by Alison Dasho
Alright, she announced it!
I am a big nerd and happy fan of the series (see my imaginary revised ending to book 7). I'll be scrambling to get an early registration come July 31st, and I'll be back in October to explore and read and enjoy the awesomeness of Pottermore.
But, my nerdiness aside, I'm really, really, really interested in how her ebooks will fare.
Up until now, Harry Potter hasn't been available in ebook format. At all, anywhere. And Pottermore will make them available -- exclusively. (I'm not sure about DRM, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd guess the files will be DRMed.) UPDATE! The ebooks will be DRM-free?! Oh, that is awesome!
Want to place bets as to how long it takes her to sell a million? (Let's speculate in the comments; whoever is closest, I'll send you a prize!)
This is interesting to me because, although fans of all ages enjoy the Harry Potter books (ahem ahem [Hi, Mom!]), I don't know what the demand for digital copies will be. I already have hard copies, so unless the ebooks offer annotations (omg I just geeked myself out with excitement over reading a JK-annotated HP book), I don't know that I'll buy them. I realize I'm a sample size of only one, though, so my thinking may be flawed.
And thinking of new HP readers, like children who were too young for the series as it published but are just now getting curious ... will they come to discover Harry Potter as an ebook? Are children reading ebooks? Do they have ereaders?
I'm confident that Pottermore will be fun and interesting, and I'll be watching not only as a fan, but as a publishing participant.
(Okay, but mostly as a fan.)
