You must wonder, if I was a published author, why would I choose to do this on my own?

In a word, I was impatient. After working on The Expatriate for more than a decade, I was suddenly in a hurry for it to be out there in the hands of readers. I didn’t want to go through the tedious process of submissions, and finally, after finding a publisher, wait a year or more for the book to appear on the shelves of the rapidly diminishing number of brick and mortar bookstores. E-books are the wave of the future, so it is said, and while I don’t believe printed books can ever be replaced by an electronic reader, I didn’t want to wake up two years from now and wish I had jumped on the bandwagon.

An author friend sent me an interview with Barry Eisler, a successful novelist, who discussed his decision to forego a lucrative contract with a “legacy” publisher, in favor of independently publishing his new books. I was inspired by this and in a surprisingly short time, had found a company (Publish Green) to format my manuscript and distribute the e-book for the Kindle, Nook, iPad, and a bunch of other e-readers I’d never heard of.

In the past, whenever I had a new novel, I would go on book tours, giving dozens of talks and signing books until I had writer’s cramp. But how do you promote a novel, if there’s no book to sign? Through the social networks, of course.

There are hundreds of books and blogs explaining how to do this, but I found the idea daunting. You might say that I was electronically challenged. I didn’t Tweet, I didn’t blog, and although I had joined Facebook, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I told myself that if I’ve written five novels, how hard can it be to master the cyber world? It’s a little like jumping off a cliff and hoping you’ll land in deep water. With this in mind, I started a blog.

Since The Expatriate is an international story, I thought it was important for it to be represented at the Frankfurt Book Fair. My previous books were printed in foreign editions and this novel is a natural for German, French, Italian, Swedish, Russian, and many other foreign translations. So, I prepared a presentation of an excerpted manuscript for display at this important publishing industry event. It will also be represented at the London Book Fair.

The Expatriate is a story about World War II. Set in war-torn Europe, its main characters are involved in the OSS and the Austrian Resistance. I have always been fascinated by the Second World War. I love to read history books and novels written about “The War,” as people of my generation usually refer to it. The films and music of the time captivate me. Perhaps because I was growing up during the era of the 1930s and ’40s, it has an emotional pull for me that subsequent periods and historical events lack. And so, for The Expatriate, I created Alexa Summerfield, an American student at Oxford, who is swept up in the onslaught of the Nazi war. Because I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Austria, I used that beautiful country as my main setting.

The Expatriate has been a work in progress for many years. For the research, I traveled to Austria, England, France, Italy, Switzerland and the eastern republics of the former Soviet Union. It is the tale of an extraordinary woman who finds herself in the most unexpected and dire circumstances. Sweeping from the hallowed halls of Oxford, to the gilded drawing rooms of Austrian aristocracy, to the snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps, this story explores complicated emotions when love and loyalty are in conflict.

Harriet Segal grew up in Wilkes-Barre, PA and was educated at Wellesley College. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and experienced the expatriate life herself. As a writer, journalist and editor, she lived in India for a time with her late husband, who was a distinguished scientist. The author of five novels, she now divides her time between the Boston suburbs and Cape Cod. Segal is a member of The Authors Guild, PEN, and Grub Street. She is at work on a novel about the world of medical research. Her website is http://www.harrietsegal.com and her blog is http://www.harrietsegal.wordpress.com.

It’s understandable, since there’s a mad race going on between the technology of the eReading devices and the folks at the top of the software food chain struggling to establish industry standards for the eBook formats. It is, of course, a race with no end in sight, in which the runners—the devices and the software—keep pulling our front and then falling behind.

So what’s a small publisher to do? Or, even worse, a self-publisher? It’s been hard enough for both types of publishers to put out quality work when the profit margins are so small and the costs of production so high. The eBook option certainly looks attractive. The promise, real or imagined, is large profits with little investment. But what about those horror stories? An eBook that’s poorly formatted, riddled with errors, or just plain difficult to read isn’t going to go viral. I can promise that.

