Traditional vs. e-publishing: War or peace?

I love the feel of a print book in my hand and I haven't gotten an e-reader. Yet. But that's me as a reader. As a writer, though, I have to look at the whole e-publishing thing through different eyes.

I'm not technologically challenged. I love my laptop and my iPhone, but I've been viewing e-publishing and traditional publishing as an either/or thing. My passion for books and libraries sways me towards print and I have this nagging feeling of betrayal if I choose to e-publish. After all, a core theme in GUARDIAN CATS is the saving of books and libraries. But my arguments against e-publishing are diminishing as I've discovered Overdrive, supplier of digital content to libraries and schools. Seems like a smart thing to include in an e-publish marketing plan.

If you're following the buzz, the whole publishing world seems to be up for grabs. If you've been buried in your WIP (good for you!) and haven't been paying attention, here's what happening in a nutshell. Established writers are going 'indie' while new authors, using the 'e-book first' strategy, are getting noticed and offered contracts by traditional publishers. (See the link to Jane Friedman's post below.)

I haven't seen any statistics on this. But I'm following a lot of authors, agents and bookish friends on my Twitter and blog feeds and watching the trends closely.

For instance:

• Barry Eisler, former CIA op turned thriller writer, turned down a half-million dollar deal to e-publish.
• Bob Mayer, NY Times best seller, is e-publishing his new book, Duty, Honor, Country. Read why in his very enlightening blog post, Going Indie.
• Other the other hand Amanda Hocking, after her wildly successful million e-book venture is accepting an offer from St. Martin's Press. With a lot of business savvy, she explains why.

If, like me, you are pondering publishing options, it's pretty crazy out there and things are changing quickly. If you haven't gone 'Twitter', I would highly recommend it. My Tweeps are 90% writers, agents, publishers, and what I call 'bookish' friends who keep up with the publishing world on a minute by minute basis.

It's mind blowing, but a really exciting time to be at this juncture in the publishing industry. For sane and respected advice you are probably already aware of, read the Pros blogs, many listed on my side bar.

• Nathan Bransford does the math in his series of posts: Self-publishing vs. Traditional publishing: which way will you make more money.
• Janet Friedman's myth busting post: Self-Publishing & Online Publishing Will Not Ruin Your Chances at a Traditional Deal.

Now I'm thinking that there's room for it all. Why would more options for reading be a bad thing? Upon closer examination, it doesn't appear to be the tug-of-war as I first thought. But then I'm a child of the 60's who still believes that somehow it's possible that we can 'work it out'.

I'm still researching e-readers, waiting until one of them jumps out at me and screams 'Take me! I'm yours!' 

Follow my 'bookish' Tweets. I'll follow you back. It'll be fun.