Paper or E-Book as Prize?

Hmm... It's August already.

It's August.

Already.

Where did the summer go? School's just a bit over a month away (is it wrong that I can't wait for school to start up again? Nah - I didn't think so.) Soon it'll be fall and I'll be bitching about the cold and whining about wanting to open the pool (then again, considering I have to go and vacuum said pool in a little while, maybe I won't be whining about that.)

But that brings me to today's topic -

I've been promising a contest (and I just know you're all dying with waiting for it - admit it), but so far, I've yet to deliver. Part of it really is the fact that time just kind of slips away from me, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that there's something else to it.

People just don't care about getting ebooks as prizes.

It seems to me that the contests I run with ebook prizes don't do nearly as well as those I run where I give away paperback books. Sure, it's been a looooong time since I've done a paperback giveaway, but I have done them and I'll be doing them in the near future when You Belong to Me and Eden's Pass release in paper.

Remember, a while back I did a post on paper versus ebooks? Well, for me, I would rather have a paperback book as a prize as well. At least, with a paperback back, an author can sign it. Can't reallly do that with an ebook. Sure, I know authors who burn the book to a CD, print off a copy of the cover to put in the jewel case, and sign that, but let's face it, hardly the same thing, right? Well, they aren't, too me.

So what do you think? Is an ebook every bit as good as a paperback copy of a book or do you prefer one over the other? What else would you like to see authors do for giveaways (and yes, I am trolling for ideas here, ;>)?

Just curious... Yeah.... that's it. I'm just curious. =)