Ebook Self-Publishing – What Are the Pros and Cons?

The manuscript is completed and polished, and ready to be sent to an agent. Once an agent agrees to represent the manuscript, they will solicit a publisher with the hopes of getting a best-selling novel. It sounds easy, but traditional publishing poses many frustrations.

It makes sense that a publisher chooses books on their commercial marketability. They are in business to make money, but choosing a manuscript is very subjective. Most publishers don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, and the author needs an agent. The process is difficult, and rejection should not be counted out. Really, one person decides what the reader gets to read, and if it has the capability to make money.

However, a fairly new market has opened up to authors. They can upload their manuscripts to places like Amazon Digital Text Platform, Scribd, Lulu, Smashwords, and Sony’s Publisher Portal, to name a few. The ereader technology is providing a rival for traditional publishing avenues. It is inexpensive as there are close to zero distribution costs, and the turnaround time is quick. The author can upload his work, and then the buyers can download it to their Amazon Kindle or other ereader device.

These are definite pros of ebook publishing platforms, but along with the positive, there are negatives. The author may experience different frustrations.

These frustrations include:

• No profits from the book. Some ebook authors sell their books for free or at a low cost to improve download numbers

• Lack of advertising to make the public aware that the ebook is available

• Saturated market of self-published ebooks

On the other hand, the author has full control of the book. They determine the restrictions like how many times their book is downloaded for a single purchase, and the number of devices the ebook can be transferred to.

Although not without its share of frustrations, ebook self-publishing may still see growth due to the tedious rejections authors get from traditional publishing routes. In addition, the consumer will have more choices on what they read on their ebook reader.

Whether authors use traditional publishing means or ebook self-publishing, it really matters little to ebook reading enthusiasts as what they’re after is the convenience of reading on the go. Visit us to see which portable ebook readers are the most popular and why!

Author: Travis Van Slooten
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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