eBooks – an intro

I recently published my first book, The God Solution To The Atheist Delusion, as an ebook on Amazon.com (and .ca) and on KoboBooks.com. This means that it is available to read on various electronic devices, but it is not available as a printed book.

Some people have asked me how they can read my book if they don’t have an eReader. That is a great question.

The short answer: Do you have a cell phone, tablet or computer? If yes, get the Amazon Kindle Reader for your device (it’s a free download) and read it on your device.

For the longer answer, which provides plenty of additional details, please read on.

First, why did I decide to do this? Here are three (of many) reasons:

1. I like digital – I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical book. I love my Kindle Paperwhite for many reasons, most notably the ability to carry my entire book collection on a small device; and
2. The ease of publishing – I can easily manage my book publishing workflow from start to finish without investing a lot of money in physical goods – digital publishing has been amazing at lowering the barrier to entry for authors!
3. The ease of distribution – I can easily distribute my book to multiple book sellers, including Amazon.com (and any country that Amazon operates in) and Kobo Books. Each seller offers an interactive portal that makes it easy to sell to.

And second, what do people need to do to read my book electronically?

I have published my book on two major platforms: Amazon and Kobo. To read my book, you can either use a dedicated eReader or you can use your own electronic device (iPhone, iPad, iPad, Android device, etc.) with the Amazon Kindle or the Kobo app installed.

Dedicated eReader options include:

Amazon:

• Basic Kindle – $69
• Kindle Paperwhite – $119
• Kindle Fire HD 7″ tablet – $169

Kobo:

• Kobo Touch – $69
• Kobo Glo – $129
• Kobo Aura HD – $169
• Kobo Arc 7″ tablet – $199

If you don’t have a reader, you’re in luck: both Amazon and Kobo have free ereader apps that you can install on your mobile phone, tablet or computer:

Amazon:

• Overview
• Kindle Reader for iPhone
• Kindle Reader for iPad
• Kindle Reader for Android
• Kindle Reader for Windows 8
• Kindle Reader for Mac
• Kindle Cloud Reader – works in your web browser!
• Additional options are listed on the overview page

Kobo:

• Overview
• Kobo Reader for iPhone & iPad
• Kobo Reader for Android
• Kobo Reader for desktop computers
• Kobo Instant Reader – works in your web browser!

So take your pick – if you don’t have a dedicated eReader, you can either get a dedicated eReader or you can download an eReader app onto your existing device, which will then allow you to purchase and read books on that platform.

If you have never bought an ebook, which platform should you choose?

Personally, I have an affinity for Amazon. I described my reasons for liking the Amazon environment in a blog post that is now 3 years old! The reasons I presented then still hold today. In fact, my first Kindle Keyboard eReader stopped working a couple of months ago. I immediately went out and replaced it with a new Kindle Paperwhite.

That said, neither Amazon nor Kobo is a bad choice. That’s why I publish to both platforms – there are plenty of readers on both platforms and I want to be able to reach them all.

I hope this post helps explain the choices available to you and that you are able to use one of these platforms to read my book. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section below.

And, feel free to let me know which reader you use in the comments below as well. I’m curious to know which devices my readers use.

Thanks!

Todd