Monday, 5 November 2012

E-Books and the Future of Publishing: What Every Author, Writer, Independent Publisher Should Know

As the job crisis continues unabated, and the prospects of economic recovery still remote, it is no wonder that people are exploring other paths to a viable career and gainful employment. 

Traditional industries, such as publishing and the book trade, are struggling with the twin effects of recession combined with changes and innovation in technology. One segment that has seen growth however has been in the area of self-publishing, spearheaded by the rise of e-publishing. 

The Manuscript Publisher is a provider of professional services to authors, writers, independent publishers. In a series of articles that have been posted recently on their website, they have been exploring the rising e-publishing phenomenon, asking whether it really does represent the future of publishing.



E-Books and the Future of Publishing (part iii)

In recent years e-publishing has emerged as an exciting and entirely new type of market for books and the literary form of writing in general. Authors, writers, independent publishers are naturally excited by these developments. Having laboured so long, usually on the fringes, often in the shadows of success, a whole new playing field has opened up, and a level playing field at that.

The danger of course is that this sort of excitement can precipitate a certain 'gold rush' mentality. While the opportunities that are offered are real enough, so too are the prospects for disappointment. But setbacks and disappointment need not be fatal. The key to achieving success is to knuckle down and study the nuts and bolts of the e-publishing process. That is precisely what we propose to do in this and forthcoming articles in this series.

A journey of a thousands miles begins with a single step. If you are seriously contemplating taking that first step into the self-publishing world, be it printed or non-printed or both, the following should serve to guide you in the right direction.

We mentioned previously that there are three basic rules to self-publishing success:
  • Write a good book, 
  • Publish it to a professional standard, 
  • Market it effectively. 

These are general guidelines and apply across all publishing media and techniques. But how do they apply to the specific area of e-publishing? When it comes to e-book publishing there are four main elements you need to consider:
  1. Choosing a publishing platform
  2. Conversion to acceptable e-book format and standards
  3. Designing an effective 'cover'
  4. Marketing and promotion in a mainly online environment

Each of these topics are explored in more detail in full version of this article, which is available to read online from the website of The Manuscript Publisher (News Service). 

Previous articles in this series, E-books and the Future of Publishing, are also available to read online:
Part ii: Changes in Reading Habits - (and the way we read books) 
Part i: Implications for the Retail Trade in Books (and the way we buy books)  

For assistance and advice on how to turn your manuscript into a e-book and take advantage of this emerging market talk to The Manuscript Publisher today:  

For e-books published by The Manuscript Publisher and available to buy from Amazon or Smashwords visit our Online Bookshop (printed editions available too). 


Feel free to forward this article or share the links, with anyone you know who may be interested in E-publishing as a cost effective and affordable publishing solution for the modern era.

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