Like E-mail, E-vites, and E-queries, E-publishing refers to electronic publishing, representing a brand-new concept in providing reading material electronically. The work can be published online or on a CD or in a format that is compatible with a handheld reading device. Aside from general formatting, the production and printing aspects have been eliminated from the publishing process altogether
It may seem like one of those sci-fi visions of the future—people reading books and magazines from electronic devices as they hover over to the next docking station—but E-publishing is here, and it’s probably just a matter of time before it becomes mainstream. Nothing will ever take the place of a cozy paperback to read by the fire, but in this age of eco-awareness and with the love affair humans seem to have with gadgets, E-books just might be here to stay.
One of E-book readers’ common complaints is that no one wants to sit down at a desk and read a novel off the computer screen, and even though you can curl up on the couch with your laptop, the resolution of the screens leaves much to be desired. So readability is a problem. Handheld reading devices were invented to resolve that issue, and there are several models on the market, such as the Sony Reader, Microsoft Reader, Amazon Kindle, and eReader. There are also Webpads and PDAs that offer E-book reading capability. Some of these devices have enough memory to hold dozens of E-books, including reference books that could be invaluable to students and business people. And they’re lit from within, so it’s easy to read in bed without disturbing your sleeping partner! The technology for these devices changes daily, and for now it’s a wait-and-see to determine what will become standardized in this market.
So far there are thousands of e-books to choose from, and this number is sure to increase dramatically if the concept catches on. Nonfiction and how-to books were the forerunners in this new technology, but Stephen King paved the way for more famous novelists to explore the medium. His E-book, Riding the Bullet, shook up the industry and forced publishers to begin the process of adapting to the changes. It took a big-name author to make publishers sit up and take notice, but E-publishing offers newer writers an alternative to traditional publishing.
For writers considering breaking into the world of E-publishing, there are a few things to consider.
ADVANTAGES:
• The author usually makes a higher percentage of royalties for E-books, and royalties are often paid more frequently—but sales numbers can be markedly lower than print, at least for now. And there are no advances paid to e-book writers.
• Because there is little financial investment required by the publisher, editors are more willing to take risks on new writers and nontraditional work.
• Electronic publishing is ideal for smaller work, since a print run on a small project is rarely cost-effective for a traditional publisher.
• Printing is the most expensive aspect of publishing, and E-publishing offers a more economical and eco-friendly alternative. E-publishing also offers a much faster turnaround—generally a few weeks or months after acceptance—compared with up to two years at traditional houses.
• It’s extremely easy and cheap to make updates to E-books that are already in circulation, which is invaluable for nonfiction, how-to books, and technology-related work that changes constantly.
• It’s easier to self-publish in E-book format when traditional publishers don’t feel the work would sell well. If E-book sales prove the publisher wrong, they are sometimes willing to pick it up and sell it in print.
• Authors usually retain all other rights to the work, while traditional publishers claim as many rights as possible.
DISADVANTAGES:
• The reading devices are still quite expensive, and it’s hard to commit to the price when the technology may be obsolete a year from now. And the price of the works themselves is not significantly cheaper than their paper counterparts, which hurts sales.
• E-publishing does not offer all the layers of quality control that traditional publishing provides. You, the author, are responsible for the editing of the book, and you must do all the marketing yourself. At a traditional publishing house, there are a host of professionals to provide quality control and up sales for your work.
• E-book publishing credits do not carry the same weight as print credits.
• Piracy is much easier with electronic work.
• You miss out on seeing your baby on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. (However, since e-books have ISBN numbers, your readers can walk into B&N and order a copy of your book.)
There is no substitute for the smell and feel of a brand-new paperback or your dog-eared copy of Wuthering Heights. But be prepared for a marked increase in online reading material and electronic reading habits. You may find yourself reading The Wall Street Journal in bed on Sunday mornings from an E-book reader sooner than you think.