Cindy Vallar Author & Columnist

 
An e-book is just like any other book -- with one exception.  Instead of being produced by a regular printing press on paper, it takes advantage of the latest cutting-edge technology of the Information Superhighway.  E-books are created on computers and saved in electronic formats.

There are a variety of ways to read e-books on a computer.  Some publishers present their books in html format -- that's the language that an Internet browser understands.  So, it makes no difference whether you have a Mac or a PC, as long as you have a browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape, you can read an e-book and discover some exciting new material.  Other publishers present their books in PDF format.  That's the format read by the Adobe Acrobat reader, a free viewing program computer users can download from Adobe.  That's the format used by the federal government and many large corporations to dispense information to the public.  It also bridges computers, so either Mac or PC users can read PDF format using the Acrobat reader.  Other publishers produce their books in .txt or .rtf formats.  That's the format that most word processing programs utilize.  Again, makes no difference the type of computer, it's accessible.
 

You don't want to be tied to a computer to read a book?

No problem.  There's a variety of ways to read e-books away from the computer.

• You can print out a copy of a book using your word processing program.  E-book downloads are usually 50% cheaper than most paperbacks on the shelves currently.  So, for pennies, you can print out a book, using your word processing program exactly as you'd like to read it...in the font of your choice, in the font size of your choice, one-sided or double-sided.  Still cheaper than most paperbacks.
• You can use your PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) such as the Palm Pilot or the Casio Cassiopeia or Philips Nino.  Some publishers offer e-books in PRC format, for the Palm Pilot operating station.  Others offer them in html, which can be read in the mini-browser that comes with Windows CE on PDAs.
• You can read them on your laptop computer.
• You can read them on dedicated reading devices such as RocketBook or Softbook.

Why should I read an e-book?

You could be missing out on some of the best fiction and non-fiction currently being published.

Unfortunately, the number of new releases from traditional publishers keep declining as the prices keep rising.  There's less choice for bigger bucks.  Also, traditional publishers tend to look at a book for its marketing potential instead of whether its enjoyable entertainment or insightful information for the reader.

Because of the advantages of e-publishing, e-publishers are able to look at submissions based on their ability to entertain or enlighten, rather than on whether or not the folks in the marketing department believe they can sell enough to pay for its printing.

E-publishers are also willing to take chances on books that don't fit neatly into any category or genre.  So, if a western/science fiction/romance is to your liking, you're liable to find one e-published.  It's extremely difficult to find cross-genre books traditionally published.