The books and publishing sector passed through a lot of transformations over the past years with eBooks gaining prominence. Ever since, digitization evoked in every sphere of life with mobile apps in the lead role, books and publications businesses too made a breakthrough with the same. Known as “Digital versions of the printed books”, eBooks circulate on the internet as PDF files. They can be read on a range of smart devices, eReaders like Amazon’s Kindle that promise a hassle-free comfortable reading experience. On the other hand, apps are there as basic tools to help reading eBooks in smartphones, tablets for those who do not own an eReader.
No doubt, the eBook industry is in its infancy stage and far away from influencing its massive number of publishers. However, till date, it has only proved to widen the market scopes for the publishing houses exceptionally. Read on the following section about some notable trends that are presently observed in the eBooks industry.
#1 More publications than readers
Here publications do not mean print copies but digital copies. Many times, books go out of stock in the bricks-and-mortar stores, for new or popular releases, disheartening the bookworms. That’s an impossible case for eBooks which at no time can go out of print. Further, it is cheaper and convenient to enter the eBooks arena, unlike print media. Thus, eBooks revolution resulted in an exponential rise in publications while readership rose gradually.
#2 Subscriptions models churning more profits
Readers or especially the bookworms always have the will to pay for good reads, because that’s what they are passionate about. That’s why the comeback of subscriptions models in the digital genre favoured the publishers a lot. The success of subscription-based reads like Kinfolk showed that digital prints are gaining momentum in the revenue models and readers are going for it.
#3 Minimalistic approach to design
Neutral colours, spacious content layout, higher contrast, and authentic photography are the few main design elements that help an eBook app stand out in the publishing industry. These are essential as they provide an alike experience of a printed book to the readers, but at free or low costs.
#4 Self-publishing will become more prominent
In the earlier context, getting a story or information published meant associating with a hardcore publishing agency. However, the occurrence of eBooks empowered storytellers and journalists for self-publishing. Most eReading apps offer a direct publish option to get their work to the world in 1-2 days.
#5 Books reviews and discussions
The authors not only need a consistent reader base but also should make efforts to get more readers. Thus, apps are having the corresponding segment for letting reader post informative reviews, engage in thought-provoking discussions on a particular read, share their reviews on social media. All these help authors to spark up their presence in the mobile and web world.
No doubt, apps and smart devices are transforming the business models of publishing houses to a completely digital environment. However, competition is on the rise in this sector too. Publishers and self-publishers should not only restrict the mobile engagement to reading but also engage readers in other activities like reviews, social sharing, discussions, etc.