Heather Lin: Guest Blogger: Nicki J Markus

Hey, folks! I've got Nicki J. Markus with me today, discussing the perks of the ebook market. Check it out!

When there are just too many books!

With the boom of e-publishing, the number of books out there has increased dramatically. There were already a lot to begin with, but now there is even more choice. With so many options, how does a reader decide what to try and what to leave?

I go by word of mouth a lot. If I am talking to a friend (online or in real life) and they mention a good book, I’ll be sure to at least look into it. Other times an eye-catching cover will draw my attention. Yes, I know one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes they are so pretty.... If the cover captures my interest, I’ll read the blurb. I rarely buy straight away (not least as I know I’ll get it cheaper online), but I jot down the name and will look it up further, read reviews etc

Since joining Blogger earlier this year, I have found yet another source for reviews and recommendations. I’ve already picked up a few books that way, including winning some in blog give-aways – books I might not have come across otherwise but have ended up enjoying. Don’t even start me on NetGalley and the shiny books that I just can’t seem to resist! Yes, thanks to blogging my ‘tbr’ list now sits permanently around 20-30, whereas I used to only have 1 or 2 waiting at a time.

I think e-publishing is a huge help to readers in many ways. With big name, popular authors, I still buy paperback as the prices for paperback and e-book are usually pretty similar, but e-books have become a great way for me to try new and upcoming authors. These books are usually pretty cheap and you can try the author’s work without committing to the expense of a paperback. I rarely bought a paperback book by a new author before unless I had been given a particular recommendation, but now I feel that I can explore and sample things a bit more.

A case in point would be the Regency Draculia novels by Colleen Gleason that I was lucky enough to review via NetGalley. I had not heard of the author and might not have bought these off the shelf, but getting to read them as e-books, I was able to discover a great new author. I liked these books so much that I do plan to get them in paperback now and I will look at some of the author’s other releases too.

Of course, there are still too many books out there to ever read them all, but now there are plenty of great ways to try as many as possible!

What do you think? Have your reading habits been changed at all by the e-book revolution?

Nicki J Markus was born in England in 1982, but now lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her fiancé. She has loved both reading and writing from a young age and is also a keen linguist. She launched her writing career in 2010 and has so far had manuscripts accepted for e-book publication by both Wicked Nights Publishing and Silver Publishing. To find out more about her and her writing, visit her website/blog: http://www.nickijmarkus.com/

Also, be sure to check out Nicki's latest release, Day-Walker! It's got one sexy cover, am I right?