Basically small and self-publishers have four options:

1) Buy one of the many inexpensive (some free) software applications like Hampster that promise to take a Word .doc or .pdf and turn it into a salable eBook with a few clicks

2) Use one of the several “aggregators” such as Smashwords, who will not only convert your manuscript into an eBook, but distribute it for sale with the major retailers such as the iBookstore

3) Trust your book to one of the eBook conversion services that seem to be mostly based in the US or India

4) Learn to do create eBooks themselves

Here’s the benefit of my years of experience (for whatever that may be worth).

1) If you have a novel with a very basic formatting—such as chapter headings and body text only, you can probably get away with using free or inexpensive software. But be prepared to forget about anything in the way of design, including your choice of fonts. Like Henry Ford’s famous line that his buyers could have “any color car as long as it was black,” you’ll get what you pay for.

2) I’ve not used Smashwords so I can’t comment fully. Some authors love it because it saves them the hassle of uploading their eBooks to Amazon and the iBookstore individually. (The latter can be a headache.) Some authors feel their books get the Blender treatment—like having the gourmet meal you’ve spent hours cooking be put into a blender for a dinner guest with no teeth. Smashwords also acts as a distributor and take 15% commission.

3) One of the other problems of this new cultural phenomenon is there hasn’t been a very good sorting out of the eBook conversion houses yet. Pricing is all over the map (as are the physical locations of these services) and so is quality. Some are excellent. Some are simply using the free/cheap software that I mentioned in Item #1.

If you’re a publisher, do you have someone on staff whom you can pay to take the time to scale that long learning curve? Have you been out-sourcing your print book layouts to a design agency? Have they learned the ins and outs of eBook production yet? Can you wait until they do? Can you learn to format an eBook yourself? What sort of tools (I mean software tools) will you need?

As I write this, I realize this sounds pretty bleak. But I have some good news. There are many things that small and self-publishers can do—with the tools they already have—that will make the whole painful conversion process easier, faster, and better for whomever creates the eBook later on. These relatively simple things will greatly help no matter which of the four alternatives are chosen.

I’m going to review those things in my next article.

Jonathan Scott is Customer Service Manager for Middleton Book Conversion,  an eBook conversion service based out of North Carolina.

I can’t say that I agree with that.

Ebooks are great. They’re convenient, cost effective, and don’t take up the physical space that books in print do. I download them, read them, publish them–but perhaps it’s the sentimental part of me that still prefers physical books, to have and to hold. Shopping online for ebooks and going out to browse the shelves at a local bookstore on a leisurely afternoon are two different experiences. YES, I’m a curl-up-on-the-couch-with-a-good-book type, and when it comes to the curl-up, print suits me better than digital. I like to smell my books, to flip through the pages. I know I’m not the only reader who still enjoys that.

Again, that may be sentimental, but where would humanity be without a place for sentiment?

And, sentiment aside, as an author, I think it’s important to still have hard copies of the work you put your lifeblood, sweat, time, and tears into. Electronics have glitches and shutdowns, sometimes nationwide and even international ones. Computers crash, digital files disappear, apps act funny. “My laptop froze.” “I updated my operating system, and it deleted my contacts.” “We’re sorry, our computers are down today. We hope to have these technical difficulties resolved by tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.” “Something is wrong with my cellphone.” “Wind storms have left the whole neighborhood without power. It’ll be a while before I can recharge all of my batteries…and access all of my digital stuff.”

Besides, there are many books that need to be passed down to children, to succeeding generations. Are ebooks, PDFs, and all things digital truly going to cut it, when it comes to the generational transfer of literature, both in professional and familial situations? I think focusing solely on ebooks isn’t the broadest way to think or plan, considering the long run.

As digital pictures posted online and stored on hard drives haven’t done away with physical photographs and oil paintings to view and appreciate in physical settings, I don’t believe electronic books will (or should) totally replace or do away with the need for (and the appeal of) physical books. Even if there comes a time when paperbacks in particular may phase out, I don’t think hard copies of literature will disappear altogether.

And, on another note, indeed, I’m all for digital interaction: emails, text messages, IMs, social networking sites, blogs and chats. But, hey, we’re still human, with human bodies and senses. We still have faces; emails and text messages are an addition to, not an ultimate replacement for, face to face interaction. An emoticon or an instant-messaged “smiley” doesn’t replace seeing someone’s actual smile, doesn’t replace an actual handshake or a hug.

