Welcome to the 28th issue of Pineapplesoft Link. In March, Stephen King published "Riding the bullet", the first short-story by a major author available exclusively in electronic format. The month was rich in events for the young electronic publishing industry -- a topic that has long been close to my heart.

eBooks and ePublishing

Even if you had never heard of eBooks before, chances are the publication of Stephen King's "Riding the Bullet" in March has helped filled the gap. Stephen King is the first major author to publish a work exclusively in electronic format.

eBooks are important to all of us: as readers (and we all know that technicians are huge book consumers) and maybe also as producer of information (is a web site an ePublishing venture?).

The Various Forms of eBooks

eBooks are books distributed in electronic format. In other words, instead of receiving a stack of paper, you receive a file which you can view on your PC or on a special reader. The special readers are not unlike PalmPilots but they are limited to books (no diary) and have a more comfortable screen. If you have never seen an eBook and are curious, pay a visit to http://www.mightywords.com or http://www.bn.com/ebook.

A related technology is print-on-demand. With print-on-demand, a book is printed specifically for a buyer. No stock is held but the reader receives a familiar, paper document. The quality of print-on-demand is comparable to regular books: the printing is crisp and clear, the book is bound and has a cover like a regular book. You can try print-on-demand at http://www.iuniverse.com.

eBooks and ePublishing represent a new market and many believe that it will replace traditional/paper publishing in the not-so-distant future. However there are probably as many people who think that paper books are here to stay!

ePublishing is a complicated issue because there are many facets to it. In this article, I will limit myself to eBooks and self-publishing.

I am very interested in this whole issue, both as a reader and as a writer. So if you want to discuss some more, drop me an email

From eBooks...

The promises of eBooks are many. One of the most prominent promises is to remove inventory and lower distribution costs; thereby lowering the cost of book manufacturing. Indeed it is very costly to print 10,000 copies of a book but it costs next to nothing to store a file on a web server where it is available worldwide.

This is a hotly debated issue. In fairness, nobody knows whether eBooks will be cheaper, as or more expensive than their paper-counterparts. For one thing, printing typically accounts for 10% of the book price. Bring it down to zero and it still leaves the other 90%.

So I'm not sure eBooks will make much difference for established publishers in the near future. However they are making a difference for self-published authors. Self-published authors publish their own work. Printing represent a huge cost for the self-publisher. For example, it may cost up to $10,000 to print 5,000 copies of a book. That's the sort of figure that makes you think twice before you commit to self-publishing. Bring the figure closer to zero and suddenly it seems more feasible.

This is the promise behind a site like mightywords.com. According to the web site, all you need to self-publish is a word processor and Internet access. mightywords.com takes the orders and delivers for you. They charge a very small hosting fee.

What to publish? Anything. These haiku poems you write in your spare time, your very own Microsoft Word guide, the paper that got a "A"-grade, the report your customers like so much or your memoirs.

...to ePublishing

Does it look too good to be true? I think so. mightwords.com (and others) claim to be publishers paying 50% royalties but they take on only a very small portion of the publisher's role. In fact, to me, they act mainly as a vanity press.

When stepping into self-publishing, you'll quickly discover that a publisher does more than running the press and taking orders. For example, the publisher is responsible for the quality of the book. He or she will make sure that the text has been properly edited, that it is correctly typeset and that it has been proofread.

The publisher also distributes the book and works with the author in promoting it. There is no point in preparing a great book unless the world knows about it. Likewise it is useless to advertise unless it is available to buyers.

The publisher invests some effort because he has a vested interest in the book's success: he has invested some money, he wants to recover it and, hopefully, make a profit.

The same should be true when self-publishing. Somebody must take on the publisher's roles and ensure proper editing, typesetting, promotion, and more. mightywords.com does none of these.

A Niche Market

I am currently working on a second book for Que (more on this in a future edition of Pineapplesoft Link). As I have already discovered with XML by Example, preparing a book is a significant effort. The investment to write, edit, proofread, review, index, typeset, distribute and promote it is huge. Not to mention printing. This sort of investment is best shared with a publisher.

