On Publishing.

If I were to write a book...and the functional word is, IF...I would attempt to have my book published in this order: traditional publishers, self-publish, or publish online. So, online publishing would be my last resort.

I am a firm believer of traditional ways, and I think that it is always best to have something to hold (and to flip over) when reading. There’s just something different when your eyes crawl across a page...of paper...as opposed to something electronic like an iPod or computer screen. It’s more intimate. Holding the book, feeling its weight, and the texture of its pages all take part in the whole experience. Some times even the smell.

My hypothetical book will land on the laps of every publisher that I could think of, that I believe should publish my book. And when they won’t, that’s the only time that I’ll consider self-publishing.

And if self-publishing won’t work for me, then only will I publish online.

I’m not really against publishing online. I just think that there’re a lot of disadvantages. For example, online, it is very easy and instantaneous to copy the book even though it’s protected from “copy and pasting” functions. I also that think that reading from a screen takes away a lot of the magic when reading a book.

So, yeah, I would rather find my hypothetical self-written book on a physical bookshelf, rather than on a virtual bookshelf online. BUT...if I did write a book...it will be so good, that not only traditional publishers will publish it, but online versions in every language will also be available. ;p