eBook Publishing: Better than Print?

 

     The word on everyone's lips lately has been "eBook," a word that usually brings with it the connotation of innovation and cutting-edge technology. But believe it or not, the eBook is not a new topic of discussion. eBooks have actually been around for quite some time -  most cite the 1971 kick-off of Project Gutenberg as the origin of the eBook - but within the last decade eBooks have really gained momentum.

 

     Fundamentally, an eBook is a digital text file, most commonly either a PDF or ePUB file, that is an electronic version of a book. In the past these files were simply scanned images of a printed book, but today a book may be published solely as an eBook, designed to be read on an electronic device. With the growing ease and popularity of e-publishing, new questions are being asked about the eBook: Is it the next big thing? Is it going to surpass the printed book?

 

     As far as publishing an eBook goes, the editing process is similar to that of a printed book but the book remains a digital file at the conclusion. Leigh Hurley of Wheelock Mountain Publications recommends first editing the raw text in a word processor. Once the text is polished, layout editing and proofing can begin.

 

     "If it is well finished and well organized, I design the template, pour the text, edit in layout, proof, send to the author to proof, make final changes, make the web page, load the book into the store," Hurley explains.

 

     When the eBook is loaded into the store, the last thing to decide is how much to sell it for. After all, it is a computer file, essentially just data that takes up a small amount of memory on a hard drive. Without the paper, ink, and binding necessary to publish a printed book, how much does it actually cost to produce an eBook?

 

     "To publish a well-prepared unillustrated text, about $1500," Hurley says. Technical or heavily illustrated texts can be more expensive to e-publish, but the cost is nevertheless drastically cheaper than a print version of the book.

 

     It makes sense that eBooks should be less expensive than their printed counterparts, since it costs much less to produce an eBook, but just how much cheaper should they be? Amazon, the dominant player in the eBook market, established prices for best sellers and new releases at $9.99, essentially setting the industry standard for eBook prices everywhere. Authors and publishers have expressed their concern with these lower prices because as eBooks become more popular, customers may not be as willing to pay higher prices for print editions.

 

     Earlier this year, Amazon became involved in a dispute with publisher Macmillan, who wanted to raise their eBook prices to between $12.99 and $14.99. Amazon has since given in, but even with this new price range Amazon remains competitive in the eBook industry. Many of the publishers supporting the much-awaited Apple iPad have agreed to the same price range.

 

     Though the retail prices will always be lower than printed books, eBooks are very budget-friendly, especially for self-publishing authors. Because they are so inexpensive to produce, authors and publishers do not need to sell as many books to generate a successful profit.

 

     "Authors can earn a large enough percentage from their work to do well even if they don't sell in the larger quantities required for successful print publications," Hurley says.

 

     Many of the costs involved in publishing a printed book are nonexistent when publishing an eBook, which makes eBooks an ideal way for authors to reach audiences that were previously unavailable to them.

 

     "E-books make it economically viable to publish very niche titles that would never generate enough sales to warrant the expense of print," Hurley points out.

     Because color ink isn't used, authors have much more freedom to place colorful graphics in their texts. As a downloadable file, eBooks don't take up expensive warehouse storage space while waiting for readers. Also, in our increasingly green society, eBooks have an obvious upper hand to printed books (often called "dead-tree books") without all of the paper needed to print. They don't need to be shipped anywhere either, which saves money and the environment.

eBooks vs. Printed Books

 

     It sounds like eBooks have a lot going for them, but can they ever really replace printed books? A central argument against the eBook seems to be that it is just another screen to look at - isn't it nicer on the eyes to read from a printed page? But many eReaders use eInk, a technology that allows the screen to display text that resembles a paper page with minimal glare, even in direct light; it uses less battery power too.

 

     And keep in mind that technology-savvy younger generations are used to looking at screens. They've become accustomed to having many forms of media available at their fingertips. Just as the past two decades have seen people exchanging cassette tapes for CDs, and then CDs for mp3s, perhaps today's youth will soon be trading their printed books for downloads to an eReader. It seems like the natural progression. And yet, it's hard to imagine a teacher saying to a class "Open up your textbooks to Chapter 4," and watching the students pull electronic devices out from beneath their desks.

 

     So what is making us bite our tongues? What makes printed books so much better than eBooks? One reason is simply an innate resistance to change. Books have been a part of human culture for thousands of years, and although technological advances have changed the way they are printed, the fact is that the end product has ultimately been the same. The eBook shows text in a radically different format, and it is only natural for us to be reluctant to embrace it.

