While I thought that ebooks and ereaders were the most awesome invention ever, from the moment I read about the first generation of Kindle in an issue of Newsweek back in 2007, it DID occur to me that a shortcoming of the technology was that an author could not sign an ebook for a fan. I figured that would change, though. Technology grows and changes all the time, so surely, someone would come up with a way for authors to put their autographs on ebooks at fans’ request. For example, the iPad came out since then, as well as Nook Touch, Nook Tablet, Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire. With all those touchscreen options (and for the record, I haven’t personally seen or touched an e-ink device with a touchscreen, but the fact that this is a thing is the most amazing development ever), surely it would not be difficult to develop an app that allows an author to sign her fan’s ebook with a stylus on the display. Actually, what I pictured originally was a tablet accessory to go with the e-ink reader (this was before touchscreen readers started coming out), so that a fan could scribble notations on ebooks, or have authors sign the books.
However, that would be limited to the type of device in a fan’s possession. The consumer would need to have a touchscreen device for reading ebooks, or would have to buy the tablet accessory before she got a chance to meet her favorite authors. I was an early adopter of Kindle, but since I am frugal, I still only have a 2nd-gen Kindle with a keyboard. There’s no tablet accessory to use with no-touch devices like mine.
However, I heard from a fellow author on Facebook this morning (and now I can’t find the update in my feed, grrr) about Kindlegraph. This means that any fan can request an autograph from the author of any book that’s available on the site. The fan does not need to have any particular e-reader. The author does not need any particular e-reader, either, though she can probably give a better signature if she has a tablet device. The fan does not have to be in close physical proximity to the author to request a signature.
So, to recap: anyone with a Twitter account and a little bit of electronic storage space can get an author to sign an ebook, free of charge, from any distance. The ebook needs to be available on Amazon Kindle as of now, but the reader does not need to have purchased the book from Amazon.
Have I registered Charlinder’s Walk with Kindlegraph? Why, yes. Indeed I have.
