How E-Books are changing the Publishing Industry

The publication of e-books has grown to the point that it is now an established and important part of the overall industry. New publishing vehicles are emerging which enable authors to publish their books without the need to find an agent or jump the hoops with a publisher. The new vehicles, like Createspace and Lulu enable authors to offer their wares for download or in paper on a print-on-demand basis. The real winner is the consumer, who can chose how they do their reading and will have a wider choice of authors to choose from. Also, they can get their books online for a much lower price  in many cases as little as 99 cents.

As one who has published books in both ways, using traditional publishers and the new vehicles (in my case, Createspace), I can say that I much prefer the new scene. I can get my books out there in a form that I like, set the price and find ways to seek out readers for them (the hard part). With traditional publishers, you can't do that. You are at the mercy of the publishers., your book goes on the market for a short period of time on book shelves and than is taken off to make room for the new ones. The result is that most authors do not make any money on their books, even though it might be a very good one. With the new system, authors can leave their books for download on sites such as Amazon indefinitely, can have their books made available in print indefinitely and can devise their own marketing schemes, making use of the many emerging e-marketing specialists out there.

The new world of publishing gives consumers of books a better choice and gives the authors more control over their product. A win-win. For another writer's view, check out this article.