However I believe there is a niche market where self-published eBooks can play a nice role: the short technical report. Try to publish a 70 pages something and you'll find it's nearly impossible. Seventy pages is too small for a book but too large for an article. They are not economically feasible.

Yet there are many topics that are adequately covered in 70 pages. eBooks may establish a new niche market for these. I find it significant that Stephen King's first foray in eBooks is with a short story: Riding the Bullet has 68 pages.

Furthermore I think eBooks are particularly valuable for technical documents. First and foremost, readers are familiar with technology so they won't be afraid if, say, they need to install a special viewer.

Secondly technology changes often so it is important to be able to update the document frequently. Again, electronic publishing is ideal for rapid and frequent changes.

Thirdly, because they age rapidly, technical documents are also rapidly discarded. In my experience, I don't buy information in electronic format if I feel it will has long-lasting value. I simply don't trust Microsoft to retain compatibility for more than a year or two. So I would hesitate to buy an eBook novel because I expect to read again in a few years. Clearly, that's seldom the case with technical documents.

Finally technical documents are often used as references: you may not read them from cover to cover but browse for specific information. This is one area where eBooks shine: you can not only read them but search them as well.

Issues

And yet, for all its attractiveness, eBook self-publishing is not without risks. The main issue is that the market is new and largely untried. There are three signs that I find significant of a young market.

Firstly to break even on such a venture, you probably need to sell 3000 to 4000 copies. That's not a lot when compared with regular book sales but it is huge when compared with current eBook sales (except for Stephen King, of course).

One of the reasons is probably that the distribution channel is so small: there are tens of thousands of libraries in the US (online and offline), yet an eBook is available only on one web site!

Secondly there is piracy. Within days of being available online, Stephen King "Riding the Bullet" was pirated (which make little sense, given most sites offered it for free).

Currently most eBooks are sold just like software was sold 10 years ago: the user has a license to view the eBook on one machine and a more or less annoying protection mechanism limits what he or she can do with the eBook. Protections proved ineffective for software, I'd be surprised they would work with eBooks.

Also it does not follow the traditional book model: I often lend books to friends or colleagues. In most cases, they end up buying the book if they find it valuable.

Finally it appears that eBooks sell better bundled with other documents or other products. Yet another sign that readers do not know what to do with eBooks.

Conclusion

If you have short documents of commercial value, or if you plan to develop some, you might want to try self-publishing them as eBooks but beware that the market is still young and immature. This is a new road, fraught with risks but it is also a new opportunity.

I would not be surprised to see associations of authors forming with the sole purpose of cross-promoting and developing self-published eBooks. I intend to give this market a try, so watch this space for fresh news. Again, I welcome comments and suggestions, via email.

Self-Promotion Department

"XML by Example" is still going strong. If you want to comment on the book, drop me an email .

Next month, I'm hosting a training event for Edifrance in Paris (12 March 2000, www.edifrance.org). I will also talk at the XML BeJUG event in Brussels (26 March 2000, www.bejug.org). Hope to see you there!

About Pineapplesoft Link

Pineapplesoft Link is a free email magazine. Each month, it discusses technologies, trends and facts of interest to web developers.

The information and design of this issue of Pineapplesoft Link are owned by Benoit Marchal and Pineapplesoft. Permission to copy or forward it is hereby granted provided it is prefaced with the words: "As appeared in Pineapplesoft Link - http://www.pineapplesoft.com."

Editor: Benoit Marchal
Publisher: Pineapplesoft www.psol.be

Acknowledgments: thanks to Sean McLoughlin MBA for helping me with this issue.

Back issues are available at http://www.psol.be/old/1/newsletter/.

Although the editor and the publisher have used reasonable endeavors to ensure accuracy of the contents, they assume no responsibility for any error or omission that may appear in the document.

Last update: April 2000.
© 2000, Benoît Marchal. All rights reserved.
Design, XSL coding & photo: PineappleSoft OnLine.