E-books have been around for over a decade but until recently, they hadn't contributed much in the way of book sales. This all changed when Amazon, the world's largest book seller, released a proprietary e-book reader called the 'Kindle' in November of 2007. Since then, things have turned 180 degrees for the struggling e-book market.
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Authors, especially unknown, self published authors are the ones who have most benefited from this emerging market...and for good reason. Because Amazon owns the Kindle, they constantly need new books to include in the Kindle library. All an author has to do to take advantage of this is to produce his book in the Kindle format. A paperback version would compliment it, but it isn't necessary. Amazon distributes both.
Notice I said, distributes, not publish. Publishing and distribution are two completely different things. You can sell your book without a publisher. In most cases, 'you' will be listed as the publisher. But it's hard to sell books without someone to distribute them. This is where Amazon shines. After all...that's what they built their business on, selling books.
Distribution is the main problem new authors face. They have no way to get their books in front of potential buyers. Sure, they can sell them on their website and maybe through some local bookstores, but neither of these channels usually have much selling power. Getting a book into major brick and mortar bookstores is nearly impossible without an established publisher.
By making your book available for Amazon's Kindle, it can be seen by millions of potential buyers and for virtually nothing. Remember, if people can't find your book, they can't buy it. By having it on Amazon, people will find it.
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