Online book publishing – what you should know

Online book publishing, free online book publishing, and book publishing online, are typical phrases that people will plug into Google and other search engines in an effort to discover a service for publishing books on the Internet.

However, the term online book publishing is really a misnomer, because, rather than being published online, the vast majority of books are published traditionally, although the Internet may be part of the production process and is often part of the book distribution, marketing and publicity process in book publishing.

The confusion with the term online book publishing is that it paints a mental picture of a book being made available for reading over the Internet by the publisher. In fact, efforts at offering books for reading on the Internet have not been overly successful.

Book readers prefer a “hard” copy of their books
A number of authors have tried it, with the books being made available in installments on a membership site, or similar “pay as your read” mechanism. The idea seems logical, but it did not appeal to book readers, who are a traditional group.<P>

Book readers want to have a “hard” copy of their book to read whenever and wherever they please rather than having to use their computer. Although the Internet and its many online information services attracts millions of people, most of us do not want to spend the time it takes to read a full length book, staring at our computer screen.

Many books are however now made available in electronic form, usually as pdf files and can be sold and downloaded to the book reader’s computer. Usually, however people will print out the pdf of the book rather than attempting to read it on-screen. This process is not what most people are thinking of when they use the term online book publishing.

Any form of book publishing costs a lot of money
There are a number services offered on the Internet to publish books in electronic form, just as there are companies in the United States and Canada who will offer to print the book you have written – but for a substantial fee. There is also software for formatting books, which art directors at publishing companies use to convert word processing files into formatted book pages for printing or E-delivery.

Publishers can save money by offering E-Books, or electronic books, because they do not have to pay the traditional costs of printing and normal distribution to bookstores and other outlets for their books. However, one of the biggest costs in successfully launching a book and getting it into the hands of many readers is in marketing costs to promote the book effectively. This usually includes a hefty advertising and public relations budget.

So, if you are thinking of online book publishing as a means of reaching your audience, remember that unless there are some philanthropic publishers out there, there is no free online book publishing generally available. You will still have to pay regular publishing costs involved with editing your book, preparing it for publication, whether in traditional or electronic form, and the costs of getting your book into the market.