E-Book News You Can Use

Not long ago people were saying that electronic publishing was a passing trend that would never catch on, because readers would not accept the transition from real ink and bound paper to e-books. But here we are in the first quarter of 2015, and according to a news report published in the UK Guardian, electronic books are outpacing traditional printed ones. Here are some recent e-book industry developments that should be of interest to any avid e-book reader.

Sales of Printed Books are in Decline as E-book Sales Rise

As explained in the newspaper article, print sales of adult fiction have declined by over £150 million – or more than 225 million dollars – in the past 5-6 years. The decline is even steeper when paperback fiction is removed from the equation, since hardback adult fiction sales plummeted last year by 11.6% to £67.9 million. Adult non-fiction also saw a decline in print sales last year, down 4% in 2014 and more than 20% compared to 2009. Experts are now forecasting sales of e-books in 2015 that may see a doubling of last year’s revenues, and many expect that major publishing houses will see double-digit growth in e-book sales of fiction titles.

Broadchurch TV Series E-Books

Another interesting development is that the first season of the popular British TV show “Broadchurch” – which is broadcast in weekly episodes – is using e-books to keep fans and viewers in the loop. Viewers of the new series can learn more about the events in the show, as well as the characters, by downloading and reading e-book formatted stories between episodes.

After each show airs, a new story in e-book form is released and made available to download. Each of the books or stories comprises its own unique story, too, so you aren’t just reading some kind of rehash of the TV episode or getting a summary of the show. Instead you get what could be called a stand-alone story that enhances your enjoyment of the show and lets you engage with the characters in fresh and unique ways.

The stories are created by writer Erin Kelly, who wrote the thriller novel “The Poison Tree” – which was based on the first season of Broadchurch. She writes the e-book stories in collaboration with series creator Chris Chibnall, and many fans of the show feel that reading the stories gives them a much richer and deeper entertainment experience as they delve into the nuances and back stories of the characters in ways that people who just view the TV shows don’t get to do.

The Addr App for iPad E-book Readers

Have you heard about the Addr app? If you are one of those people who loves to read with a pen or highlighter in one hand, it may be right up your alley.

The app, which was designed by two French fellows for use with iPad, is all about making notes or annotations as you read electronic text such as e-books. People who particularly like that kind of thing, for example, are students who want to take notes in textbooks.

Essentially you read whatever you want, and then use hand gestures to make notes in the margins of the page. You can then save those or even share them by sending them along to others electronically, making the Addr app a useful tool for those who like to scribble in the margins as they read.

The New Kindle Convert

Making notes and highlighting can also be done with Kindle’s Whispersync feature from Amazon, and now Amazon is offering a way to turn paper documents or books into e-books, using the new Kindle Convert software application.

Scan your personal printed books and documents and make electronically versions of them as Kindle eBooks. Then they can be read and enjoyed on all Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps for iPad, iPhone, Android smartphones, and Android tablets. Your content that you convert can also be preserved and safely saved by uploading it into the cloud using Amazon Cloud Drive.

Kindle Convert books and documents benefit from many of the same innovative features that make Kindle popular, too, such as adjustable text size, remembering the last page read, and taking advantage of a built-in dictionary to look up words as you read. You aren’t limited to documents and books, either, because you can convert autographs, photos and images as well.