The eBook industry is EXPLODING! Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobles have all gotten into the act. And with the advent of the Kindle, Amazon’s e-reader, the whole landscape has changed. eBooks have arrived. They are no longer the poor cousin of traditional books.
In fact, according to an article in the Huffington Post Why E-Books are Hot and Getting Hotter by Mark Coker, Amazon announced last week, “that for books it sells in both print and Kindle editions, Kindle versions now account for 48% of unit sales. In February, the number was around 12%” which is astounding!
But a lot of the conventional wisdom about ebooks hasn’t changed. You still hear people say “Books are more prestigious and if you want to be an expert write a traditional book”; and that you “need a book”, and that “ebooks just aren’t the same”.
Well they are right about that. They are not the same, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as important in the digital age. In fact, they are MORE important than books because the technology has made ebooks incredibly appealing and with such rapid growth they are the future!
They are more convenient than books. With an e-reader you can download hundreds of ebooks and carry them in your pocket, while books are heavy and hard to transport. eBooks also have features that outshine books by a mile like allowing you to change and enlarge the fonts (especially appealing to people over 40) and they can even read to you!
How can books compete with that??!!
Plus they’ve now got the Oprah seal of approval. Everyone knows that when Oprah Winfrey recommends a book for her book club it skyrockets to number one. But now she has recommended her favorite gadget, The Kindle, as well. And when you’ve made it on Oprah, you’re hit the big time!
And there’s more to come…in the next two years mobile phones will come ebook-ready with screens and apps that will expand the world market even more!
It’s definitely a technology-driven revolution.
But that’s not all …the publishing model has changed due to this technology. The door is wide open for authors to prosper with ebooks. Whereas before it was: try to get a book deal, and if that fails then get on the Internet and try to do it yourself with self publishing, and then if you can’t afford self publishing or as an afterthought, write an ebook,.
Now it’s: write an ebook first, make money then decide if you even want to bother with a book-unless of course you are so successful that a publisher finds you and offers you an irresistible deal. Technology has cut out the middle man.
In fact, in the past, authors were out of luck if they couldn’t get a traditional book deal, but now they have the ability to take control of their creativity and their finances with ebooks. And, eBooks are now becoming a viable way of securing a book deal for people who really do want to be in the spotlight and get on the best-seller list as you can see from the example below.
Example: A few months ago I met body-language expert, Janine Driver, and she told me that she got offered a $500,000 book deal BECAUSE of her ebook!
By writing an ebook, Janine proved that she could write and so Crown Publishing, a subsidiary of Random House felt that she would be a good bet-without it they would have been unwilling to take a chance on her.
So, there’s no question, technology has not only leveled the playing field: ebooks now give authors more flexibility, and more creative and financial control as well as more opportunities than ever before. So authors should stop thinking only in terms of getting a traditional publishing deal and start including ebooks in their business!
To learn more about ebooks and ebook writing and marketing go to www.theebookcoach.com for 9 free secret ebook tips to making money online and a complimentary subscription to Ellen Violette, The eBook Coach’s highly-acclaimed eBook Profit Secrets Newsletter (Value $147). You can also get access to fresh content on a regular basis at www.theebookcoach.com/blog .
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