What is an Electronic Book?

For many people ebook is still a mystery. What is it exactly and what makes it so appealing to many readers worldwide? What are the advantages of electronic publishing? An ebook is a literary work compressed into a file instead of being printed on standard pages clipped together in a cover. E-book is a new way to produce and relate information to readers and as an alternative to the conventional tends to be more attractive to the generation of people used to finding all the resources they need on the Internet. E-book is a busy person’s way to find time to remember that reading can be fun.

Over the past decades a decline in interest in reading was noted among the younger generations. Children growing up in 1990’s were more interested in spending their times by the computer and chatting away with their countless online friends or playing online games. Reading levels in schools dropped bringing about alarming results. Children were not interested in libraries and book stores. They were interested in computers. In view of this new trend and the declining tendency for an old paperback or hard cover volumes the ebooks gained tremendous popularity with the younger generations, managing to also entice whole groups of older population as well.

E-book fans are noticed everywhere today, reading in public from palm sized PDA’s. Personal computers come equipped with programs such as Microsoft reader, which allows easy access to a newly downloaded file containing a whole book. The whole ebook can fit into a few gigabytes of memory, taking up less space on the computer than it would on the bookshelf. The information that is contained in the ebook is same as in a conventional book only much easier to obtain. Files could be transferred from computer to computer, from PDA to a desktop, from the laptop to a disc, all within minutes.

Authors who wish to make their work known to the public can create their own electronic books and publish them online where the work could be viewed and downloaded. On top of that they can be totally in control of the book design, which allows for more creativity and hands on experience on the author’s part. Publishing is no longer just about finding a publisher who will accept your work. With ebook invention its about whether or not you can find enough resources to put your work on the web to be viewed by others. It is a great way to be noticed for someone who is not seeking monetary rewards but wants to share their views with fellow readers.

Generally e-books simplified lives of millions of people everywhere just by creating a way to access information with minimum time spent. The impact is great since those who grew up on the culture of World Wide Web can read and download their favorite works right to their computers, thus providing a whole new future for publishing.

How Do You Manage to Read so Many Books?

Some years ago I had a long discussion with a book reviewer. You can probably guess the first question I asked: "How do you manage to read so many books?"

The answer did take me aback somewhat. "I read the first few pages, the last page and the dust jacket. That's all. Then I write the review."

Let's think about this. Does the book reviewer need to faithfully fulfill their assignment in just skimming a little off the top and guessing the rest? Clearly, there are two schools of thought.

The purists would be horrified that such a slap-dash approach be employed and for which the reviewer would be paid. Others might not be so harsh in their judgment. After all, look at how most people decide whether or not to buy a book.

When buying a book the first thing you probably do is read the dust jacket. If that appeals, then you scan through a few pages to check the size of the print, style of writing and anything else of interest. Perhaps you might even read the last page, just to see how it all finishes up. That's about all. Then you make a decision. It's a stab in the dark.

Over many years I've come to the conclusion that book reviews should not be taken as the definitive opinion of standard. Reviewers have varying views about subject matter, style of writing and so on. Everybody has an individual taste.

My conclusion is that you should select a book which has legible type, a good author and a subject which interests you. Somebody else's opinion is of lesser importance, certainly to me.

Getting back to the book reviewer, I'm not convinced that the entire book needs to be read. An experienced writer will quickly pick up the drift of a book in much less time than most of us imagine.

Writing A Book

We all have to deal with writer's block from time to time. In fact, as I started this article, I was staring at a blank document and wondering just what to say. It seems that words on a page beget other words on that page, and that no words on a page can act like a brick wall. How do you overcome these blocks? Let's see if we can answer that question...

Often, the simplest and easiest way to overcome your block is to just sit and write about anything that comes to mind, even if it's not what you were intending to write. As I mentioned above, just simply putting words on a page will often stimulate the creativity in your brain and guide you down the correct path to writing what you need to write. Sometimes, we paralyze ourselves with overanalyzing and overthinking about what we want to write.

Another way to get your creative juices flowing is to refer to your outline (you do have an outline, right?). This will help you to organize your thoughts and put you into the proper frame of mind to write. If you find you just cannot start at the beginning, then start on another part of your project. It may be that you are better prepared to write some other part of the project, while your mind subconsciously works out the problems of another area.

