At the end of 2013, Amazon had 2.3 million eBooks available for the reading public’s enjoyment.  And, if that seems like a lot… Several sources estimate there will be another 250,000 eBooks published every 3 months in 2014!  So, by the end of this year, poof, another million books.  All I can say is WOW!

I remember attending a writer’s conference in October of 2010 where most of the literary agents and publishers in attendance poo-pooed eBooks in general and several even commented that eBooks were a passing fad.  And yet, when a panel of these publishers and literary agents were questioned directly about eBooks and independent publishing as the new trend, if you watched closely, you could see it and, yes, even feel it…they were uncertain and concerned about the future of the established way of publishing as a whole.  And over the past couple of years, I have watched as publishers have increased the price of eBook editions (which originally were supposed to cost readers less) and in some cases, they now cost more than the print editions. Why???  Once it’s been uploaded, it’s done. There’s no paper, printing, distribution, or postage costs as with print copies.  Another great advantage to eBooks are those pesky little errors that are easily missed by authors, editors, and readers because our brains auto-correct them. They can be here today and gone tomorrow – if we’re driven to having an error free read – instead of waiting for the next printing run!

Also during this 2010 conference, there was a lecturer in attendance who had already embraced this new tend and was willing to provide free guidance, support, and supply a network of reliable resources to any author willing to listen. Luckily, I was one of the novice authors who attended both of his lectures.  So when I left the conference, I was confident in my decision to embrace this new trend and succeed!

I have thought long and hard about the current publishing explosion. On one hand, I think it’s great; and yet, on the other hand, with so many books being released in such a short period of time, I wonder how new authors will ever be discovered. However, I am confident that if these debuting authors have the gut-burning passion to write, are serious enough about their work to learn the craft of writing, (which may take years) and hire a professional editor to help them release the very best work possible, the readers will find them.

Personally, I believe this is just the beginning.  Where we’ll be in another 3 to 5 years is anyone’s guess.