As the popularity of electronic devices such as mobile phones and eReaders rise, it’s no wonder so many publishers are beginning to use ebooks. Being able to ‘ship’ ebooks as the orders come in can increase customer satisfaction since they receive their purchase immediately and not days later. There was a recent report that stated how ebook sales from last year mirrored if not exceeded that of paperbacks. The reason for this is because of the various formats ebooks can be made into as well as the devices these electronic books can be downloaded upon.
Amazon’s Kindle – one of the most commonly known ebook formats is Amazon’s Kindle. However, their ebooks aren’t just for their branded ereader. By downloading an application, their ebooks can also be read on various mobile phones as well as the home PC. Best of all, these applications are free. So if someone wants to purchase your ebook but cannot afford the ereader, they can still share the experience for just the cost of your book.
Barnes and Noble’s Nook – B&N has yet another ereader available known as the Nook. However, like Amazon, Barnes and Noble does allow its patrons to download free applications to read their books online, on the PC or phone.
Smashwords – this is one of the lesser known options. However, the beauty of this site is the number of formats it allows your book to be turned into. A few of their formats include PDF, EPUB and TXT. Once your files are added to their system, your ebooks are sold on Smashwords as well as their partners. If you’re looking for a way to get your book into as many readers as possible, this is one storefront you’ll want to use. It may not have the same traffic as Barnes and Noble or Amazon, but it makes up for it due to the many formats your readers can download.
There are authors out there right now who make a living off of selling their books in electronic format. These authors had never been published before and had small followings. One in particular is Amanda Hocking. She’d tried getting in touch with publishers the traditional way, but nothing panned out. So in April of 2010, she began self publishing her books through Amazon’s Kindle. A few months later she was earning a living off of her paranormal books.
She’s just one of many who are riding the ebook craze and earning well. If you market your book well enough, interact with your readers and have a quality product, it will sell online. To get the most out of publishing ebooks, you’ll want to publish it in as many formats as possible. The more storefronts your book appears in the better.
Nicole Thomas - I've been writing for Suite 101 since 2010 and focus on topics such as publishing, online branding, marketing and self employment. These ...
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