 

     Another reason may be that eBooks just seem less professional than a printed book - when text is virtual, there is less satisfaction that what appears is truly the final product. There is a permanence about ink that gives a printed book a certain authority, and while there most definitely are typos in print, they seem far more common in electronic publications. Since eBooks make it easier to self-publish, the editing process may not be as involved as it would be for a printed book from a major publisher, but insufficient editing is not necessarily a trait of eBooks.

 

     "This is not really an issue of e-books vs. print. It's an issue of self-publishing vs. publisher," Hurley says.

 

     The biggest factor preventing eBooks from completely replacing print books comes down to the emotional attachment that readers feel toward their books. Both Hurley and Xiao Chuan Lian, a professor of Pace University's publishing program, acknowledge the fact that printed books will always have more "sentimental" value than eBooks, a feeling that seems to be echoed by book lovers everywhere. There's nothing like buying a new book, opening the pages for the first time, and smelling the paper. Perhaps eReaders of the future will be programmed to emit that new-book scent upon the purchase of an eBook? You never know...

 

     But even pastimes that seem unique to printed books, like making notes in the margins or underlining passages, are becoming available for eBooks too (the Sony Reader allows readers to make hand-written notes on the screen). One of the biggest complaints about eBooks thus far? The fact that they can't be shared from reader to reader. Even this is being addressed by the Barnes and Noble nook, which allows readers "lend" their eBook file to another nook. Nevertheless, while eBooks are quickly becoming adept at imitating print books, the two will coexist on the market for quite some time.

 

     "Most authors with major publishers have their books released in both printed version and e-version," says Lian.

 

     This may be hard for authors to do, though, because as eBooks grow in popularity, authors may essentially be competing with themselves, between the two versions of their books.

 

Are eBooks the Future?

 

     As they look toward the future, authors must be conscious of which book format will have more lasting power. Currently, eBook sales make up 3%-5% of total book sales, and that number is expected to grow as more eReaders are released on the market.

 

     "The public perception is evolving," Hurley asserts. "E-books are gaining acceptance, and respect."

 

     Now that eBooks are becoming more widely accepted, they are starting to have more weight in the publishing house.

 

     "Publishers are taking eBooks very seriously," says Lian. "eBook has become a legitimate publishing format."

 

     With the advent of a completely new format of literature comes the market for new technology with which to read it. Dozens of different types of eReaders have already been created - but which of these devices is best for viewing eBooks? Single-dimensional eReaders like the Kindle are often referred to as "dedicated eReaders" since they can only be used to buy and read eBooks. Usually about the size of a paperback, these devices attempt to replace books, literally. For Hurley, these eReaders do not have the same kind of lasting power that eBooks have.

 

     "E-books are definitely not a fad. Dedicated e-book reader hardware probably is," she says.

     While eBooks are here to stay, the fate of eReaders is yet to be determined. According to Hurley, there is little uncertainty about which eReader will outlast the rest.

 

     "The iPad is the future of electronic publishing," says Hurley.

 

     With its multi-function appeal, the Apple iPad appears ready to take over the industry. It will enable users to do much more than read eBooks, as it will feature almost 140,000 different applications and allow users to listen to music, browse the web, look through pictures, and play videos.

 

     Some remain skeptical about the iPad however, for precisely the same reason others are embracing it. Perhaps books shouldn't be just another form of media - many readers might prefer to use a device that is specifically equipped for reading. Because the iPad is not specialized for reading, it may lack a certain appeal that other eReaders have.

 

     "eInk is the best technology," Lian points out. "iPad doesn't use eInk."

 

     Instead, the iPad has a backlit LED screen, which works well for displaying graphics but will not resemble a paper page. Which eBooks are available to iPad users is also unclear thus far.

 

     "An eReader must also 1) connect to a huge eBook inventory with 2) good price and 3) easy downloading," Lian advises. "Currently only Kindle and nook can provide all three."

 

     Despite the projected growth of eBook sales, there is little chance that they will completely overtake printed books any time soon.

 

     According to Lian, "eBooks will become an important part of [the] publishing ecosystem, but printed books will be with us for a long time."

 

     Without a doubt, eBooks and eReaders are becoming more prominent and more popular technologies. Whether or not eBooks will replace printed books remains to be seen, but as new developments are made, it seems undeniable that e-publishing is the way of the future.