The E-book Track

Well, I’m back to researching e-books, wondering if e-publishing might be a feasible way to market/distribute my book since I’ve retained the rights via self-publishing. I figure all the work is already done, why not try and take advantage of any additional sales? If it weren’t so difficult/uncomfortable/awkward to read a book on your computer, or if the handheld, portable readers weren’t so cost-prohibitive (and again, awkward), e-books would be vastly more popular. E-publishing is the wave of the future, but the publishing world is so behind the times, it will probably take years and years for us to really see any considerable impact. It would probably help for some big names to publish strictly in e-book format, but I doubt there are too many authors that would jump at such a chance. But they could pull people in…convert 'em, pave the way for the rest of us. I know there are plenty of romance novels published strictly in e-book format…however, I don’t know the authors. I’ve never even tried to read a book that way. I figure I sit at the computer enough as it is trying to write. The difficulty in putting my book out there in e-book format is in the marketing and promotion. Same as with the hard copy…. How will people find it? I think I might possibly have an ‘in’ with Amazon.com since I already have the paperback version of my book setup and sold through the Advantage Plan. I’m waiting to see… Barnes & Noble has evidently discontinued their e-bookstore, so I may not have that many distribution options that I don’t actually have to pay for. We shall see…

I recently finished reading How to Get Your E-book Published by Richard Curtis and William Thomas Quick. It had a lot of good information. I thought it interesting that they included hints for those who had not yet written their book, but maybe some people are considerably more proactive than I am. My book has been finished (written) for almost two years, and only now am I getting serious about e-publishing. Maybe I’m just way behind the curve.