 Our last instalment ended with a brief outline of the benefits of eBook publishing, but it would be worthwhile to restate those benefits in more detail:
- Because no commercial printing is involved, production costs are lowered considerably. Furthermore, if a ‘must-fix’ mistake happens to slip through, the consequences are minor. (A physical book might need a complete reprint, but an eBook can be easily corrected and the new version uploaded at next to no cost.)
- Marketing costs are also reduced, because most eBook marketing is carried out through websites or email networking. For example, as part of your marketing strategy you can give part of your book away free (selected pages or a chapter), providing a ‘teaser’ for prospective clients.
- Warehousing costs are almost non-existent, being limited to a few megabytes space on your Web host’s server.
- Distribution costs are also negligible, for obvious reasons.
Before we get carried away, however, we must recognise that there are also drawbacks to eBook publishing:
- Online marketing techniques are constantly changing, which means the self-publisher must be prepared to keep abreast of these changes and adapt to them as necessary. It goes without saying that eBook publishing is not for the Internet phobic.
- Digital files are vulnerable to piracy. While Digital Rights Management (DRM) techniques exist to restrict eBooks to authorised users, experience shows that piracy is very difficult to eradicate.
- eBooks have existed for many years, but it is only quite recently that they have shown promise. The eBook’s future is now assured, but it will probably not boom until a reading device appears that captures the public imagination (a là iPod!).
eBook readers and formats
Reading devices
As we noted in our introduction, it’s taken a while for eBooks to become a truly viable option, but the appearance of readers based on ePaper technology has generated a great deal of excitement. Best known of these are the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader . . ., with contenders such as the iRex Iliad, the Bookeen Cybook and the BeBook (amongst others) vying for third place. With Amazon’s massive slice of the online book market to back it up, the Kindle is undoubtedly well placed to maintain its current leadership position, but whether it will end up being the eBook reader is by no means certain. While the Kindle has a great deal going for it (including wireless access to Amazon’s book store), sales of the product have been less than stellar. The Kindle is expensive, as are its competitors, and it may be that it will remain too expensive to become a mass-market product. On the other hand, the product that will break through buyer resistance may be just as around the corner!
 One surprising (or perhaps not so surprising) development has been the growth in popularity of Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch as eBook readers. Lexcycle’s Stanza software, the premier reading software for these devices (with over one million downloads in its first year), is very impressive. Apparently Amazon thought so too, because in April 2009 it purchased Lexcycle! Amazon had previously released a version of its Kindle software for the iPhone/iPod Touch, so its acquisition of Stanza took most observers by surprise. What this will mean for the future of reading on these devices has been the subject of much speculation, but at this stage we can say that using Stanza to read eBooks is an excellent solution for iPhone/iPod owners.
Regardless of whether the Kindle and its competitors succeed or fail, there is one thing we can be sure of: the eBook is here to stay. The great majority of eBooks produced today will not be read on Kindles, Cybooks, or any other electronic book-like device; they will be viewed on home computer screens and laptops or, as we have seen with the success of Stanza, cell phones and PDAs. Many more will be printed out by the end user to a laser or inkjet printer and then read in the traditional manner.
Portable Document Format (PDF)
PDF is the most common eBook format and has the advantage of preserving complex layouts, fonts and graphics, exactly as the designer intended them to be seen. PDFs can be read with free Adobe Reader software on computers running Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems. Nearly all computers purchased in the last decade will have Adobe Reader already installed and ready to use.
Adobe Reader versions are available also for the Symbian operating system (used on many mobile phones), and the Palm and Pocket PC operating systems. PDF is also supported natively by the Macintosh operating system, files being viewable with the installed Preview software. A number of dedicated eBook reading devices also support PDF: the iRex iLiad, iRex DR1000, Sony Reader, Bookeen Cybook, and (via conversion) the Amazon Kindle.
Adobe Digital Editions
Adobe’s new Digital Editions software can also read PDFs, but has an interface geared more toward eBooks, and eBook libraries, than the older Reader software. In addition, Adobe Digital Editions uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) software which is required by some publishers to prevent unauthorised copying of books. This can be used to protect PDFs and ePub books (see below) intended for use with Digital Editions. The Digital Editions software is free to download and install from Adobe’s website.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon produces many of their books using the Kindle format. To use the Kindle digital format, you will need either a Kindle Reader from Amazon, or the free Kindle software for the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch. Note, however, that Kindle Readers are not sold outside the US, and the Kindle software for the iPhone/iPod Touch is also only available for download by US residents. The Amazon Kindle “Terms of Use” forbid transferring of their eBooks to another user, or to a different type of device.
ePub
ePub is an open eBook format developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. It can be read with the following computer software: Adobe Digital Editions, Lexcycle Stanza, Calibre, and the Firefox Web browser plugin OpenBerg Lector.
ePub is supported by the Hanlin V3 and Sony Reader PRS-505 reading devices, and can be read on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch using Lexcycle Stanza software.
Mobipocket
Mobipocket is a widely supported eBook format, with Mobipocket Reader software available for the Symbian operating system (used on many mobile phones), as well as the Blackberry, Palm and PocketPC operating systems. A version is available for computers running the Windows operating system, but not for those using Macintosh or other systems; however, unprotected Mobipocket files can be read on the Macintosh with Lexcycle Stanza software.
Mobipocket is supported by the following reading devices: BeBook, Bookeen Cybook Gen3, iRex DR1000, iRex iLiad, Hanlin V3, and the Amazon Kindle (unprotected Mobipocket files only—the native Kindle AZW format is a variant of Mobipocket). As noted above, the format can also be read on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch using Lexcycle Stanza software.
Microsoft Reader
Microsoft’s proprietary eBook format, Microsoft Reader software is supported only by computers running Windows operating systems (including the Pocket PC and Tablet PC versions); however, it can be read on Macintosh and Linux systems using the program Calibre, or the Firefox Web browser plugin OpenBerg Lector.
Other formats
If you require a format other than those listed above, we recommend you download and use the eBook cataloguing/conversion software Calibre. Calibre supports the majority of eBook formats, and its conversions are generally excellent.
(Free) eBook software links:
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