Book signings in a paperless publishing world?

@rpm_pseud0name : GQ

I have a few authors that I regularly purchase without a second thought, and I buy them on paper. I buy many book for my Kindle, but there are some that I want on paper.

Pretending for a moment that paper books became extinct, I wouldn’t mind having one of those writers sign the back of my Kindle. It would make it priceless to me.

In way it is too bad that such a tradition would drown in the tides of the future. But it is no different than shaking a milk carton. Milk has been homogenized for a generation. But people can’t stop, because they just can’t let go of that ritual. So people will probably do exactly what you say. They will have the author sign their Kindle.

I think that people will buy books in special paper editions when they want them signed. It will be like those editions that are bound in leather. Just for people who love holding paper books. These will be for people who want their copies signed.

Signing a Kindle or signing electronically is just plain silly. The thing about getting a book signed is that you get to spend a few seconds talking to the author. Or if you go to a con, you maybe even get to talk to them for longer than that. Then, if you get a signature, it might mean something—in terms of memories.

Maybe authors will start signing something else. A kind of program of signing book. Like the way other autograph seekers have.

If I were brave enough, I’d ask my favorite authors to autograph my skin. Then I’d head straight over to a tattoo shop, and have it inked on permanently.

Here’s one answer

We have numerous eReading devices. We buy hardcovers to have them signed by the authors. We still buy many books so that we can share them with friends and family.