stranger's couch - all these places usually have at least a bookshelf-worth of reading material. And because I am only at these places for a short amount of time, it forces me to read the books quickly.

Moreover, just about every town and city has some bargain basement full of used or discarded books to buy. If I know I'm about to spend a day on a bus, I buy one for a few bucks and then at our next hostel, I leave that book and take a new one.

Like the circle of life, but for books.

That's a great part of traveling - nothing is permanent. Your relationships, your adopted cities, your books, you eventually leave all of that behind.

Bantry, Ireland will forever be the place I read Dan Brown's the Lost Symbol in a week-and-a-half.

The second reason I hate ebooks - and this one is for all your prospective writers, bloggers and freelancers out there - is because anyone can write them!

One of my first "interviews" as a freelancer was with a Spanish guy in Texas who wanted me to help promote his 'motivational' ebook.

I thought it sounded like an alright gig. He was willing to pay. I had no experience and needed to get my feet wet. It was the perfect gateway into a new industry for me.

(This was 9-months ago, by the way)

"I sent you an example of how I want you to promote my ebook," he said. "Check your email."

I opened my email and downloaded the attachment.

"_________ new book titled, ________________ is a literary masterpiece that's well ahead of its time."

That was the first line to this anonymous person's review of this Texan's book.

"God damn," I thought, "This guy must be the next big thing."

I got excited about the opportunity of working with the Texan, so I asked him, during a Skype call, "Can I read the book? I want to get an idea of what it's about."

"It's a motivational book about my life and how I overcame adversity to become a successful author," he responded.

"Cool...Can I read it?"

The awkward silence ensured. "No, it's not done yet. Just write me some reviews like the one I sent you and if I like it, we can start working together. Maybe you can edit the book too. I'll pay."

Well heck! Lucky me!

I thought the Texan was joking. There's no way this stranger wanted me to guest-post on popular blogs and use social media to promote a book I've never read.

As I got more and more into freelancing, I realised just how many ebooks are being written. What's scarier is that people are paying other "experts" to write ebooks under pen names and selling it as their own product.

THE ENTIRE EBOOK INDUSTRY IS A SHAM. IT'S PHONY.

That's a bit dramatic.

I'm all for the democratization of the web. I love that the internet allows people to raise money for cool inventions, talk with people across the world, and bypass the bogus world of publishers and publishing companies by being able to self-publish work.

I love all that. But it comes at a price.

And the price is there being a lot of bullshit out there that people are passing off as "expert advice." In some cases, take for example ebooks written about diets and health, the advice can be downright dangerous.

I refuse to paint an entire booming industry with a broad brush. There are most definitely good ebooks out there. I've even read and enjoyed some.

But writers need to be weary of who they're writing for and what they're writing about.

Obviously, in the beginning of one's freelance career (I'm experiencing this now), you are going to have to work less than desirable gigs in order to build yourself a resume and portfolio. That's the hustle of peace work. Embrace it!

Don't sell out for a little green though.. Have some integrity.

Or don't.

Bottom line: keep scribbling.

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