NEW YORK – October 19, 2009 – "It's the Wild West frontier stage of eBook publishing," says Cecilia Tan, in a commentary about understanding the changes in consumer book publishing. Tan warns that publishers need to understand what motivates a reader to buy an eBook, and to create quality eBooks with those motivations in mind. "Publishers whose eBooks are shoddy to begin with are not going to inspire consumer trust the way Amazon.com or Fictionwise (now Barnes & Noble) can."Tan is an author, editor and early pioneer of independent publishing who remade her company, Circlet Press, into a Web 2.0 and eBook business concern. She suggests partnerships with the key online retailers are vital for publishers. "If you bought a Kindle, you are going to purchase from Amazon and not shop around different sites. If you get your start with your very first download from Fictionwise, chances are you will keep buying from Fictionwise. Publishers have to put the books in front of the consumers where the traffic is, just like they used to by packing the shelves in the major bookstores."
For publishers seeking to untangle the growing number of eBook platforms and formats, Digital Book World presents the facts in a FREE webinar, The Truth About eBooks: Devices, Formats, Pirates (Oh, My!) on Wednesday, October 21st at 1 pm EDT. The webinar will address the plethora of devices and formats: where should publishers and authors focus, and what are the best practices for and pros and cons of each.
Tan, along with Debbie Stier of HarperStudio, Matt Schwartz of Random House and Peter Clifton of FiledBy, will also be speaking on the topic during the session Teach Them to Fish: Empowering Authors to Market Themselves at the Digital Book World conference, January 26-27, 2010 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City.
Learn more about Digital Book World programs and events at www.digitalbookworld.com; register before November 15 to receive the discounted early registration rate. Sign up for Digital Book World's e-newsletter here. Follow the event at @digibookworld on Twitter or join the Digital Book World group on LinkedIn.
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Digital Book World is owned and operated by F+W Media, Inc., a leading multimedia company. For nearly a century F+W has provided information and inspiration for core enthusiast communities, including writing, art, graphic design, outdoors, antiques & collectibles, woodworking, among others. The Company’s charter publications Writer’s Digest magazine and Writer’s Market, continue to be the key resources for aspiring and published writers alike. In addition to more than 500 new book titles a year, the Company maintains a backlist of more than 2,500 titles, publishes nearly 40 magazines, owns and operates dozens of informational and subscription-based Web sites, and operates a growing number of successful consumer and trade shows annually.