Online Books

Authors, editors, marketers, graphic designers, booksellers, distributors, typesetters, printers, agents, book reviewers, and other professions, all make up the wonderful world of publishing. With sales revenue declining over the past five years, book publishers are feeling the pinch of operating in a declining industry. One may ask, “What is causing the decline in revenue?” And the simplest answer would be technology. The ability to buy online books, or read them from an electronic device, such as the Kobo eBook reader, has drastically changed the way we read books and the direction of publishing companies and booksellers.

The primary goal of this report is to focus on how printed products (like books, magazines, and newspapers) and independent bookstores will survive as technology forces itself into the publishing industry. As an avid book reader, the future of books and bookstores affects me greatly on a personal level, as well as for my future career in the publishing industry; it determines how I read the books I love, and it may determine what my job consists of.

Why Millions are Turning to Online Books

I have years of experience in reading books, going to bookstores, but more recently buying online books. Books have even been adapted to be read from an iPhone, or an electronic book reader, more commonly known as eBook readers, like the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Nobles’ Nook and the latest, Kobo eBook reader. Is it possible that eBook readers will have a large impact on the publishing and book selling worlds?

There are many who are unfamiliar with eBooks or eBook readers, so let’s start the journey there. An eBook is a book published in electronic form, similar to a Word document, which can be delivered to any computer or portable device, using an Internet connection. Early eBooks were generally written in specialty areas, and with a much narrowed audience. The subject matter was usually technical, and not really for recreational use.

With slow speeds, eBooks started to become more popular. As more publishes grasped the idea of eBooks, they began distributing books that were public domain or hard to find. One of the first successful genres of eBooks was romance novels. Considering how “taboo” some find them to be, people were able to buy them discreetly and conveniently.

Around 2001, online books were fully embraced by publishing companies. Once publishers started taking note of eBook popularity, electronics companies started developing models to read them on. This is where the modern day eBook readers come from. New technologies, like e-ink which, mimics the look of paper better than any other display technology, make these devices durable and easier to see in all lighting situations. It gives the reader the feeling of really reading the book.

Even though eBook readers are coming in with a vengeance, and revenues for bookselling are currently slow, these weren’t always the case. The US book publishing industry currently consists of about 2,600 companies with combined annual revenue of about $27 billion. As for the US bookstores industry, they have approximately 10,000 stores with combined annual revenue of about $17 billion. All together these two industries bring in $37 billion a year; for an industry declining, there is still a lot of money to made, and people to make it.

According to industry report analysis, the demand for books is driven by demographics and is usually resistant to economic cycles. How well a retail or independent bookstore does depends on their individual merchandising (what they provide to consumers) and marketing (do they host book signings, school fairs, events , etc.). The profitability of individual companies depends on product development and marketing.

In term of success, small and midsized bookstores (and publishers) can succeed if they find a niche in their area or focus on a specific subject or market. For example, one bookstore may want to focus on teaching materials, and focus their market to local schools and universities. Narrowed market or not, questions still remains; What would life be like without these bookstores and their beloved books? Will eBooks and eBook readers push printed books, magazines, newspapers, and other printed products out of business?

Kobo eBooks & Kobo eBook Reader Review

Sign up to Kobo (kobobooks.com) to access over 2 million eBooks that are compatible with any device you use for reading. Try it FREE! Electronic readers, or eReaders, are not exactly new technology. The Kindle and Nook have been available for years, and the iPad functions as an eBook reader, and just about every smartphone can fill the role of reader as well. Of course, every device has good points and bad points, mostly with regards to price and multitasking capabilities. In fact, the rarity in today’s technology market is the device that only fits one unique need. The Kobo E Reader is just that. This is a device built for reading. Users can expect no GPS, no apps, and no media playing capabilities in the Kobo e Reader. For the most part the Kobo reviews quite well, but as the folks at Engadget have also found out, lacks in a pretty crucial area.

The technical specs on the Kobo eBook reader device features five different type settings for size, which means just about everybody will be able to see the virtual print with ease. The unit also allows for selection between two different styles. The e-ink screen is antiglare and really does make help users forget they are looking at an electronic device. The Kobo comes ready to handle 1000 eBooks, and can be expanded via SD card (up to 4GB) to accommodate around four thousand, which is a fairly heft amount of reading.

Of course having access to that many books means keeping tracking of them as well, and the Kobo offers a few different ways to sort titles: date last read, author, and title. The eBooks on the Kobo eReader also feature a handy table of contents, which makes navigating the eBook a breeze. Plus, the “quilted” soft tacky back of the device allows for easy handling, which is pretty impressive. Navigation is performed by one direction pad and a few buttons on the console. Since this is a bare bones unit, it sells for around $150.

For those that want to get a feel of what you’d get with Kobo download a FREE Kobo eReading App for your smartphone or tablet! Choose from over 2 million eBook titles and get all the online books you want, directly onto your Kobo eReader. Kobo is a global eReading service for smartphones, desktops, eReaders and any other device consumers use for reading. The company’s vision is to deliver any book on any device. Kobo features over 2 million eBooks, including classics and bestsellers. Bestsellers are available for US $9.99 and over 1.8 million eBooks are free. Sign up to Kobo (kobobooks.com) to access over 2 million eBooks that are compatible with any device you use for reading.

Kobo Coupon

Kobo Coupon – Get 25% Off eBook Best Sellers at KoboBooks.com using code ‘Save25Kobo‘. Hurry, ends 12/15