EBooks or electronic books are soft copies of an author’s manuscript which can be easily downloaded as per convenience either on one’s personal computer or eReader devices/ platforms such as the Apple iPad and Barnes & Noble Nook. Publication of eBooks not only benefits the author who can share his or her ideas and knowledge with the readers all over the world but also the interested readers who can avail information on any topic, anywhere, anytime. These days, eBooks have attained immense popularity since they are not limited to any specific store or manufacturer’s ebook download platform. Here is a list of the most popular and rewarding eBook stores and services.
1. Amazon Kindle Store tops the list with digital titles of around one million. It supports wide arrays of eReader formats that include Portable Document Format (PDF), Mobipocket (MOBI) along with Amazon’s Kindle Format (AZW). New authors have to access the Kindle Direct Publishing site to publish ebooks. Titles priced between $2.99 and $9.99 applies to the royalty rate of 70%. For other titles, Amazon Kindle Store offers the flat royalty rate of 35%. Most of the affiliates earn up to 15 % as commissions.
2. Apple iBookstore houses over 700000 eBook titles and support all the eBook formats. It offers a royalty rate of 70%. Small publishers can earn faster using the eBook aggregator. However, new publishers do not get paid until they fulfill all the payment requirements and earning thresholds, which vary from one territory to another.
3. Google eBook Store is another good option with around 3 million titles. This online eBook store is partnered with an affiliate program based on Google Affiliate Network in addition to Google Adsense. Authors can participate in the Google Books Partner Program for submission of their manuscripts. Google allows free search results along with PDF upload.
4. When it comes to the public domain Project Gutenberg is unbeatable. It had made its way long before the existence of Kindle and Nooks. It boasts over 36000 royalty-free, DRM-free literature that can be easily read on multiple devices. The user has the flexibility to choose a suitable format. It also offers another 100,000 titles available exclusively through the service’s partners and affiliates.
5. Barnes and Noble’s Nook supports over 2 million titles in PDF and Epub (.EPUB) format. The PubIt! site has to be visited for publication purpose. The royalty rate is 65% for titles priced between $2.99 and $9.99. For other prices, the royalty rate is restricted to flat 40%. Affiliates have the flexibility to earn up to 6% commissions.
6. Kobo Books is much known for its impressive eBook catalog and a versatile eBook reader application suitable for any devices such as iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Web OS, and tablets. Moreover, it has a proprietary e-reader. DRM-free eBooks can be easily downloaded in Mobipocket, ePub or PDF format.
7. Sony eBook Store comes with over 1 million titles. Small publishers and authors have to use an aggregator like Smashwords to publish directly. In such cases, royalty charges would be restricted to 60%. The site supports PDF and Epub format.
8. Books on Board provides limited variety of fiction and non-fiction eBooks. High pricing in addition to limited selection had made this store unpopular.
9. Waterstones offer 4171 titles spread across 417 pages. Each page displays 50 titles instead of 10. EBooks can be sorted according to alphabetical/ reverse alphabetical order, best sellers, prices, publication dates, and customer reviews.
10. The best comprehensive fiction collection can be found in no other place than Fictionwise.com. It was launched on 5th June 2000 under the partnership of Steve Pendergrast and Scott Pendergrast (owner of Mindwise Media, LLC).
11. Bean is the science fiction hub that comes with a library full of titles and free downloads option.
12. Diesel eBook Store has over 2.4 million titles. It offers 10 percent commissions to the affiliates.
