The publishing industry has seen a remarkable evolution since the dawn of the computer era. So much so that it is entirely realistic to envision a world with no paper books being published at all within the next few decades. In the last five years, with the rise of Kindle and the iPad, e-publishing has become a popular choice for many, from authors to scientists to businesses alike.
The Rise of E-Publishing
Academics may have been the first to really latch on to e-publishing. E-publications of scholarly journals and research reports allowed for information to reach a broader audience faster and more effectively.
Book publishing companies soon caught on to the trend, and with the advent of the Kindle, the publishing world made a huge leap into technology. Now, people can have thousands of books on one small, portable device. Â You can carry an entire library in your purse! Again, e-publishing proved to allow more people to access more publications in a way that was even more efficient to the user.
E-publishing also increased in popularity with businesses in sales that chose to publish their catalogues online. When people can shop from home via computer, sales seem to go up. When businesses saw that publishing marketing materials electronically improved sales, many made the switch to drop paperless publishing altogether.
How does E-Publishing Work?
E-publishing in general is a computer-based way of publishing content. In e-publishing, the publication is digitally done, with no need for printing. There are online e-publishers, which is the most commonly found form of e-publishing, as well as e-publications that publish onto compact discs or digital video discs.
E-publishing is similar to the traditional publishing process, minus the step of printing the material. E-publishing also distributes the final product in a different way, namely, through a file to the owner of the content, who then disseminates their publication online.
Why is E-Publishing so Popular?
E-publishing is gaining in popularity for many reasons. It is cheaper to produce e-publications, as well as easier to distribute widely. E-publications are also ‘eco-friendly’ as they use no paper or glue or other physical resources. E-publications, because they are more cost-effective and can be widely distributed, thus attract a range of clientele, from burgeoning authors to large corporations.
The concept of e-publishing is in keeping with the most current innovations in technology, while also affording publishing companies the opportunity to use less resources and yet turn out the same quality of published work.
Readers of e-publications also benefit. E-publications are easily found online and can be downloaded onto any device. Readers can enjoy reading whatever it is – magazine article, research study, or novel ”“ on the device of their choosing, for instance their Kindle, iPad or iPhone.
Academics are continuing to enjoy the rise in e-publishing, too. Research papers, academic journals, scientific studies, are all easily published electronically and readily distributed among students and professors alike. It is possible that electronic versions of these publications reach an even wider audience than previous printed versions did.
While e-publishing is clearly the way forward in our current society, there will be some mourning for the loss of traditional publishing. However, the ease of e-publishing for both content providers and readers has made e-publishing an exceedingly popular choice for people who have information to share.
– Data Czar @ DEO
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