Sunday, November 14, 2010

eBook Revolution


About a year ago, I blogged about ebook vs print wars, but now I have to call it the eBook Revolution in line with the Industrial Revolution. Never have I seen a format of communication or entertaining cause such a stir in a matter of months, and influence publishing, media, commerce and other businesses to this extent. Maybe because I’m published by an eBook publisher Ellora’s Cave, I’m more aware.

Last Christmas when I got my NOOK, the display in my Barnes and Noble for the NOOK was a small table and you had to find someone to show you how it worked. They might have had one cover that you could look at but you had to order them or any other accessory. A few months later, a print bookshelf was replaced by a much larger display with a variety of NOOK accessories and covers. Now, several large shelves in the front of the store have been cleared out and a whole section is devoted exclusively to the NOOK. My critique partner has been hired to work that area.

I’m not sure when eBooks first came out, but I do know that Ellora’s Cave has been in business for ten years. So they’re at least that old. During the last eight or nine years, there was a definite line drawn between print and eBooks. The major New York publishing houses weren’t producing their books in that format. Then technology caught up. And now all major publishers produce their books in print and eBook.



We’re in an age where three-year olds are learning to use computers and elementary school kids have their own cell phones and laptops. Most households have a menagerie of electronic devices. Will a year’s worth of textbooks soon be downloaded on a student’s iPad or NOOK or Kindle each year instead of students lugging worn print books?




I also heard recently an agent negotiated a contract for an author with an eBook publisher. Usually agents don’t bother with eBook publishers because there are no advances or minimal advances with eBook publishers. But the royalty rate is much higher. The business model with eBook publishers is structured differently than traditional publishers. I think we’ll be seeing more of this too as the lines between eBook and print book publishers fade.

This past week New York Times announced that they will be rating eBooks starting January ’11. In light with what’s going on in the industry, this was inevitable but I think this gives eBooks a new level of legitimacy. The publishing world and the public watch the NYT ratings. Whether the NYT list will eventually combine the print list with the ebook list is yet to be seen.

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CONTEST:To celebrate my upcoming release SECRET SOIREE from Ellora’s Cave on November 26th, I’m giving away 1 readers choice download of any of my eBooks.
To Enter: post a comment on my blog any day during the month of November, include your email address and I’ll add you to the drawing. (If you prefer, you may send me your email privately at Kathy@kathykulig.com. Put “November Contest” in subject line). Contest ends November 30th. Drawing will be on December 1st





10 comments:

Unknown said...

I can't believe how much has changed in just a years time. Amazing isn't it. Looking forward to your new release! :)

Kathy Kulig said...

Yes, it is amazing how much has changed in the ebook world over the past year. Makes you wonder what's up for the future. Or what publishing will be like in the next 5 or 10 years.

Bart said...

The concept of eBooks has been around since the early seventies with the Gutenburg Project. I forget who started it, but it was, and is, a project to get all public domain books into electronic format. Xerox's Palo Alto Reserch Center proposed a book reader sometime in the seventies too. These are the guys who came up with the GUI we all now use on Windows and MACs and just about anything else that has a screen. I think Adobe's PDF was originally intended as an electronic book format.

Anonymous said...

I've been following the ebook revolution for the past eight years or so. I have thousands on my laptop and have an ebookwise reader. Only it doesn't read pdf's so I need to get something else.

Well, Christmas is around the corner....hehe!!!

Valerie
in Germany
valb0302@yahoo.com

Stephanie said...

I know the ebook revelation has made my life more interesting. lol To watch it change at such a warp speed leaves me wondering what the next e-doodad will be out next.

DragonStar1974@aol.com

desitheblonde said...

hi well i can tell you i get the book on casette for the hearing i like it but i love to read and then i use my book when at the doc office so long and they are fun to turn the page on them i got the e book and then went to bn and had to take the german one off my reader

Kathy Kulig said...

Wow Bart, I didn't realize ebooks started back in the 70s. I figured maybe the 80s. Cool. Thanks for the info.

Hi Valerie, ebookwise is one of the first readers, I think. Lots of people love them. Too bad about the PDF format issue. The new devices are getting cheaper tho. A nice Christmas gift for sure. :) I have you on the ocntest list.

Kathy Kulig said...

Hi Stephanie, Changing at warp speed is so right. It is interesting to see all the new gagets coming out. Have you down for the contest.

Hey Desi, All kinds of formats to play with now. I like listening to audio books at work. I do love the NOOK but I'll always enjoy turning the pages of a print book too. :)

Debby said...

I love ebooks. I actually have several readers and put different books on them for different purposes.
debby236 at att dot net

Kathy Kulig said...

Hi Debby, Several? Wow, that's great. I started off with a PDA and I didn't care for the small screeen. Then the battery wouldn't hold a charge. But I love the NOOK.