Meet Rita Y. Toews – Founder of Read an E-Book Week (March 7-13, 2010)

For those following along on Twitter, please use hashtag #ebookweek for REBW 2010.

History – Read an E-Book Week (REBW) was first registered with Chase’s Calendar of Events in 2004 by founder, Rita Y. Toews.  By having the week officially recognized, e-book authors and publishers acquired a certain extra “legitimacy” during that week to promote the new technology of e-books. The public and media were initially wary of e-books and many doors were closed to promotion. With the week officially recognized by Chase’s, authors reported they now had access to television morning chat shows and were allowed to set up library displays during the week-long event.

ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW WITH RITA Y. TOEWS
(February 2010)

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group:  Rita, thanks so much for the opportunity to chat with you and discuss Read an E-Book Week.  Please share with our readers a bit about yourself and why you decided to start Read an E-Book Week.

It’s a pleasure to chat with the RAWSISTAZ Literary Group.

I’m an author as well as an avid reader. When e-books were new on the scene I released several books electronically.  It was very difficult to promote those books.  I decided that a concerted effort from all e-book authors would have a bigger impact on changing people’s views of the new reading format than one lonely voice.  A week set aside for authors to promote their books has made a huge difference.  Authors now have legitimacy when they approach publicity venues.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group:  Well, I think it’s wonderful you were willing to step outside the box as you’re not playing catch-up like a lot of the publishers and independent authors are doing now.  What one misconception do people have about e-books?

People often say they think reading electronically will fatigue their eyes.  They haven’t tried the E-Ink screens, which are every bit as comfortable as reading from the printed page.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group: Yes, I’ve heard this too and agree with you.  I have the first two versions of the Sony Reader and I love the device!  It’s so much easier than carrying books around with me; especially when I travel.  With e-books on the rise and electronic readers becoming popular, how do you think it’ll affect print publishing?

Unfortunately, I think it will negatively impact print publishing.  The major publishers were slow to realize people would accept e-books and weren’t on the ball with a strategy to change the way they present books.  I do believe they have received the message now, but they  have a lot of catch-up to do.  Perhaps the electronic version of a book could be the first to be released, with print coming later if the book proves to be popular.  Certain types of books should never make it to print, and there are certain books which should never be published electronically.  Print publishers will have to make decisions – better sooner than later.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group: So true! It’s unfortunate it had to happen this way too, but I think in the end, it’ll work out for readers and for the authors.  You have some who may never buy an e-book or those who just love print books! Speaking of…what did you think about Amazon disabling the BUY links for the MacMillan titles on their site earlier this month?  Was it necessary to wake publisher’s up?

I’m not sure if that was it at all. I may be really off-base here, but I wonder if Amazon had something quite different in their minds.  Maybe they wanted to bring the argument to the readers and let them have a voice – or speak loudly with their pocketbooks.  Amazon didn’t have to say much to make a huge point, and yes, they did have to back down in the end but the publishers sure got a taste of the reader’s anger, didn’t they?

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group:  That they did and I have my own speculations on what was really going down, but definitely stood on the side of the author’s with this one.  I get what Amazon was saying, but to disable the print links too? Whew!

What’s your electronic reader of choice or do you read e-books via the computer or cell phone?

I own two e-reading devices – a Sony and a Nook.  The Sony is my favourite.  A lot of that preference has to do with the fact that I live in Canada.  Sony has a terrific selection of e-books available for their reader.  The Nook is a Barnes & Noble device and unfortunately they make it hard for Canadian readers to buy e-books from their stores.  I hope that will get better in the near future.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group:  I have been admiring the Nook, so if I were to buy another one, it would be that one.  The iPad looks interesting too.  Do you think e-books will continue to gain popularity and eventually become better sellers than print books?

I believe there are some books that will sell better in the electronic version than in print. But, as I mentioned previously, there are books that should never be issued electronically – those beautiful art books for coffee tables, for example. Another would be books for infants.  The “read them and toss” pulp fiction books, on the other hand, are better left to electronic versions.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group:  This is a great point and I agree.  I think it’s wonderful how many authors, publishers and websites have taken an interest in e-books and Read an E-Book Week and I hope it continues to grow and bring readers to great books they may not have heard about otherwise.  Do you have any other projects in the works?

Right now my efforts are on Read an E-Book Week.  I do have a collection of short stories languishing in my computer, so I think I should give it some attention next month.  I also create covers for e-books – mostly through Smashwords.  That can take up quite a lot of my time.

Thank you for including me in your Read an E-Book Week activities! The Read an E-Book Week website is located at http://www.ebookweek.com. The website featuring my children’s anti-bully books is located at http://www.thebullybook.com.  A sample of a few of my e-book covers can be viewed at http://www.domokos.com/ebook_cover_design.html.

RAWSISTAZ Lit Group: A special thanks to Rita for taking the time to answer our questions and letting us share in Read an E-Book Week!

Be sure you join us for E-Book Week here on the site as we kick off our E-Book Reading Challenge!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MORE AT THE READ AN E-BOOK WEEK WEBSITE
The Read an E-Book Website provides the latest information on e-books and acts as a collection point where you can list your event or give-away.

How to Read E-Books

E-Book Week Partners

E-Book Resource Articles

E-Book Reading Material