eBook Publishing: Why Not Also Publish Your Book As An eBook?

The Internet or Worldwide Web is a collection of electronic (digital) documents that are read on a computer screen or electronic device. To obtain a physical copy, it is necessary to print the required document on your printer. These digital publications are generally called eBooks.

Being published on the Internet makes it possible for your writing to become accessible to the world, without great expense on your part. The only limit is your ability to market your work and bring it to the attention of the millions of people "surfing the web" every hour of the day.

The advantage of paperback or hardcover books are that people like to take a "real book to bed with them for a good read, although it must be said that the latest eBook Readers (like the Kindle) come close to the real thing. Nearly half the publications sold Amazon in December 2009 were electronic.

"Eyeballs are moving from print to online. eBooks are the future." -- Dan Poynter

The disadvantages of ordinary books are that they are expensive to print, market, distribute and post - especially to overseas buyers. It is also very difficult to have them included in the catalogues of online booksellers if they are not readily available for distribution overseas.

Electronic publishing allows you to write, store, sell and read your book without printing it. Instead of investing money in physical print runs, books may now be written and delivered electronically to a computer near you.

Readers see the advertisement on the web, pay online, and receive a private web address in their email that allows them to download the eBook to their computer within minutes of purchasing it. As easy as that!

There is an increasing demand for instant information and electronic or digital books are becoming very popular. They may be downloaded from the Internet instantly and are searchable and less expensive than regular books. Online readers need just click on an address in the eBook to instantly go to the referenced web site. They cost nothing to write and publish in full colour and can be distributed electronically without sacrificing trees!

"If book publishers can't see the writing on the wall, it's because the writing is not on the wall. It's on a computer screen." -- Dan Poynter

Once your eBook is complete, it may be uploaded (sent electronically via the Internet as a file) to the websites of online booksellers with whom you have an agreement, to your own website, or some other website so it becomes available for downloading by readers. Online booksellers handle all the financial aspects and pay very generous royalties.

In your search for a regular Publisher, you will be able to send the eBook to literary agents and publishers and offer to sell the electronic, print, translation, movie and other subsidiary rights.

Your eBook may also be copied to a CD or emailed as an attachment and distributed globally. It can be read on IPods and other electronic devices - even modern cellphones. It is a very versatile product in our electronic age.

All you need to access an eBook is an electronic screen. It may also be printed out via your printer for bedtime reading!

"Books are going electronic. Some bound books will soon be as dead as the trees they are printed on." -- Dan Poynter

"The breakthroughs are leading authors to bypass publishers, retailers to become publishers and publishers to become bookstores." -- Don Clark, Wall Street Journal.

Consider that there are online readers around the world who do not have access to libraries or bookstores. Why not make your book available to them?

We are not just in the "information age" - we are in the "electronic information age" or, better yet, the "communication age." The world of knowledge is going from a paper culture to an electronic culture.

If you have already written a book - or are busy writing one - why not consider publishing your book electronically as well? There are millions of online readers who would love the opportunity to read it.

Recommended: The eBook Mentoring Course