Even on a level that isn’t as personal, the fact that fans purchase, download, and listen to their favorite artists’ music on their own doesn’t mean that they’ll never want to go to a concert to see and hear the artists in person. In our human experience, there’s something different and needful about physically being there. I think the same goes for authors and readers: while blog tours are becoming increasingly popular, I don’t think they can totally replace meeting an author or a reader face to face, like at a book signing or reading, making eye contact and being present to interact with another person.

Being able to Skype in to a meeting is a wonderful tool, getting your face and voice in on the action simultaneously, but even if I was a digitally savvy teenager, getting ready to graduate from high school, I wouldn’t be pleased to hear, “Instead of having a ceremony that everyone physically comes to, how about if the graduating class, along with their friends and families, just Skype in to watch the principal and the school district superintendent make speeches from the high school auditorium? With ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ playing in the background of the broadcast, it’ll be just as good as a graduation ceremony.”

Instead of having the family get together for the holidays, would it truly be just as satisfying if the various branches of the family merely Skyped in to Grandma’s house to watch her cook in the kitchen and to see her sit by the Christmas tree with Grandpa, onscreen? A baby would be in serious emotional and developmental trouble if his parent(s) or guardian(s) smiled and cooed at him from a computer screen all the time but he was never touched, held, or talked to in person. If I was a bride, I wouldn’t want to Skype in to my own wedding–and definitely not my honeymoon. Digital goes as far as it goes, but there are times when a human being simply must be physically present with other human beings.

