E-Publishing

I thought I'd talk about e-publishing today. Kathleen Bolton at Writer Unboxed has a nice post about the history of e-publishing. It seems that the many of the e-publishers that are doing well started their imprints as a way to distribute books that are outside the bounds of what NY print publishers would normally publish, like gay erotica novels or niche books. Thus, it can be as difficult for an author to get published by a reputable e-publishers as by a reputable print publisher.

According to this Dear Author post, some e-publishers are even taking their e-books into print and getting them into brick-and-mortar stores.

As usual, Victoria Strauss has written an excellent article on electronic publishing, including the advantages, disadvantages, and things to watch out for. Also, The Rejecter wrote a post about E-books, and Jessica Faust at Bookends wrote an informative post on A Look at E-Publishing.

Briefly, the cost of putting an e-book together is substantially less than the cost of producing a print book, so the author gets more money per book sold and often receives that money more quickly due to the shorter time from contract to published book. However, the number of people buying your book is much smaller, so you will probably be paid less overall than if your book was printed by a reputable print publisher. As with print publishers, you need to do your research and make sure that the e-publisher is reputable before submitting your work to them.

The Dear Author blog has several other good posts on e-publishing for people interested in learning more.
What Authors Should Look for in an E Publisher
Will eBooks Revolutionize e-Publishing?
The Marriage of Ebook and Print Can Ring Profit Bells

Hope this was helpful for anyone considering e-publishing or just wanting to know more about it.