Many people have autographed books. An author’s signature can increase the monetary value of a book (especially for first editions and certain authors), and it can add a great memory as well. With the advent of ebooks, that went away. After all, what would you do? Get the author to use a permanent marker on your ereader? That dilemma caused devoted reader Evan Jacobs to rethink that entire thing.

Evan was attending a reading and when it came time to sign books, he had a Kindle in his hand and no way to get an autograph — so he decided to make one. Originally, he called it Kindlegraph (Evan worked for Amazon) and it was based on the sales information available publicly through the company. I interviewed him earlier this year on Romance Lives Forever. He has since opened the platform to encompass Nook, Kobo, and all other forms of ereaders.

How’s it work?

Readers create an account by using their email or Twitter, search for their favorite authors, and click a button to request an authorgraph. If they are in the system, it sends the request right away. If they are not, when the author signs on, the request will be waiting for them. Then, they create a special signature / autograph unique to that book or reader, and send it via the Authorgraph system. The reader who requested it receives a notice that a file is available for them to download, they accept the file, and appears on their ereader. Ta da! That’s it.

Can authors sign up?

Sure thing. All you do is go to http://authorgraph.com and click on “Authors – Sign Up” and then follow the prompts. It’s a matter of adding your books. Once you get a request, you can create a “live” signature by drawing your name with your mouse or tablet, or you can pick one of several hand-written fonts.

Is it free?

It is free to create an account (for readers and authors), and it’s free to request or make one. If your ISP charges a delivery fee for your Kindle, there might be a fee for the authorgraph. Check before downloading.

Can I get one from _______?

You can get one from any author who cares to sign up. Just go request it. Your favorite author might already be listed. If they are not, they can easily join.

All this was born from the fact that one reader was disappointed at not being able to get an autograph. That’s amazing. Instead of letting the disappointment get him down, he figured out a way to fix the problem. Now, no one else has to be disappointed either, and with Christmas coming, there’s no excuse not to get yourself that cool new ereader you’ve been wanting. So what are you waiting for? Go grab those authorgraphs!

You can get mine here: http://authorgraph.com/authors/kayelleallen