A digital world doesn’t replace the need for the physical one. We, as humankind, can and should continue to leave room in our lives for both.

~~~~~

Author, editor, and speaker Nadine Keels of Seattle, Washington is best known for The Song of Nadine, the lyrical poetry seen in two of her books and heard in her spoken word presentations. Nadine has written two novels, Yella’s Prayers and World of the Innocent; a reference for writers entitled Write Your Genius, Genius!: A Rather Quick Guide to Book Writing; and she also writes short stories and articles for children. Nadine has served as editor and co-editor for a number of titles, and she is the founder of Prismatic Prospects, a communication company based in Seattle. Find Nadine online at www.prismaticprospects.wordpress.com

Amazon.com has announced the KDP Select program for independent and self-publishers who offer their books for the Kindle. Let’s take a look at the terms of this new program and see if you might benefit from it. In a nutshell:

Ebooks offered through KDP Select with U.S. rights will automatically be included in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library where they can earn a share of a fund totaling an estimated $500,000 monthly. The publisher’s share is based on the number of times the book was loaned as a percentage of all books loaned in that month. The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is a collection of books that eligible U.S. Amazon Prime members can borrow for free once a month with no due dates.

Books available for loan will still be available for purchase. That means that people who are not eligible to borrow ebooks through the Lending Library, or those who borrowed the ebook and loved it, can buy it.

Publishers may choose to offer books in KDP Select free for up to five days every 90 days. This is not something that has been available to independent Kindle publishers before now (at least not officially). Although you do not get paid for books downloaded for free, your book gets lots of exposure and downloads when it is free. Offering one title for free can be a good way to get attention for a series, for example.

To participate in KDP Select, your ebook must be exclusive to Amazon for a period of 90 days. That means the ebook may not be sold in other ebook stores or available on your website or blog.

New books as well as books already available for Kindle may be enrolled in KDP Select. You click “Enroll” from the Bookshelf for existing titles.

Should you enroll your Kindle titles in KDP Select? Here are some things to consider:

If your ebook is one that readers will want to own, either in digital or print format, making it available for loan allows them to preview it and discover that it is a book they should buy. Although this is not likely to happen with fiction, it may with at least some non-fiction titles. Will readers want to refer to the book often? Giving them a taste through the loan program may convince them to buy the book.

Although fiction titles may not sell better as a result of the loan, other titles by the same author may benefit. For example, currently many fiction authors offer one title for $.99 and others for $2.99 and up. The idea is that readers will sample the $.99 ebook then want everything else the author has written. Enrolling one title in KDP Select allows them to try that book for free as a loan or by making it available for free to everyone for a five-day promotional period.

The loan program also offers the opportunity to make money. The monthly fund will be divided among eligible KDP Select titles based on how many times they were borrowed by Prime members. The example given by Amazon is that if the fund for a particular month is $500,000, your Digital Book is borrowed 1,500 times, and all participating Digital Books are cumulatively borrowed 100,000 times, your Digital Book will earn $7,500 ($500,000 x 1,500/100,000 = $7,500).

Although it is unlikely that the typical book will earn thousands of dollars a month through lending, it is another source of income from your book. As long as the lending program does not cannibalize your sales, it is extra money.

You may want to give KDP Select a try and see how it works for you. Keep in mind that you can not sell the digital version of your book elsewhere while it is in the KDP Select program, and you are committing to an enrolled book being in the program for at least 90 days. This is the biggest negative I can see with KDP Select; however, at this time the majority of ebook sales for most books are made through Amazon, so not selling through Barnes and Noble, Apple, et al for 90 days may not be a problem. However, if you want your ebook to be available everywhere right away, KDP Select will not be an option for you. It also may not be prudent to enroll all of your ebook titles in KDP Select. You might try one title, or one title at a time, and see how it goes.

Amazon wants to be the ebook leader and KDP Select gives them an edge by giving them an exclusive on many books. Can you benefit from KDP Select, too? Maybe. Although it will not be right for every publisher and every book, KDP Select will definitely help many authors find an audience and make more money with their books.

Right now, Amazon has several books of interest to writers available free in the Kindle store. They will not be free forever, so go download them right away. Here is a list of the free Kindle ebooks for writers that I found today (November 8, 2011):

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing: Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish, Promote and Sell Your Own Book

Getting the Words Right

Write That Book Already!: The Tough Love You Need To Get Published Now

How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play

The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing: Everything You Need to Know About Creating & Selling Your Work (Writers Digest)

Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go

Add these ebooks to your collection now, while they are available at no cost, then use them to become a better, more successful writer. After reading these books, you may want to add others from these authors to your library or purchase the print versions to keep handy for reference. Enjoy!

