Ebook versus paper book. A writer's dilemma.

One of the questions I've been asking myself is whether what I write is different for an ebook than what I might write if I was trying for a good old traditional published book.

What the question comes down to, is the book different if it is written for the end-user, by way of ebook; or for the gatekeeper -- agent, editor, publisher.

I've decided the differences are actually small.

First of all, I write what I write and I write the best I can.

I think if I'm writing for ebooks, I might take a few more chances, whereas if I'm writing for a gatekeeper, I'd probably eliminate most experimental choices as an unnecessary risk.  But I'm not an experimental writer, in most cases.  I write a traditional novel, the kind I'd like to read.

I might be inclined to put out an ebook that isn't ready -- after all, there is no one to tell me nay.  But the very fact that it is up to me to decided has made me much more careful, more careful ironically than if I sent it off to a publisher.  That is, I might think an idea is so good that a publisher will work with me and might send it off before it is really ready.  Stupid, but I've done it in the past.

But because what I put out as an ebook is up to me and me alone, I'm actually taking much more time to make sure I'm happy with it.

So, basically, the differences are small and mostly cancel each other out.

What really matters with ebooks versus traditional books turns out to be:

How Many books I write.

And What Kind of books I write.

I'm writing a lot of books, and I'm not trying to pace myself.  There is no way this many books could be put into the traditional channels.  I mean, it could happen, but it's extremely unlikely, especially for an unproven author.

So ebooks may be the only way I can write as much as I want to write and have an outlet.

The Kind of book is also affected.  I'm conscious that certain types of books are being published -- in fact this is a huge reason I was published in my first career -- I happened to write the kind of genre the publisher was looking for.

So you have to be aware of the commercial potential of what you write -- be aware that maybe vampires are out and zombies are in, for instance.

Or, for example, commercial publishers sort of want to market series, as much as possible.  Books set in the same world, with almost formulaic setups.

Nothing wrong with that, many of my favorite authors do that.

But I don't.  My subconscious goes off in any direction it pleases, whether it makes commercial sense or not.

Like I said, I write what I write.  So putting out ebooks will just reflect that.  Going through traditional channels will require tying myself in knots.

I think it might be possible to do both.  That is, take the commercial ideas and try the traditional route.

Of course, then the question becomes, what is commercial?  I'm not sure anyone knows that until it starts selling...