E-readers have been on the market for over a decade now, and in this changing publishing landscape, one thing is certain: ebooks aren’t going anywhere.
When ebooks first reached the scene, people either hated or loved them. Now, it’s more than likely that a regular reader will still buy both print and ebooks. We each have our preferences, but here are our top 15 reasons why, as readers and writers, we aren’t going to be giving away our kindles and nooks anytime soon!
1) The Public Domain and Project Gutenberg
Several decades after the death of an author, a work goes into the public domain, which means it’s available for public use. If you’re into reading classics, you’ll find that many works in the public domain are available as free ebooks. Project Gutenberg is our favorite source of these works. Offering over 47,000 ebooks for free to the public, this organization has the best (and scholar-annotated) books around!
2) It Won’t Break the Bank—Probably
Because ebooks are digital files and don’t have the added cost of physical production, they are usually less expensive than their print counterparts. If you’re a voracious reader, you’ll find that you’ll spend a lot less money on your home library, and if you’re a writer, you’ll find that more people will be willing to pay $5 on an untested author than $15.
3) Synchable, Like the Titanic
This is a relatively new perk of ebooks and e-readers. You can go from your Kindle Fire to your smart phone to your computer without ever losing your place. As long as you use the same app (like the Kindle or iBooks), you aren’t married to one device, and can switch at will.
4) Small Moment Reads
If you’re anything like me, you probably love bringing a book with you on errands to take advantage of the short 5-minute intervals while you wait. But if you’re also like me, you forget to bring your book more often than not. By putting ebooks on your phone, you’ll never be bored while you wait in the checkout line!
5) Black Eye-Free Zone
I love to read in bed, or laying down on the couch. But I don’t love accidentally dropping huge tomes on my face as I read, which happens just about every time I try. Thank goodness e-readers, tablets, and phones are fewer sharp edges, and allow pages to be turned without taking my hands away!
6) No More Judgment
There are lots of different kinds of reading—reading to expand your mind, reading to challenge you, reading to entertain you. But unfortunately, not all types of reading are considered equal, even though they’re all great for you. And if you’re in public, you might feel uncomfortable reading the type of book you want to read, because you may feel you’re being judged. No one should ever feel ashamed of their reading choices, and ebooks will help you overcome it! No covers means no one knows if you’re reading a bodice-ripper or Proust. Just do what works for you, and be happy!
7) Reads-In-Progress
How many times have you sat down to read and just can’t quite get into a story, only to switch to another genre and become absolutely enthralled? Well, e-readers allow you to change your books without ever losing your place or putting your device down. Reading 2, 10, or even 20 books at once is so easy with an entire library at your fingertips.
8) Sharing is Caring
Most ebooks are read on internet-capable devices, which means that you can shop, read, and share your books without leaving the couch. As soon as your finished, you can review, recommend, or lend the book to friends and strangers alike. Reading definitely doesn’t have to be an individual experience, anymore!
9) Customizable
Epub and mobi files are in what’s called a flowable layout which means that the amount of text you see on a page isn’t fixed like it is with a book, or even a pdf.
You can change the settings on your ereader or app to display the text as large or as small as you want, which means easier reading for you, and less work for your ophthalmologist.
10) Instant Gratification, Part I
Ebooks give you the ability to download a book in seconds with just the click of a button, from anywhere in the world. Need we say more?
11) Instant Gratification, Part II
As an author, one of the worst things is waiting months for sales statements to come back from your distributor, and royalty checks coming in even later. Ebooks mean instant sales, which equals instant money. With kindle and mobi files, you can track your sales and rankings in real-time, and collect the check as well!
12) KDP Select
KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Select is a specific program for ebook author who want to sell their ebook through Amazon only for the first 90 days. In exchange, they get a 5-day period when they can reduce the price of their ebook to get more downloads. If strategized correctly, authors can have thousands of downloads per day during their giveaway, which generates reviews and more sales. We’ve seen more 16,000 downloads of a book in a 5-day period—and that’s a lot of readers.
13) Easy Peasy Giveaways
A lot of indie authors want to have giveaways when their book comes out (or to have ARCs to get early reviews), but the cost of shipping prohibits it. Well, ebooks and digital ARCs can be emailed to winners and reviewers, all at no cost to the author.
14) Typos Galore
You’re edited your book. You’ve gotten a proofreader. You’ve put the MS through Grammarly. And yet, your book comes out and has a HUGE typo you just can’t live with. Well, good thing that ebooks are editable at no or minimal cost to you. And you don’t have to wait until you’re ready for a reprint!
15) Way More Room for Activities
Life-long readers almost always have this in common: they’re out of room on their shelves, and they’re out of room to put NEW shelves. This is a problem. Luckily, adding hundreds of new books to your kindle or nook library won’t add any weight to your shelves, and will make moving a lot easier.
Readers, do you love ebooks? Why or why not?
