Some things prove whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist

Royalty watching... In my case it has nothing to do with whether the prince is going to marry what's-her-name (she's hot, but what IS her name?) in England.

In my case Royalty watching is becoming an unhealthy thing. I want to know if any of my Kindle books, eBooks, paperback, or hardcover books have sold. It's a matter of checking websites and looking at reports.

I fall on the side of optimism every time. I'm not disappointed when the sales figures haven't changed. I look at them and enjoy the little numbers with the hope (knowledge... I'll call it faith) that I'm looking at the small figures of a career in its infancy. I believe in my books. They're good books and with time they'll grow legs and start bringing home the bacon to the guy who's working on the next book.

I think a pessimist in a similar situation would go nuts, and maybe even give up.

Not me. I'm going to do what I do, and that is write. I'm not going to sit idly by and wait for sales--there is a fair amount of marketing that has to happen--but long experience with reports and numbers tells me that staring at reports (though I do cheer when someone buys a book) won't do anything.

Impressed, and I didn't want to be

I walked into a Barnes & Noble today. It was safe for me to do so: I was on a mission. It's not safe for me to go into a bookstore when I'm not on a mission, because I'll be there for a very long time (which explains the lunch counter at the B&N), and will spend what I can.
  I love books. Physical books. I published my first book as a kindle book, but with reservations. Remember what I said about hardcover? I changed my mind a little today.
  In front of me when I walked in the store was a display for Barnes & Noble's NOOK. It's their version of a Kindle. I picked it up out of curiosity, and reasoned that since I'm publishing my books as ebooks, I'd better have some sort of familiarity with an e-reader of some sort. I pushed the power button and a transformation of almost Biblical proportion took place.
    The store went dark, but for a cone of light from the heavens. I heard angels sing Alleluia, and for reasons I don't understand...a reggae band.
   The device felt good in my hands. It was about the weight of a big paperback or small hardcover book. The cover of a book appeared, and soon I was looking at a page of a book. It looked like paper. I pushed a button on the right, and the next page appeared. I pushed a button on the left and went back a page. I didn't like the font, and the device (the book, if you will) let me choose a different font.
  I put it down, reluctantly. I put it down knowing I'm going to buy a kindle or a nook in the near future. Still, I tried to fill my head with objections, and it wasn't easy. The only one that stuck was the thought that I don't want to pay for a cell phone account so I can download books. There's no PC port on the thing. A little research told me there doesn't need to be. The thing has its own wireless connectivity without a fee!
  Oh yeah...ebooks are here to stay. It's early in the game, and already 1 device can hold 1,500 books. That's a BIG hunk of shelf space. So...this thing felt like a book, looked like a book, read like a book, and is a book. I suppose it doesn't smell like a book, but I can't smell so that doesn't matter to me at all.
  Several people have said to me that they're not interested in ebooks because they like books. I didn't disagree...until this morning.
  Once upon a time, I'm sure scholars and clerics (who made up the minority of the population that could read) sniffed haughtily and scoffed at the idea of books vs. scrolls. I'm sure they were able to vocalize their preference quite well. Not long after that...scrolls were a thing of the past.

eBooks... Fad, or here to stay?

Reality differs from the dream. I think I like it that way...it keeps both interesting.

I was reluctant to publish my novels as ebooks because, well... I wanted hardcover, baby! The king of the book is the hardcover. It has a feeling of permanence. People who spend twenty bucks on a hardcover book are going to keep it, or at least keep track of it. Borrow one from a friend, and the friend wants it back.

But...

I was thinking--yes, smartass, I do that from time to time--about the emergence of a "new", "cheap" form of publishing that writers hesitated to embrace not all that long ago. I'm talking about paperback books. Back in the day, writers looked on paperbacks  with mild contempt. The royalties were higher, but the cover price was significantly lower. How could a guy afford patches for the elbows of his sports coat if he didn't make at least a couple of bucks on a book?

Now...enter the ebook. Higher royalties, but nothing to pluck from the shelves at the bookstore. No sneak attack autographs while lurking in the bookstore waiting for someone to pick up the book.

Don't get me wrong, I think physical books are here to stay. I won't lie to you--someday I hope to sneak attack autograph some unsuspecting browser in a bookstore.

Until then (and I'm not holding my breath because I'm too busy writing), I'll sell electronic books.

Between you and me, as long as I'm making predictions, I think the internet is here to stay. There! I finally weighed in in the guessing game of the 1990's.