how to …..

By Liana Metal

What am I going to write about?
Which topic is the best?
Who is going to be interested in my article?

You can ask yourself endless questions on ‘what’ is going to be the subject of your article.  Don’t despair! This is not a problem .  Any topic will do, and a lot of people will read your article as far as you pay attention to the top rule of the internet:  Give away information.

This is the reason why people read articles, and that’s why you are reading this article in the first place!  Think for a moment:  Why am I reading this article?
Of course, you might say it’s out of curiosity, but the most popular answer would be: To get informed in this field.

The best way to start writing straightaway is to think of an experience of yours.  It could be any experience, good or bad, on any subject.  I have started my writing career by writing about ‘writing’.  Sounds funny?  It may be , but it has helped me sort out a lot of ‘writing’ related issues and find my way through them.  Before starting writing articles for the web though, I read a lot.  I practically read anything I came across online , from ads to news items, and from book reviews to ebooks.  I became a reviewer to get into the ‘things’ faster, and I joined a lot of online communities as well.  Then I started writing How-to articles.

One of my first ones focused on the Cover Letter, how to write  a smashing letter fast and easily and then send it off to an editor/publisher.  You can read this article for free at my site, http://lianametal.tripod.com , or http://liamet.tripod.com.  In a short time I had produced a lot of articles on ‘writing’ , and then I came across the ‘ebook’ device.  I said:  Why not?  It’s free and now I can try to create my own ebook.
So, I did and that was just the beginning.  But, creating ebooks is another story.
If you are interested in ebooks, all the instructions are included in my first ebook , Writing Basics, along with a lot of useful tips and information on writing, as well as markets to submit your work to.

You can get Writing Basics from my site at: http://liamet.tripod.com
If you are a new writer or new with the internet as a means of getting published online, you should read it.  In Writing Basics I wrote down my own experiences on writing , but there are also other writers’ articles included ,as well as interviews that will help you in your writing career.

The odd thing is that a few years ago I did not even know how to operate a computer, and now I am creating e books! Isn’t it amazing?  And know what?  Publishers want books about writing , and articles about writing are always very popular.  So, why not give it a try yourself?

From the user’s point of view:
• Can be incompatible with new or replacement hardware or software
• Require care in handling and storage of the files, to avoid damage or loss
• Can Phone Home to track readers and reading habits
• Can restrict printing
• Devices are for most prohibitively expensive and can be lost, stolen, and damaged like any electronic device
• Batteries run out.
• Their average price is considered by many to be too expensive when compared to the print edition.
• Many readers prefer paper and print to a computer screen.
• Sometimes unavailable to international users due to legal issues.
• Protected e-books cannot be transferred between different people.

From the publisher/author’s point of view:
• Can in some cases be hacked, or disseminated without approval from the author or publisher (some formats are more susceptible to this than others)
• Not normally a good format choice for works that have extensive and/or large illustrations, such as works in art history, photography, large maps, etc.
• Ebook files can be easily copied, violating copyrights. Vending them in Read Only Memory cartridges tends to suppress this, and one can still sell or give away your copy- by selling the cartridge, just as one could sell or give away a paperback or hardbound book. Software for computers has been successfully sold in this manner, with that for the obsolete TI-99/4A as a case in point. This is however more expensive to create and distribute than electronic files.

• Text can be searched, except when represented in the form of images.
• Take up little space.
  o Hundreds (or thousands) may be carried together on one device.
  o Approximately 500 average e-books can be stored on one CD (equivalent to several shelves’ worth of print books)
  o Because they take up little space, e-books can be offered indefinitely, with no ‘out of print’ date, allowing authors to continue to earn royalties indefinitely (copyright law permitting), and allowing readers to find older works by favorite authors.
• E-books may be read in low light or even total darkness, with a back-lit device.
• Type size and type face may be adjusted. However, enlarging e.g. a PDF document magnifies the text but preserves the original layout and spacing; a practical limit on zooming follows from the requirement to keep a text column within the width of the screen (otherwise horizontal scrolling would be needed during and after reading each line, which would be very cumbersome). However, tagged PDFs can be reflowed in Acrobat 6 and 7, eliminating the horizontal-scrolling problem in zoomed PDFs. For more on zooming in, see Electronic maps.
• Can be used with text-to-speech software.
• Readily reformatted for independent platforms.
• Instantly copied
  o When a backup is kept in a remote place, cannot be lost by fire, etc.
  o Once distributed, elimination is difficult and sometimes impossible. 
• Distributed at low cost.
• Distributed instantly, allowing readers to begin reading at once, without the need to visit a bookstore
• Simultaneously share book (if networked). 
• Errors may be easily corrected with downloadable lists of errata or simply with corrected text. (This can also be an advantage for printed books, in different circumstances.)
• At the moment, e-books are commonly published by independent publishing houses, which can mean greater editorial and authorial freedom and more room for experimentation. 
• An inexpensive format for works that require color.
• An excellent choice of format for works that benefit from search and cross-reference capabilities, such as dictionaries, reference works, certain kinds of textbooks. 
• Economically and environmentally viable by cutting down on paper and lumber production
• Economically viable by cutting down on ink production
• Does not wear over time
• No risk of damage, vandalism, etc on the pages

E-book publishing as its own industry is growing in the double digits yearly, according to the quarterly reports put out by IDPF. Among the first Internet-only publishers of new e-books were Boson Books, Hard Shell Word Factory and Online Originals, all founded in the mid-1990s. Each pioneered different aspects of what has since become common practice amongst e-book publishers, e.g. the support of multiple formats including PDFs, the payment of much higher royalty rates than conventional publishers, and the online presentation of free samples. Hard Shell Word Factory set the first professional standards for commercial e-books and pioneered author-friendly contracts. Online Originals was the first e-book publisher to win mainstream book reviews (in the London Times) and a nomination for a major literary prize (the Booker Prize).

Since the late 1990s, the many newcomers to e-book publishing have included most major print publishers. At the same time, many established e-publishers started to offer print versions of some of their titles. Thus the line between the two is fast blurring.

There are some parts of the industry where there are particularly notable leading firms. In the general field of science-fiction and fantasy, Baen Books, an American publishing company established in 1983 by science fiction publishing industry long-timer Jim Baen (1943-2006) has a well-established position. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that specializes in space opera/military science fiction and fantasy (though it does not restrict itself to these subgenres). It is notable for releasing books in a variety of both free and paid formats, both before and after hard-copy publication, and both as whole books and as parts.

E-books have their own bestseller lists, including those compiled by IDPF and Fictionwise. They even have two yearly awards for excellence in e-books. The longest-standing and most inclusive of these is the EPPIE award, given by EPIC since 2000. The other is the Dream Realm Award, first awarded to speculative fiction e-books in 2002.

Published as “.lbr” or “.bin”.
Libris is a Java based eBook reader for mobile devices such as cell phones. Libris will run on most Java enabled devices that support MIDP. The reader formats books to fit the device screen, and shows one page at a time using high quality anti-aliased fonts. Books may employ encryption or be unrestricted. Libris content may be produced using the MakeLibris tool. The Libris reader also supports the PalmDoc format.