How are eBooks Evolving?

How are eBooks Evolving?

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Do you own any eBooks which have ‘extras’?  By extras I mean similar to a DVD when they have the bonus features, or maybe video or animation.

Like everything else these days, eBooks are evolving as I speak and I have already had an enquiry this year about placing video within an eBook.  I found out that iBooks on Apple iTunes allows for this, so it’s something I will be looking to learn inside out over the next few weeks so I can create the video eBook for my client.

So far I haven’t found outlets such as Amazon or Smashwords accepting eBooks with ‘extras’, but I am sure it won’t be long before they do.

New Skills

One of my goals this year is to learn how to format eBooks using html/css.  I know the basics, but haven’t actually attempted to format using html before – and I am quite looking forward to it.  But it’s also worrying, how fast are eBooks going to evolve, will I be able to keep up?

I could go into the finer details about how eBooks could evolve but I found a really great article The Evolution of eBooks which covers everything I want to say about the subject and more.

If you’re an author/writer and looking to publish an eBook, what sort of ‘extras’ would you consider including?  I’d be really interested to know.

Comments

  1. Hi Jo, the first ebook I formatted, I coded with basic HTML – mainly because I spent so long gnashing my teeth at mobipocket at the time. I wouldn’t want to go back there!
    Now with the added extras you can get – and it’s only a matter of time on Amazon with the Kindle Fire being a super reader – it’s not something that floats my boat. Call me old fashioned! I want a book to be a book, not video or animation.

    • I’m with you, I would want a book to be a book, I don’t think I’d personally buy eBooks with extras, but I am sure there are people out there that will. I really want to learn the coding though, and then at least I can cover all bases. 🙂

  2. Great post! I love that you’re exploring the idea of adding video to ebooks. I’ve been downloading books to my iPad, and reading using the Kindle app. A number of newer NON-fiction books have had video links embedded into the content.

    One particular book, “The Online Treasure Map for Motivational Speakers: 21 Industry Insider Tips to get you Booked as a Speaker Faster” (too long a title in my opinion) had a video explaining the content at the end of every chapter. It was a good example of this new trend. I found the video helpful to understand the technical jargon.

    I’ve experienced the value of video for non-fiction books. I don’t know about fiction…

    • Thanks Lori, I use my iPhone, I have no idea how video’s would work on there – I might have to download one just to check it out. I guess for non-fiction books it could be a good idea, I don’t know how it would work with fiction though.

  3. Hey, thanks so much for linking my blog post about the evolution of ebooks–seeing that made my day :). As for my two cents, I think enhancements only work for certain types of books, and I think right now they tend to work better for non-fiction. How-to type books especially. The next book I’m writing is going to be an ebook on how to make ebooks, and I plan on incorporating videos that show how to do certain tasks. I’m more of a visual/kinetic learner, and personally it helps me to watch videos rather than just reading steps.

    • Happy to link to your post Sabrina, it was really good and far more indepth than I could have gone if I’d tried to write it myself. Let me know when you’ve finished your eBook, I’d be interested to read it. 🙂

  4. Well I prefer my ebook without animation, thank you very much.

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