eBooks are full-length books that are distributed in electronic form, typically via the internet. They can be purchased online and read on a personal computer, a PDA, Smartphone or printed out on the reader's own printer.
My decision to release my novels in eBook format, rested on many benefits, both to myself and my customers:
eBooks can be of unlimited size and complexity.
They will always be available for there is nothing to go out of stock.
They are identical to traditional books.
Editing is quick and inexpensive.
Distribution can be free or nearly so and can be achieved with a simple web site.
They can be read and stored anywhere.
The text can be searched.
The price is about half of that of a traditional book.
Once purchased, the customer can download it immediately.
The author or authoress can apply and manage security settings, including access permission and encryption (if needed)
To go to my store, click here. (still setting up)
Further Details
An eBook is an electronic book, one you read digitally on your computer, laptop screen or on devices called ebook readers. A very positive aspect is that, once paid for, it is your immediately.
PDF format is a popular format for ebooks. (Which is the file format I use) All platforms are able to gain access and read PDF formatting. So regardless if you have a PC or Mac, you are in business! PDF requires the Acrobat Reader but this software comes on many new computers and if not included, it's a free downloaded from Adobe http://www.adobe.com. There are still many who prefer printing out the pages of an ebook to read and PDF files have always been good for this purpose.
So, why would you want an ebook? As you discover this new industry with your surfing over the Internet, you will discover ePublishers and eBookstores gradually growing in numbers. Take a look at what they offer and what they have to say about their authors and titles. Thousands upon thousands of authors write books yearly. Of those, a small percentage have the good fortune of being accepted by a publisher. This is not because they don't make the grade, but because of the vast numbers.
The Internet is a wide open medium. Excellent, talented authors can take their books to the Net, market/promote and sell those books themselves. Others are coming to the growing epublishing houses and taking that route. It is guaranteed as you journey through the epublishing world, you are going to find outstanding, spell-binding, and top-class works, which are well worth the read.
Will ebooks replace printed books? I sure hope not, at least not in my lifetime. Being a writer, I am one who finds the feel and smell of a book part of the whole experience of reading. Yet I also embrace progress and anticipate the future with excitement. Five years ago you didn't see numerous people with cell phones and now it is common place. In time everyone will be downloading them.
So, why would you want an ebook? To experience a new wave of the future, to discover new and exciting authors and their stories/subjects, to embrace what lies around the next corner and be a part of its unfolding.