Hey followers of BigTimeWriter.

There's been a lot of talk about e-books these days, and how writers should forget about traditional publishing and go out on their own. There have been many examples of people who have made a lot of money this way. I like e-books, I think it's a neat way to go, if you have a good book to sell. It's also a good way for writers who have a name to re-release their out of print books. It's something, I'm thinking about. I also like paper books. I like the feel, I also read a lot in the bathtub and there is no way I'm going to bring a reader in there. I don't really have a reader anyway; I get most of my books from the library.

My problem is that there are a lot of "experts" out there touting the pros and cons of both, saying it's all going to go one way or another. I'm a pretty reasonable guy so I'm wondering why does it have to be black and white? Why can't both co-exist? I don't see traditional publishers going away, changing perhaps but not disappearing. I also see more people releasing e-books on their own. And that will be good too.

I also like that fact that because my next two books will released by a major publisher, I can get reviewed and interviewed by major publications and major personalities like Shelagh Rogers more readily than if my book was self-published. I'm eligible for awards. Also, literary festivals will consider inviting me to their events and those things are amazing. These aren't Cons like Left Coast Crime or Malice Domestic. The difference between literary festivals and cons is that you are invited to a festival, most of your transportation is paid for, you get accommodation at a high end hotel. In Canada, they give you a per diem plus a fee every time you read or talk about your book in front of an audience. And you get to spend a lot of time with a lot of great writers talking about books and writing. I know these things are just perks when compared to selling 10,000 or 25,000 e-books as a self-publisher but I really like them. I know there's a possibility that I can have those perks and still sell that many copies but I'm not always in it for the money. I like the little things that you can't really price out.