About E-books

With the introduction of the Internet, e-books have become popular as they are more accessible through the world wide web. These soft copies of books can be downloaded from websites and read online. E-books are becoming popular with the younger generation as well because they can be stored on the computer rather than on a book shelf.

The immense popularity of the Internet, and its low cost, global reach and versatility has given rise to new opportunities, for readers as well as writers that were never available before the proliferation of broadband Internet.

One of the many unique creations of the Internet is the "E-Book" which is actually a short form for "Electronic Book". An e-book is the digital equivalent of a traditional physical form of a book. The advent of e-book has created an entirely new field of opportunity for budding writers who cannot afford to publish their books in physical form due to the high costs involved. At the same time, the e-books have come as a welcome opportunity for the readers as well who can derive the same reading value from an e-book at a fraction of the cost.

An e-book is such a flexible option where you can become your own writer, own publisher, and own retailer without having to invest in any physical infrastructure or sales distribution channels. There is excellent user-friendly software available that can help you to create your own e-book.

Once you have written and edited your material, you can present your final material in the form of an e-book. Thereafter, you can create a website of your own, and upload your e-book on the website, locked with a password. Also, you can create a web-link for payments via credit or debit cards. Once you have set up this online facility, you can promote your e-book by tying up with one or two good search engines, and do other forms of Internet marketing to advertise and promote your work. The interested readers can visit your website, make the online payment, and download the e-book directly on their Personal Computers, sitting anywhere in the world.

To create a wider reach for your e-book, you may also tie up various other relevant high-traffic websites who can allow you to put up your e-book for sale on their site. Whatever sales are made through such connections, you can pay a commission on such sales.

The big advantage of the e-book concept is that it cuts down the role of middlemen or publishers and marketing agents, and creates a direct interface between the reader and the writer. This brings down the cost of an e-book substantially, which is a win-win situation for both sides.

E-books are a boon for aspiring writers who have great writing ideas but could never imagine becoming published authors due to the lack of resources and marketing capabilities. It is encouraging more and more people to take up writing as a profession and not merely as an unpaid hobby.

At the same time, e-books serve as a testing ground for the real potential of the writer. If an e-book becomes successful, it paves the way for its paper publishing as well. This way, a proven work mitigates the risk-taking on part of the publisher, and gives a fair price to the writer as well for his work.

Even the readers are great beneficiaries of this technology because they can just pay a small amount to buy an e-book. And if the book is truly deserving as a collector's item, they can eventually purchase its published version from the market.

SUMMARY: E-books have opened up a whole new field of possibilities for budding writers to get published. It has also increased the reach of books to readers who want to buy books in low budgets.