Independent presses and self-published authors who used to have trouble getting major chains to carry their books now have a variety of options. Today we are seeing the beginnings of e-books on the horizon. This technology still has a way to go before it becomes truly popular. Still, the fact that Oprah gave these away to audience members during her Favorite Things show last year points to the fact that e-books are on the rise. And the idea of books in a digital format brings down some of the cost barriers for smaller players.
Customers just download their copies for nearly instant delivery.
Stephen King took the idea a step further by selling installments of his book, The Plant, on the honor system directly from his own Internet site to fans. The very idea sent a shudder down the spines of publishing executives. In 1998 Amazon announced its Advantage program, which allows independent presses and self-published authors to place their books for sale on Amazon's site. So even if I self-published a book called Knitting With Cat Fur or a murder mystery called How My Editors Are Trying To Kill Me, either one of these could be just as visible to Amazon customers as any Harry Potter book. Although the Advantage program has been criticized by some because it takes 55 percent of the price, leaving 45 percent to the author or publisher or whoever is producing the book, this program is a channel that wasn't available before to small book producers.