Since the advent of the internet, increasing numbers of e-books have become available. The 2007 edition of the Writer's and Artist's Workbook acknowledge the existence of the form, and its emerging importance in the world of publishing. Here are five reasons why we should all consider using e-books.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Every day we are being encouraged to save the planet. While not wishing to eradicate the printing trade, there is an excellent argument for increasing production of e-books. They are cheap to produce, easy to download and accessible to all. Academia have been at the forefront of the use of e-books this century, with most universities buying into companies such as Netlibrary
, making many millions of books available for their students at the press of a button. Students adore the system as it make for easy referencing and word perfect quoting. For all luddites out there, however, rest assured that charity shops will never run short of copies of Jackie Collins' novels and when you shop in one the sense of satisfaction your recycling credentials offer will no doubt outweigh your tehcnophobe insecurities.
STORAGE
Let's face it space really is a premium. If we kept every book we bought, there would be no room at home for anything else - not even shoes!!!! That's why charity shops always carry a large library of books in every genre, Sadly, many of these books have been given as gifts, with loving comments written in the sleeve. You could probably write a book based solely on the inscriptions. As an avid writer and reader I give these few lines of penmanship a whole life whenever I peruse these shelves. The look that passes between a son and his mother as a book is opened, stroked and read crosses my mind. A cherished gift? Bet they never imagined it being bundled into a charity bag and left on the doorstep just a few months later.
COST
The relative cost of producing an e-book is greatly reduced, with the saving passed on to the customer. Since the end of price fixing we have seen a plethora of books being sold at unfeasibly cheap prices in supermarkets and book shops - with a corresponding number of books ending up in a charity shop. This weekend alone millions of copies of the new Harry Potter book flew off the shelves. I applaud any piece of literature that gets our nation's children reading, but, in the age of the e-reader, surely this book is the perfect choice to get the teenage market turned on and tuned in to e-books.
VARIETY
E-books can either be produced in traditional form or in interactive mode. Instead of pages of print, books can be produced in story boards, with alternative endings, spider charts telling the story, speech bubbles, graphics and sounds. E-books can be exciting, with new software being developed daily to help writers make the most of their work.
YOU CAN DO IT, TOO
E-book compiling software is available free over the internet, helping you to produce a book you can then sell. You can be a published author in no time. Set up your own website, or sell your e-book via ebay and you could also be a PAID published author. What more could you ask for?
