e-Publishing - The E-Advantage!

From greetings to governance, from cards to commerce every aspect of life is becoming 'e' or electronic. Even the bibliophile's world is gradually turning 'e'. Mostly popular among the new generation readers and writers e-Publishing is actually books that are published online on a compact disc, or emailed. They are also available in file formats compatible with handheld e-readers. When compared to traditional books, e-publishing has its advantages as well as disadvantages.

The Advantages are:

A) Low investment on the publisher's part makes it possible for them to accept untried writers and non-traditional characters, story lines, and manuscript lengths. This is also the reason for the writers of e-publishing getting higher royalty than those who go for print publication.

B) Through e-publication it’s possible to re-monetize old publications. The printed publications that are out of print can be e-published thus making the publication available for the readers as well as monetizing the book by giving it further salability. Besides, a writer can digitize old publications to give his work a new look and dimension.

C) Accepted manuscripts get published within a few weeks thus reducing the waiting time for the writers who are always eager to see their works published.

D) In the writer-publisher relationship the writer enjoys more say than the publisher. While in case of traditional books it’s the publisher who takes the upper hand.

E) For works related to fast-moving industries like Computer technology, writers have the advantage of updating texts often and easily at virtually no coat. In e-publishing texts can be updated in seconds.

F) Since electronic storage offers unlimited archiving, e-publishing enjoys greater longevity than paper publications.

G) Just like printed books e-publications to have an ISBN number. This creates the opportunity for anyone to walk into a storefront bookstore and order an electronic copy of the book.

H) E-publishing normally gives the writer the rights to go to a paper publisher later, adapt a screenplay or use the work in some other capacity.

The disadvantages include:

A) The saleability of e-publications is far less than that of printed ones. Most readers still prefer to read the printed versions.

B) books are not available in book stores. The publicity and marketing of e-publications depends entirely on writers.

C) Writers who go for e-publishing don't get an advance.

D) Piracy becomes a major concern in the e-publishing industry.

E) Prices being similar or more than the printed ones, people tend to prefer the paper publications more than the electronic ones.

However, e-publishing is gradually making its place in the publishing industry. Business organizations are opting for e-publishing their manuals and training materials to cut down cost. Besides genres like science fiction, murder mystery and romance have proved to be successful in e-publishing.