The e-book self-publishing world is about to get a little more crowded. With the launch of Pubit! this summer, Barnes & Noble (B&N) has inserted itself directly into the publishing process, joining other retailers like Amazon and Sony. Pubit! is a DIY option for independent publishers and authors to deliver their works digitally through B&N’s site and e-book store.

While this may on the surface seem like great news for the indie publishing crowd, there are definite issues. For example, B&N has been noncommittal up to this point about royalty information, which makes it difficult to know if Pubit! can offer a more attractive deal or not. Another challenge authors and publishers face with an ever growing list of retailers offering self-publishing is how to choose. Which retailer might offer the best audience and reach? Does it make sense to manually publish with every major retailer, one by one, to make sure the playing field is covered despite the time and effort?

In order to make this really work, and work well, we’re going to have to see some consolidation happen. A company that is already running ahead with this is Smashwords. Publish with them and they do the distribution for you to their own site, as well as Kobo, Apple, Amazon, Sony, and even B&N. One site, one process, and one revenue payment makes it simple and transparent. What a concept! Big book retailers like B&N should consider taking a page out of Smashwords success manual.

The e-books are coming, the e-books are coming! I know, I know, you’ve heard this before. About 10 years ago, e-books tried to fight their way into the marketplace. Some e-readers, like the Rocket eBook, came to market…and then quietly disappeared.

If any single e-book format could be considered popular or well-used in the 1990s, it was PDF. In fact, as recently as 5 years ago, I was still advising would-be e-book authors to publish in PDF. These PDF files were read primarily on a PC screen or downloaded and printed out.

But e-books are coming back with a vengeance, and this time it’s different. No longer the domain of early adopters, and no longer confined to PDF editions, e-books are easing their way into the everyday life of everyday folks. Perhaps nothing has helped push them there more than Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of the Kindle, the e-reader from Amazon. In an instant, e-books went from minor curiosity to major cause.

If you’re a self-published author and you’re still focused on print books, it’s time to get your electrons stirring. E-books are becoming an increasingly larger piece of the book market.

At the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference in New York earlier this month, Russell Wilcox, president and CEO of E Ink Corporation, made some predictions. Wilcox believes:

• Within the next 18 months, 2 – 3 % of Americans will own a dedicated e-reading device, such as a Kindle or Sony Reader. This will be the tipping point into widescale and mainstream use.
• E-book devices priced under $200 will begin to emerge from China within the next year. Right now, a relatively high price point is one barrier to adoption. The more the price comes down, the more people will be able to buy one.
• In 2009, a variety of e-reader sizes will emerge, some small, some large, each one suited to a different need.
• 2009 will also see the commercial launch of flexible screens that can roll up or bend like plastic film. Touch and stylus interfaces will also proliferate.
• In 2010, there will be more flexible screens on the market and colour will be introduced. (Right now, E Ink devices are black and white only.) Colour will continue to improve over the next decade until e-readers will be able to deliver a reading experience similar to that of today’s glossy magazines.

E Ink Corporation is the technology used by many of the big e-readers on the market today, so it’s in Wilcox’s best interest to be bullish on the market. But even if his sales predictions are aggressive, it’s clear that e-books are a technology whose day has come. They aren’t going to fade away like they did last time, and they aren’t going to be a nice little sideline to the main business of publishing, either.

Seven or eight years ago, the big publishers would look at their print list and choose a small number of titles to also bring out as a digital edition. Today, many publishers produce both print and e-book versions of every title as a matter of course. Someday, and maybe not a day too far off, the default will be to publish digitally, and only select titles will be printed on paper.

In future posts, I’ll take a look at different e-readers and some of the practical issues around publishing e-books.