The E-Book Factor

The world of publishing is changing rapidly as physical books are being translated into digital mediums. The old way of publishing is a slowly dying business. Major magazines and publishing titans are losing billions of dollars because of the economy and the emergence of authors who deciding to self publish. The Internet has shifted the balance of power from the publishing company to the author. The Internet gives the author the ability to self produce the project, promotion to millions of people, and cause the major publishing companies to seek co-publishing deals with the author.

The ability to self- produce an e-book has become an easy and simple process. An author can find everything that is needed to create and produce an e-book online. For example: John Smith can write a book using a basic Microsoft word program. Once the book is edited, John can design his own book cover by downloading free book cover templates by doing a basic Google search.  John can upload his own picture on the back of the e-book cover and design the front cover by using Adobe Photoshop. Now John has an e-book that is ready to be marketed and promoted.

The Internet is a great tool to promote and market an e-book. If this process is done correctly an e-book can make an author millions of dollars. An author can explore millions of niche markets to promote their product. Once the author finds his or her niche market, the author can create a marketing campaign to target customer within the niche market. This method is effective because the target customer is already interested in what the e-book is about. Marketing campaigns can but set up on search engine sites such as Yahoo or Google and social media websites such as Facebook.  By utilizing these marketing techniques an author can reach millions of customers.

Major publishing companies have decided that the Internet and the ability of authors to self publish their work, is not a fleeting phenomenon. This new trend of publishing is here to stay and it is growing at an alarming rate. To salvage their slowly dying companies, publishing companies are beginning to offer co-publishing deals to authors who have a large consumer base for their self-published work.  The co-publishing deal would allow the author to get a major distribution deal, share the copyrights, and royalties with the publisher equally.

E-books are here to stay. My advice to any author looking to get a major distribution deal would be to self publish a few projects and market them online. Create a viral buzz about yourself and your books through social media to develop a following. It will not be long before a major publishing deal will be sitting on your desk.