E-book Evolution

Electronic books, or e-books, have been at the forefront of an exciting evolution unfolding in the publishing world. There are now an estimated 700,000 authors e-publishing worldwide. Since April 2011, Amazon.com has sold 105 e-books for every 100 print copies. China still lags behind the e-book boom due to blatant abuse of intellectual property rights and the wide availability of pirate copies of books, however it is gradually embracing of the new medium poised to change the way we enjoy literature.

Advantages of e-books

Beijing author Liu Jing went on to accomplish what many writers-to-be aspire to do these days when he recently published his 125-page book Understanding China Through Comics on Apple's iTunes and Amazon Kindle ahead of its print edition. "These are the only available major platforms that allowed me to reach a global audience instantly and without concerns over logistics or warehouse management," explained Liu. "The digital version is cheaper, can be instantly downloaded and easily carried around."

"Writers who need more technical support can easily find online services that can help them submit their e-book to different platforms and devices," noted Liu, adding that time was the most valuable equation in this venture. For him, it took three years to publish his book.

"The production cost of an e-book is much lower than the paperback or hardcover versions. Profits are therefore higher. An e-book author can pocket 30-70 percent of the retail price, compared to 5-25 percent from a printed book," he explained.

Although it takes time for an unknown author to build a fan base, the average lifespan of a book printed by a traditional publisher is around 18 months. In contrast, an e-book can remain on sale indefinitely, without worries of it taking up a bookstore's valuable shelf space. Interaction and feedback from readers is another advantage of e-publishing, as it is easy to chart consumption patterns and create a mailing list for opinion surveys, promotions and the release of an author's next book.