I have been following the development of ebooks for eight years now. The one thing I still remember from Book Expo America 2000 in Chicago is how the topic of ebooks seemed to dominate every single workshop I attended. Ebooks were the next big thing.
We've been publishing books for eight years now and converting to and distributing our titles as ebooks has always been in the back of our minds. (We were even fortunate to register the domains
ebookpublishing.com and
ipublisher.com in time!) Yet the big ebook invasion promised in 2000 never really happened. There are still too many competing ebook platforms and formats to choose from. (See the recently resolved battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD for high-definition DVD formats.) Digital rights management (DRM) is also a mess. Besides, we already offer
superior book publishing services and distribution of paper books, and we will do the same with electronic books only if it benefits our authors and the sales of their books.
Having said that, this may be
the time to reevaluate launching our ebook services and I need your help! Amazon has recently introduced its ebook reader, the
Kindle. This device breaks away from the other competing technologies by including its own wireless distribution system: you don't need a computer or Internet connection to be able to purchase and read ebooks on the Kindle. As we look into the launch of our ebook publishing services, Amazon's Kindle will definitely be on the top of our list for available formats.
I need your help with the following: Assuming that you have written or are writing a book, post a comment below with your thoughts on whether you think your book would be well-served by distribution as an ebook. Do share with us also whether you have a strong preference for a particular ebook format: Kindle, MobiPocket, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Reader, Palm Reader, etc. If we were to provide you with your ebook, would you want it distributed and rights managed by Wheatmark (through Kindle, Amazon, online ebookstores) or would you just prefer to get a particular ebook file (e.g. PDF) that you would host and distribute on your own website yourself?
Any comment you have, please, share it with us by posting it below. Anonymous posts are OK.
Labels: Amazon, book marketing, ebooks, Kindle, self-publishing
