As the e-mail offers come flying off the press in the publishing industry to have authors change their E-book formats for the newest E-book reader technology, you have to wonder how many more “extras” will authors and publishers have to pay for to get their book into the hands of readers. It used to be a few straightforward formats, each optional (Hardback, Paperback, E-book, Audio Book) but at least widely acceptable within the Industry. Now you have to conform to a kindle-compatible file?

So, why are we complaining? Most authors are just warming up to the idea of downloadable e-books and, as an industry standard, they are all available in PDF format. Many publishers and authors have already shelled out to have their books available in the trendiest formats (and some are just catching up), this seems like a new hurdle and section of the budget that will need to be sectioned off for a company that already takes a hefty portion of sales.

Some may say that it is a smart move for Amazon to design their own e-book reader, but why didn’t they make a version that accepts PDF files? From a business standpoint we know they are trying to recoup as much R&D as possible before the newest (and most-likely better) E-book reader is released by Apple, but are they being too greedy? Readers know they are going to have to pay $399 for the Kindle, and authors know they are going to have to pay to get their books formatted to be on there…so is it worth it?