The reading habits of people have changed drastically over the years. The non-availability as well as the difficulty to access physical books during the pandemic coupled with the release of exclusively online versions of the books before the print editions, has encouraged readers to switch to eBooks, and the sale of eBooks doubled during this time. This paradigm shift from physical books to eBooks or digital books has made publishers invest in eBook conversion services to speed up eBook publication. According to data from The Association of American Publishers, the popularity of eBooks has been declining since 2014. But for the first ten months of 2020, eBooks were up 16.5% compared to the 10 months of the prior year, bringing in nearly $1 billion. Several other statistics show that the number of people reading books has also increased during the pandemic. So this is an opportunity for publishers to focus on generating more digital books and increase their readership.
Another tremendous change is that educational institutions are also going digital. Many professors and students are opting for online digital books and eBooks as they are easily available online and can be shared easily. Since physical classes have become online classes due to the pandemic, and eBooks, digital books and audiobooks facilitate online education, they have become the primary mode of information consumption. This has forced traditional publishers to digitize their books and change to a new business model. The best way to convert physical books into digital format is to associate with professional eBook conversion providers. Unlike an in-house data conversion team, these services have professionals who ensure a cost-effective conversion that is efficient and faster as well. There are other benefits such as the following when going digital with eBook conversion services:
- Superiority in operations: Ebooks and digital books provide a good reader experience but conversion to eBook format needs time and resources. With years of experience in dealing with multiple clients from various industry verticals, a professional eBook conversion service can streamline the process with a good mix of steady workflow and a pool of talented professionals. These services also have advanced tools that help publishers/writers convert their print books into eBooks and reach out to a larger audience.
- Competitive advantage: Associating with an experienced service provider enables you to create unique layouts and enjoy flexible conversion solutions. These services know how to provide a good readers’ experience, and also ensure the reader’s delight and confidence in a product. They strive to deliver captivating eBooks, audiobooks, and digitized titles. They are equipped with the latest tools and utilize innovative technology to create high-quality content. These services help publishers diversify their business models while expanding outreach.
- Top-notch outcomes: The growing demand for eBooks has led to the rise of a multimillion-dollar industry. But this has also led to piracy of eBooks and devaluation of copyright content, which has become a challenge for publishers. But reliable vendors ensure that only high-quality content is delivered and that no content is compromised. A professional team of editors and proof-readers conduct many tests for the eBook on different devices like Kindle, Nook etc to examine the features, functionality, mobility and accordingly address concerns as well as incorporate adjustments.
- Better ROI: Ebook conversion allows traditional publishers to convert traditional books into any file format and this increases cross-platform compatibility, interactivity, mobility, and flexibility. It helps writers increase the relevancy of their content and also provide multilingual conversion that expands their horizon and also improves ROI. This helps to cater to non-English speakers and enhances the accessibility standards.
With more people owning smartphones and being able to read books on digital devices, the demand for digital books is at an all-time high. Working with professional eBook conversion services ensures seamless conversion of any book into its digital format and provides better interactivity, mobility and flexibility, and cross-platform compatibility. These services help with:
- Maintaining several parallel production processes – digital-native, backlist and print-to-digital titles, depending on different platforms and genres
- Rigorous testing on disparate devices such as Kindle, Nook etc to evaluate features and functionality
- Conducting asset research for procurement of digital media rights & permissions
- Describing suitable vocabularies, the appropriate syntax for metadata, identifiers; and defining metadata tagging
The eBook has become an essential part of the publishing industry. It is because it enables publishers to reach a global audience and increase their readership base. Publishers who are not able to keep pace with the evolving trends and meet the demands of their readers may fail to sustain themselves in this competitive marketplace. This brings home the relevance of a reliable provider of document conversion services.
