Ebook Challenges Faced by End Users

There are some significant challenges presented by ebooks to every potential reader. These are obstacles that must be overcome before the reader (customer) can begin reading an ebook. These are all important considerations if you are going to self-publish.

With a dead tree book, the reader needs to know how to read and to have possession of the book by either buying it or even borrowing it.

With an ebook there are more obstacles:

1. Reader Hardware - What are they going to read it on: PDA, desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet PC, dedicated ebook reader. Does the reader even know they have all these choices?

2. Reader Software - here we have a nearly bewildering array of proprietary formats. Some are free, some cost, some only work on PC's and not Mac's. PDF is the most ubiquitous but it may not be the best choice for reading on a PDA.

3. DRM - Digital Rights management, this basically means encryption of your ebook so that it is copy protected so that you cannot email it to your friends or print it out. I think people worry about copy protection that might force them to use only one device or that they have to keep track of a software code for each book. I think they also worry about loosing their library if they have a hard drive crash. Not all ebooks have DRM so it is something to look at to see if it really is needed.

4. Purchase - ebooks are bought and paid for online. That usually means a credit card. That presents a barrier to teens who are logical early adopters of ebook technology. Also there is a learning curve to ordering online for Internet newbies. Security and the feeling of security is also an issue.

5. Price - Considering the costs already born by the buyer just to have the computer and maybe a mobile reading device for ebooks, it seems like you should be able to save some significant money on the ebook version of of a novel.

The question is, what can you do to smooth the way for the reader to buy your book? What can you do to allay their fears and resistance? Is the way the big publishing houses are doing things, like DRM and price, things we want to copy or avoid as self-publishers? Are these considerations different for an established author as opposed to an unknown author? And are the different for a fiction ebook or a non-fiction ebook?