A third way of dealing with writer's block is to step away for a little bit and do some exercise. I find that going outside and taking a 20 minute walk while letting my mind wander almost always does the trick. I may not even spend any time thinking about what I want to write, but somehow the words get found through the process.

The next time you find yourself the victim of a writer's block, give one of these techniques a try. I'm sure that you'll find that at least one of them will work for you. Every writer experiences this from time to time, even the great ones. It's your ability to deal with writer's block proactively that will separate you from the "wannabe" writers.

Is Publishing A Printed Book Really Worth The Time And Effort

Unlike eBooks or white papers or other digital information products, designing, publishing and promoting printed books can be a "stuffy" and time-consuming process. Thanks to centuries of publishing practice and establish standards, printed books have a set, defined structure, which you'll need to follow, if you want to be taken seriously as an author and a publisher.

Yes, preparing your information for the print world can be a real pain, at times. It takes days, even weeks, longer than cranking out digital products, and you may not make as much money on the finished product, thanks to competitive pricing that sets the cost of a print book dramatically lower than what is really cost-effective. In a way, the publishing industry maintains its monopoly based on unfair and unrealistic pricing structures, and it traditionally excludes authors and independent publishers who cannot afford to offer deep discounts for their works.

To some infopreneurs, the hassle and the lower profit margins may not seem worth it. But if you want your ideas to reach a wider audience, and you want your ideas to be taken seriously by the book readers of the world, all that effort is necessary, and it can really pay off. Indeed, how well you follow the conventions of print book publishing can mean the difference between being taken seriously by reviewers, interviewers, and your reading public, and being dismissed as just another wanna-be writer who got their hands on some advanced technology and a credit card. Well-structured sections in the front and back (called "front matter" and "back matter", respectively) like title pages, copyright statements, a table of contents, introductions... bibliographies, endnotes, and about-the-author information, can go a long way towards establishing a visual authenticity with readers, that you just can't get in eBook format.

Print publishing opens a whole new market for your ideas -- the millions of individuals who love to read books, and who prefer them to digital media. Not everyone has a laptop computer they can take with them everywhere, and not everyone likes to read 8-1/2 x 11 printouts. When your ideas are in print, they become instantly accessible to readers the world over, regardless of their technical skill or the availability of a computer. There are no batteries or power cords required, and when someone opens a book, they don't need to wait for it to start up, before they can begin reading.

Now, to many infopreneurs who are adept at creating eBooks and white papers, print book publishing may be something of a mystery. But it doesn't have to be complicated. If you're a fiercely independent person, and you prefer to do things yourself, rather than turn them over to others who may (or may not) be competent and as detail-oriented as you, learning how to publish a print book could be just the thing to take your writing and publishing efforts to the next level. You can extend the reach of your information product line, you can approach mainstream traditional media outlets for publicity, you can do live book readings at real-live bookstores, and you can take your book with you wherever you go, to show the world what you've got.

Writing and publishing isn't just about selling product. Yes, having a printed book opens you up to a whole new audience, but commercial profit isn't the only point of publishing. For you as an independent thinker -- a thought leader -- publishing is really about getting your ideas out there and making your mark. With the proper tools, an eye for detail, and the right information, you, too, can turn your digital information products into high-quality printed books that widen the reach of your ideas and speak to a larger audience in a whole new way.

all about books

Technology is a wonderful thing indeed. It makes life easier in almost every aspect. One such area is searching for your favorite book on audio. Gone are those days of spending long hours, days or even wees looking for the book you want. For example, 20 years ago if you were searching for a particular book you would have to physically visit your local public library.

As if that was not manual work enough, you would then have to spend laborious hours searching through the huge collection of books therein, all in an attempt to find the book you want. And who says you would end up locating your book? Often times you could not find the book you wanted, even with the help of the librarians. But gone are those days. Now with the Internet you can find any information you want with just a few mouse clicks.

If for example, you are looking for a particular audio book, you can get started with the search engines. Simply visit any of the major search engines and type the book title you are looking for with the word "audio book" included. By simply doing this you will be presented with the most relevant results for your search.

These online audio bookstores have special search features on their sites which you can use to find the particular audio book title you are searching for. Using these search features on the sites is similar to using the search feature on your favorite search engine.

The major advantage is that you are searching the database of the particular bookstore (very focused search), unlike the search engines which search the entire database of websites that they have (obviously unfocused search).

To get started, visit any of these online audio book stores and enter the particular audio book title you are searching for. If you know the exact title or author name, put it in the se