We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them, however, has not changed.

-Lawrence Clark Powell
(1906 - 2001)
Librarian and author

Fewer people are reading more, but in more formats than ever before, according to the results of a series of telephone surveys carried out by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Once upon a time, on the edge of the Milky Way, there was a small blue planet spinning around the sun. Ubiquitous on that planet was a thing called traditional publishing. It had clear guidelines and rules that went something like this: the author finished his/her book, then submitted a query letter to a publishing house directly or through his/her agent. An editor at the house read the letter and made the decision to publish the book or not, based on whether the project “was right for them.” If the house agreed to publish the book, it purchased the rights from the writer and paid an advance on future royalties. The house invested in book design and packaging. They ordered as many copies of the book as they thought would sell, then marketed the book and distributed it the public. This process could take months or even a year and then the book finally appeared in book stores.

Then, something strange happened: rectangular electronic creatures suddenly appeared. It was as if an alien craft from a 1950’s sci fi movie had burst like a fireball across the sky, crashed into earth and released it passengers, alien creatures called eBook. Fear and loathing spread throughout the publishing world, as eBook propagated itself, spreading its viral influence globally. Publishers, proofers, editors and readers paced back and forth (picture them wearing white lab coats, scrutinizing those 1950s beeping, blinking computers) searching for some way to stop this indomitable creature that could hold more than 2000 books in its little glowing body. What was the antidote? What was to be done?

“It seems to me that anyone whose library consists of a Kindle lying on a table is some sort of bloodless nerd.”
― Penelope Lively

“There are lots of great ideas in my book, but as a cohesive unit, my book is only held together with glue at the spine.
 Or it would be, if it weren’t an eBook. 
”
― Jarod Kintz, This Book Has No Title

Can anyone give birth to an eBook? Yes. Any manuscript in a word processing format can very quickly be transformed into an eBook, and you, as the author, control the packaging, the pricing, the proofing and editing. The book can be placed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Apple iTunes and additional sites, where it will be available for purchase almost immediately, or certainly within a few days. Once its listed, there’s no waiting, no shipping, and no inventory storage.

There are three things to keep in mind with regard to publishing an eBook, however. First, garbage in, garbage out—even if it that garbage has a beautifully designed garbage bag. If one is a lover of the craft of writing, one should insure that the book is carefully written, edited and proofed. Secondly, a professionally designed book cover is essential. It separates the amateurs from the pros. Third, the big one. Publicity. If you do not promote your work, it will lie off in the high weeds somewhere and never be seen, even if it’s the most dazzling flower in the field.

Publishing an eBook is a great adventure. Like any adventure, it’s challenging, frustrating, rewarding and demanding. But if you love books and the process of communicating, it offers a unique and satisfying journey.

So is the eBook a good alien or a bad alien? As with any innovation, it has its detractors and admirers. People who love the feel and smell of books despair that books will disappear. They like holding a book while reading in bed or on the beach. On the other hand, some voracious readers—people who read one or more books a week— welcome the opportunity to surf the net and download as many as they want, without having to drive into a shopping mall or parking lot and spend time in a bookstore or library. For $1.99, cheaper than a movie, they can be entertained or enlightened for 8-10 hours.

As writers and avid readers, we like to think of eBooks as another option; they don’t take the place of hardback or paperback books, they are in addition to them. Sometimes we buy books in bookstores, and sometimes we download books onto our Kindle. It’s as simple as that.

As John Grisham recently said on CNN “The emergence of eBooks is phenomenal. A year ago, my last book, “The Confession” was published. It was the first time we released the digital version of the book the same day as the hardback. After one year, my total sales are 40% digital and 60% hardback and the numbers have gone up. That’s obviously good news for me because more people are reading the books.”

Copyright © 2012 Elyse Douglas

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the husband and wife writing team of Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse Douglas’ four novels include: The Astrologer’s Daughter, Wanting Rita, The Christmas Diary and Christmas Ever After. They live in New York City.