eBooks: Will you love them or leave them?

Although eBooks have been around for quite a while they are only just now starting to become part of the mainstream.  Things are still changing very rapidly for eBook retailers, publishers and readers.  Apple’s entry into the eBook market with the launch of iBooks and the iPad has indeed been a game changer.

If you are a bit of a skeptic, I’m here to tell you that eBooks do have some advantages.  Because they are electronic they can be loaded onto several devices.  You can carry hundreds of books with you and reference them whenever you want.  If you see a book you want you don’t have to wait.  You can download your book to your reader and have it in a few minutes.  eBooks can also provide some enhanced features like links, definitions, audio, videos and more.

If you decided to join the eBook world there are a number of readers to chose from based on price and features.  The two most famous right now are the Kindle and the iPad.

The Kindle is a pure reader and that is its only function.  The Kindle is easy to read.  Like all readers you can adjust the font size (so you don’t have to squint) and look words up in the built-in dictionary.  One thing that people really like about the Kindle is that you can get your book (from Amazon only, though) from any location where you can get access to the phone network (although a small fee applies for each use).  With WiFi, you can also mail books to your Kindle from other sources.  However, you will have to convert your books (via Amazon) if they were bought elsewhere unless they are a PDF.  Until recently the Kindle was quite expensive, but competition has caused Amazon to drop the price significantly.

I love the iPad.  The advantage is that it is multifunctional.  You can play games, read a newspaper, listen to music, read your email, watch a video, type notes and so on.  Oh yeah, you can read books too.  You can buy books from Apple but books bought at the Apple store, right now at least, can only run on an Apple device.  However, you can load books from other sources in ePub format or PDF format.  To read books on the “i” device, you simply download a free copy of iBooks and add your .epub or .PDF books to your library in iTunes.

There are other readers you might also want to consider, for example, the Kobo is a low cost reader which works well.

eBooks and Bridge Books

It is relatively hard to convert bridge books to ePub format, since the hand diagrams and auctions have to stay together and you need to incorporate special suit symbols.  It takes time and know-how.  If you buy a non-Master Point Press title, be warned, it may not be readable.  It’s a hard job to create good bridge eBooks (believe me, we know!).  PDF’s are much easier to work with and most books in that format should work well on most devices.

PDF’s are most suitable for use on a computer and ePub format (or equivalent) are best for readers, although both can be used with suitable software on either device.  Most vendors charge separately for each format.  But at Master Point Press we plan on providing purchasers with both formats at no extra cost, so you can enjoy your book effectively on your PC or your reader, whatever way you want.

At the moment most vendors will be very helpful.  If you have a problem, lose a book or get the wrong thing, they will provide a replacement.

If this all sounds a bit complicated, it really isn’t.  Even if you only have a computer you can download a PDF version of your book and read it, or download an ePub version and read it that way (you will also need to download a free ePub reader).

Printing: All Master Point Press PDF’s can be printed.  If you want a printed copy use your PDF version and print it from your PC (or just print out that critical page or two).  This is generally true of many PDF’s from other sources (although some may be locked to prevent printing).

Free Downloads: There are lots of free downloads around that you can read on your reader.  www.eBooksBridge.com has a number of books and other material.  If you look around you will find there are free books in all formats available, especially books that are no longer in copyright.  Robinson Crusoe anyone?

Pricing: eBooks almost always cost less than the comparable paperback.  After all, there is no printing cost so the publisher can charge a bit less.  But the cost of developing a book is the same and with a retailer, an author, an editor, a designer and more to pay, well-produced books will still cost more than a few cents.  At this point the business arrangements between the publishers and online retailers are in flux so not every book will be available from every source.  All Master Point Press eBooks (and some others) will be available at www.eBooksBridge.com as well as other sources upon completion.

If you are interested in selling a bridge eBook contact us at editorial@bridgeblogging.com.  We have a program for publishing bridge books as eBooks with a high return to the author.  For more details refer to the Honors eBooks FAQs at www.eBooksBridge.com.