EBooks and Paperbacks...

Branch,
What is the difference between ebooks and paperback books?

                                           George P.,  Atlanta, GA

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Thanks for your question.

The primary difference is of course, the format and physical structure. Traditionally published books are either printed as hard covers or paperbacks. Ebooks, as the name denotes, are electronic publications formatted  to be read on PC screens or a variety of e-reader devices.

From a consumer standpoint, ebooks are generally less expensive or (often) free, easy to store and accessible virtually anytime you power up your ereader and you can carry literally hundreds if not thousands with you.

From an author's point of view, ebooks are the way, and wave of the future. Recent sales figures for the publishing industry bear out ebooks are the only segment of the publishing and reading markets which continuing to grow. As more and more young readers with computer skills enter the school and consumer markets, this increase of ebook proliferation should continue unabated. As I describe in my book, Pathways To Publishing, by the time my grandchildren are my age, I believe the only place one will find printed books will be in museums, archives or private collections. (Be sure to save any first editions of books or author
signed paperback and hard cover books you may have or acquire.)

From a (self)publisher's standpoint, ebooks are the easiest, fastest, and least costly way to get a book manuscript finished and available for sale in the marketplace. The requirements of ebook production are minimal and fairly easy to accomplish when compared with other avenues of publishing today. Many of the larger ebook distribution systems (Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble) have similar industry requirements, much the same as for printed books, but generally speaking, ebooks can be marketed and sold without many of the publishing or legal requirements needed for printed books.

From a marketing position, all the ebook author needs is an Internet connection, a web site and/or a distribution contract with one or more ebook distributors.

Hope this answers the basics of your question. For more information and answers, check out my book, Pathways To Publishing, in ebook format.  You can download the first 15% of the book for free and get started reading and learning how to self-publish your book or ebook.

All the best,
Branch