Hollerin Holly’s New and Reviews
by Holly Phillippe
Age of Electronics
Artists tend to be workaholics and this, in turn, affects all areas of their lives, from professional to personal. I have to stay busy doing something however I do step back from time to time to reflect and recharge my mind. Our lives today are filled with constant electronic images and messages which we are glued to.
The cell phone now replaces our alarm clocks, calendars, notepad, banking, socializing and books, yes books, etc. As a society people are interacting less and less in person because it’s so much easier to just send a text. We tend to take on alter egos when sitting behind a computer or phone, one becomes fearless and says things that normally they would not have the audacity to do so.
The mind needs daily stimulation but also requires time to reboot. All of us need a hobby outside of a work aspect, an outlet, to give a break from the hum drum of the electric avenue.
We can now pick up our electronic devices and obtain any information we need without going to the library or flipping through the pages. Yet I miss when the kids were younger and we would go on our weekly library trips enjoying that relaxing atmosphere and the smell of all those books. It was like going on a great hunting trip, looking up and down the rows for your next big adventure. Yet now we just turn on a device, which seems a bit spiritless.
Do we accept the fate that our populace is losing interest in physical books or continue to run with the pack? Personally I do still read a physical book and will admit I do own a couple Kindles that I am quite fond of. However, I still enjoy the feeling of that solid book in my hand and the glorious aroma that wafts from those pages. Am I the only one? The answer is no. I know several individuals who feel the same way yours truly does.
Than where does that leave the book-world? Well folks, it’s called adaptation and rolling with the punches. We are in the mist of a major shift, and I am afraid this could be dangerous. My fear is that our future generations are not going to experience the joy of holding that solid book in their hands.
There are several outlets now selling all forms of writing such as the powerhouse of Amazon. This allows for authors to maintain the ability to still sell concrete books but also the ability for electronic as well. I honestly believe this is the way you touch base with every reader.
Authors should still get out there and do signings so they can meet their fans and help make new ones. Plus the fact these actual sales will be of the physical kind and reaches that faction of ones audience. Its always a good boost to meet a fanboy or girl geeking over your work too. Never hurts to be in the company of one’s peers either. Fellow authors can offer advice and tips plus help to emotionally support each other.
So don’t be discouraged as far as physical sales go. Put yourself out there and keep on sharing that art with the world, for we all need the escape of a good book in all forms now and then.