Why Would You Want To Read Kindle Ebooks On Other Devices?

You may wonder why anyone would buy Kindle ebooks if they don’t own a Kindle. However, the fact is that most Kindle ebooks are very competitively priced – some are even free – making them more affordable than many other books and ebooks. There’s also a huge convenience to getting your ebooks delivered instantly, instead of having to go out to the store or waiting for items to be delivered. By making Kindle ebooks available via multiple types of devices, Amazon makes it easy to buy and read ebooks from them.

Whether or not you own a Kindle you may want to download one or more of the free apps so you can check the formatting of your ebook before publishing to Kindle.

Kindle For PC, Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7

Amazon offers free applications for reading Kindle books on both Mac and PC. The app is simple to use and makes use of the full size of your screen for reading ebooks.

If you own an iPhone or an iPad then don’t think you’re limited to Apple’s own ebook reading app. In fact, go to the app store and you’ll find Kindle available to download for free, helping to expand its use even further.

Amazon has also made apps available for other smart phones, including Adroid, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.

If you wish to buy any Kindle books, all you need to do is sign up for an account through Amazon and purchase in the same way as you would with any other item on the Amazon website.

Shopping For New Books

In addition to reading ebooks in the Kindle app, you can also buy them through the app. (Due to Apple’s terms of service, the buy buttons have been disabled in apps that run on Apple devices. However, you can still shop for ebooks in your browser and send ebooks to your Kindle app running on an Apple device.) Search for and download free samples of books you may be interested in reading, and buy the full version if you like it. Or buy from the Amazon.com website – the choice is yours.

Whispersync Between Devices

The best thing about using the Kindle app on all of your devices is that it’s so easy to switch between them when you’re reading ebooks. Ebooks you add to the Kindle can be accessed by any of the devices running the Kindle app. For example, if you download an ebook on your Kindle iPhone app and then later open up Kindle for PC, your new ebook will be there waiting.

Even better, the Whispersync feature means that the furthest read page will automatically be updated. You won’t need to remember where you got up to on the last page you were reading from – the Kindle apps will automatically do it for you. I sometimes start reading a book using the Kindle app on my iPhone when I am away from home, then switch to the Amazon Kindle later. No matter which device I use, Kindle knows exactly where I left off.

Go to Amazon and download one or more of their free Kindle apps, then start shopping for ebooks. If you have not already tried the Kindle, you will be hooked!

1. Surfing the Web: Using the browser in Amazon Kindle is not the same as surfing the Internet from your laptop or other computer, but Kindle can get you online when you don’t have your computer handy. You can use it with public Wi-Fi hotspots, and the 3G Kindles give you free access to the 3G network – very handy for checking emails or other simple tasks when you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection!

2. Listening to music and audiobooks: Do you love audiobooks? You can load your favorite audiobooks or music on Kindle for listening on the go. Kindle has a headphone jack for private listening.

3. Converting Text to Voice: Kindle includes a text to speech setting that will read ebooks to you, when needed. It is a synthesized, unnatural voice, but it can be useful when you need to hear something read to you, such as instructions, or if you absorb text best when you both see and hear it.

4. Dictionary: See an unfamiliar word? Quickly look it up with Kindle’s built-in dictionary. And if you want to learn more you can easily surf to Google or Wikipedia to do a search. .

5. Taking Notes: If you are making notes for research, or you just like to annotate your books as you read, you can easily do so with Kindle without damaging the book or making it hard to read through highlighting, underlining and notes in the margins. Kindle has functions that help you add notes, bookmark points of interest, or highlight sentences and passages. With the new @author program, you can even submit questions and comments to the author while you read. (@author is presently limited to just a few authors, but is expected to be expanded soon.)

6. Reading Newspapers and Magazines: Many of your favorite newspapers and magazines can be delivered directly to your Kindle. You get fast access without ink-stained fingers or those annoying subscription cards that fall out while you are reading.

7. Reading Blogs: Many blogs also offer subscriptions through the Kindle. Even though there is a fee (usually about $.99 a month) to read blogs that can be read for free online, the convenience of having your favorite blogs send their most recent posts directly to your Kindle can make this an efficient way to keep up with the blogosphere.

8. Reading PDF Files: Do you download PDF files and then find it hard to get around to reading them? You can send PDFs to your Kindle and they will be waiting for you the next time you turn on your reader.

9. Shopping For New Books: You can access the Kindle store through Wi-Fi or 3G (depending on the Kindle model you own) and get the latest books delivered straight to your Kindle. Because Kindle allows you to download samples of books you are considering, you can download samples. When you want something new to read, just scan the downloaded samples, find the book you want to read next and download it in seconds.

10. Searching for Information: Although you can search books in your physical book library, or use the index to find the passage you want, it’s not nearly as easy as doing it on the Kindle! The Kindle comes with search functions that let you find things fast. You can even organize and personalize the way you store your books based on a number of different criteria.

