Budding authors getting into print with e-books

LONDON, UK: Budding writers know how difficult it is to find publishers, but the more enterprising among them are turning to e-books for publication.

The rise of e-readers, for instance Amazon Kindle, has allowed aspiring authors to bypass the hassle of finding representation as well as the cost of printing, binding and delivering books, reports the Daily Mail.

Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle Content for Amazon Digital publishing, said: "It's possible for any author to make their book available with little or no upfront cost and reach a global audience."

He said digital publishing "gives a chance to a great book that otherwise might have been overlooked".

The company allows authors to sell their works via the Kindle Bookstore. Writers even get an incentive to use the platform, by rewarding them with close to 70 per cent of the sale price if they set a download fee of between $2.99 to $9.99.

Sony's online ReaderStore gives its writers 70 to 85 per cent of the sale price, and Barnes & Noble got in the game back in October, with the launch of the company's self-publishing platform PubIt, offering writers royalty rates between 40 to 65 percent.

The digital trend has also enabled some writers to also enjoy unprecedented success without the help of publishing vets.

Of note is German novelist Oliver Potzsch, who made that point with his novel "Hangman's Daughter". The book is Kindle's fourth highest seller and has ranked as high as number one thanks to sales reaching over 100,000 copies.

According to the Association of American Publishers, digital book sales make up nine per cent of the overall market. Sales reached a staggering $345 million early last year, a 171 per cent increase over the same period in 2009.