Ebooks or electronic books are getting more and more well-liked in comparison with normal paper books every month. In 2010, Amazon sold more ebooks than traditional books for the first time ever. It is likely that this tendency will continue, because ebooks are much cheaper than printed books. Not only that but it is easier to download a book in moments than go to a book stare.
Traditionally, ie since the Internet started, individuals read ebooks on their desktop or laptop computer. In ‘those days’, most ebooks were promotional items, providing just limited information as a tempter to go to the author’s web site in order to increase sales. In other words, most ebooks were merely adverts to hook a potential client.
That situation still goes on, but increasingly, ebooks are stand-alone items of value without any promoting or any links back to a website, because they are complete things in themselves – like any regular book you would buy in a shop. But they are cheaper and more readily available.
A different very attractive aspect of ebooks for authors is that it is easier to be up and running – selling your books. If you have ever tried to get a book published, you will know that it can be – and usually is – a very long, drawn-out process involving long spells of waiting and nail-biting.
For instance, it is rumoured that it took the writer the book ‘Virgin Soldiers’ 21 years to find a publisher, yet it became a successful film too. The same, to a lesser extent is the case of the Harry Potter books.
If books of that calibre had concerns, what opportunity do you think that you have? I have read that approximately one manuscript in ten thousand appears on the book shelves. Would odds like that encourage new writers? No. So how many good authors are falling by the wayside? Quite a few, so it would seem.
Another bonus for online ebook publishing is the fact that writers on small niche subjects, have the opportunity to spread their expertise and make some money as well. The fact is that publishing a book in the conventional manner is so expensive that the subject of the book has to be very well-liked or the book will be too expensive to sell.
This is not an issue for ebooks. If you are interested in, say, German teddy bears from 1950-1955, you can publish your book as an ebook whenever you like for the same price as a high interest issue like, say, the Death of Princess Diana – almost at zero cost.
This situation will only improve as more and more firms bring out low-cost ebook readers and more and more firms are prepared to host, market and sell your ebook for a commission.
For example, Amazon will handle the sales and distribution of your ebook for 30% of the cost of your book, which you can set yourself. This empowers authors who would never have got their books to market in any other way.
Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a range of topics, but is now involved with Kindle screen size. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Kindle vs Book