5 Ways EBooks Are Changing Reading for the Better
The cost of producing a traditional book is very high and dominated by expensive overheads. In contrast the cost of producing an eBook is very low. Whilst this hasn't led to a large difference in price between tradional books and ebooks it has greatly increased the number of authors who are able to get their books in the hands of readers. Previously, which books would get published and into the hands of readers was decided by a small number of staff at publishing houses. Now with eBooks and the low cost of self publishing an eBook, anyone can easily and cheaply make their book available for the public to read, which means the success of a book is no longer in the hands of a few people working at publishers and is much more up to how much the reading public like a book.
The fact that eBooks are being read on computing devices means they are able to take advantage of the power of these devices. This leads to more interactive books, which are especially effective at capturing the imagination of children. For example, authors can introduce games in to the middle of books and allow readers to unlock further chapters once they have completed the game. This increased 'fun' in interactive ebooks beyond the usual pop-up books had the opportunity to make readers of many more young children than before.
Education is the third area where ebooks are changing reading. In developing countries the cost of acquiring textbooks for every child in schools is very high. Publishers have cooperated by producing low cost versions of their textbooks but these books are still expensive for schools because of the cost of producing and delivering these books. Now with eBooks and low cost eBook readers, eBook textbooks (many of which are produced free of charge by education charities) can be delivered to schools worldwirde for virtually zero cost.
One thing that can really break flow and immersion in books is reading a typo in the book. With eBooks, when errors like this are detected, they can be fixed extremely quickly and in some cases the fix can be pushed out to people who have already bought the book. Another facet of this is that eBooks can spend less time being checked for such errors because they can be corrected so easily for little cost, whereas traditional paper books, because they cannot be corrected so easily, must spend alot of time being proof read.
The last way that eBook are changing reading is in the area of portability. With modern eBook readers weighing no more than a small paperback, people who like to travel light can still take long books with them. Whereas previously if someone wanted to take George RR Martin's Game of Throne's series with them on a holiday they would need a separate bag for them, now they need only slip an eBook reader into their luggage. This will also stop authors and publishers from being discouraged from producing long books, as previously, large heavy books would be dismissed by some people as too big to fit in their handbag or too heavy to carry around all day, this is no longer a problem with eBooks.
The fact that eBooks are being read on computing devices means they are able to take advantage of the power of these devices. This leads to more interactive books, which are especially effective at capturing the imagination of children. For example, authors can introduce games in to the middle of books and allow readers to unlock further chapters once they have completed the game. This increased 'fun' in interactive ebooks beyond the usual pop-up books had the opportunity to make readers of many more young children than before.
Education is the third area where ebooks are changing reading. In developing countries the cost of acquiring textbooks for every child in schools is very high. Publishers have cooperated by producing low cost versions of their textbooks but these books are still expensive for schools because of the cost of producing and delivering these books. Now with eBooks and low cost eBook readers, eBook textbooks (many of which are produced free of charge by education charities) can be delivered to schools worldwirde for virtually zero cost.
One thing that can really break flow and immersion in books is reading a typo in the book. With eBooks, when errors like this are detected, they can be fixed extremely quickly and in some cases the fix can be pushed out to people who have already bought the book. Another facet of this is that eBooks can spend less time being checked for such errors because they can be corrected so easily for little cost, whereas traditional paper books, because they cannot be corrected so easily, must spend alot of time being proof read.
The last way that eBook are changing reading is in the area of portability. With modern eBook readers weighing no more than a small paperback, people who like to travel light can still take long books with them. Whereas previously if someone wanted to take George RR Martin's Game of Throne's series with them on a holiday they would need a separate bag for them, now they need only slip an eBook reader into their luggage. This will also stop authors and publishers from being discouraged from producing long books, as previously, large heavy books would be dismissed by some people as too big to fit in their handbag or too heavy to carry around all day, this is no longer a problem with eBooks.
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