e-Books: an author's view

For a change - instead of looking at e-books in libraries or e-book readers - here is a view of e-books from an author's - well, several authors'... actually several science fiction authors' points of view.

An interesting view point... Which presents a few hard truths that both publishers and authors might need to face, if the format is going to be a long-term success. e-Books have a limited audience; small sales and limited exposure (or even availability); they suffer from a lack of professional credit; there is certainly a lack of marketing; and e-book publishers apparently do not pay advances. Other issues (there are more?):

the ebook audience is self-selecting, and not representative of the general book-reading public. Brisk sales in the electronic marketplace won't necessarily translate into print popularity. Also, many commercial publishers want to purchase electronic rights as part of a total package. If your electronic rights are tied up with an epublisher, it may make your work a harder sell in the print market.

The article - from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in a Writers Beware series - suggests that e-publishers "run the gamut from very amateurish to very professional" and goes on to offer some tips for choosing a publisher to depend on. They also link readers to the EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection) site which has some serious and very sensible hints on negotiating a contract.

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