Kindle makes it easy to take hundreds of books with you and easily read wherever you are, but it does much more. Try some of Kindle’s other functions to get the most out of your ebook reader.

I sell my novels, novellas, and short stories for prices ranging from $0.99 to $3.99. Thanks to all the promotional work I’ve done–and the awesome readers who have helped get the word out about my books–that’s all I need to charge.

I’m not unique either. More and more authors are choosing to stay independent instead of seeking representation from an agent or a book deal with a traditional publisher. Some of them are making a lot more money than I am too (look up John Locke, Amanda Hocking, and Brian S. Pratt, for a few).

I can’t speak for them, but I thought I’d share a few ebook promotion tips based on what’s worked for me:

1. Get your ebook out there anywhere you can.

Some authors only sell their ebooks through their own sites or only worry about getting them into Amazon. There are lots of other markets, and the more places people can find you, the more chances you have of being read (and bought!).

You can upload directly to Amazon and Barnes & Noble (and iTunes if you get your own ISBN). Beyond that, Smashwords can help you get your ebooks into other e-reader and smart-phone markets (Sony, Kobo, Diesel, ScrollMotion, etc.). They don’t charge you a fee, and they’ll even hook you up with a free ISBN (they take a small cut of the sales for their role as distributor).

2. Give away something for free.

Many of the markets I’ve mentioned will let you “sell” a book for free (to get into B&N with a freebie, go through Smashwords, and for Amazon have someone report that your ebook is listed for free elsewhere–Amazon often price matches). This is a great way for readers to try your work with no risk.

I went with a free short story (there are no rules when it comes to length on an ebook). I used characters that appear in my novels, and then I included an excerpt for Book 1 at the end. Lots of people have told me they went on to purchase my not-free ebooks after reading that short story.

3. Be prolific!

When it comes to fiction, most authors aren’t going to make a living based on one book or ebook. The more work you have out there, the more doorways there are into your world. Also, fans of one book have the chance to promptly go on and buy others.

Most of the indie authors doing this for a living (and some are making six-figure incomes) have eight or more full-length novels out there, and they publish fairly often.

My body of work isn’t that big yet, but I’m working on it. I have three novels out, two short story collections (these don’t sell nearly as well as the novels, but they make me a little), and two novellas. One thing I’ve noticed (and I’ve heard other authors say the same) is that sales of my ebooks tend to increase across the board with every new release. The more you have out there, the better your odds are of eventually making a living as a storyteller.

Those are my three big tips. If you’re interested in hearing more, please stop by my new Savvy Self-Publishing blog where I share more about what I’ve learned along the way. If you’re a fantasy fan, you can also visit my author blog to check out excerpts from my books and see what I’m all about.

Thanks for reading!

There’s no hard and fast rule on what length an ebook should be, but from my 12 years as a book coach online, I know these ideas will help you decide.

Decide Which Number is Best for your eBook’s Purpose!

#1. A 10-20 page eBook is a good length if your purpose is to use it as a bonus to web visitors when they opt-in and subscribe to your site or ezine.

We call it an “ethical bribe.” This book can also be sold as a leader on Kindle for 99 cents or $2.99, depending on its specific help to the readers. General titles don’t usually sell as well as specific ones. Within these low cost or no cost ebooks, you need to add some powerful promo that leads the reader to check out your print books and other packages and services.

#2. A 30-120 page eBook (best under 100 pages usually) can sell well.

Especially if it offers specific information your audience has to have! Then, sell it at a higher price from $15.95 to $39.95. Higher for ebook courses and other training packages.

#3. A 20-30 page eBook with a specific title and specific audience can sell well through Kindle from $2.99 to $9.99 for best commissions.

#4. Aim for your sweet spot.

It could be 70 pages or 99 pages. If you book is offered at your site in PDF you have an advantage because it’s totally downloadable and printable, and can be ordered any time. Most buyers will print up to 70 pages of a book if they want it bad enough.

Since ebook opportunities are everywhere, you can get started today with any of these choices!

About Judy Cullins: My life’s mission and passion is to help unknown authors create the income they deserve, build their confidence, writing skills, and marketing tactics to get their unique, useful story out to their book’s audience who wants an outstanding life and work.

Learn how to write your ebook or other short book–Fast! with Judy’s ebook.

You want to gain new clients, you want to make money with books (either an eBook or Print Book), and make money self publishing. You want to make a difference. Well, you Can! No matter what stage you are in now. Whether you have an idea for a book or a book title, you can apply the chapter fast writing strategy, know the hot selling points and steps, and learn the proven tips to write a book fast to become a best selling author!

• Become the savvy expert in your niche.
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“This is not a book on how to write. It is a book on how to get it written. Whether you are working on an eBook or a print book, you will find Judy Cullins’ wisdom invaluable.”
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The Self Publishing Manual and Writing Non-Fiction

You can get instant access to this ebook, any time of the day or night for only $15.95. Click here to get your copy.

All you need to buy ebooks from Amazon without a Kindle is one of the many free Kindle reading apps available. Start by going to Amazon.com. In the left navigation, click on Kindle, then Free Kindle Reading Apps. On that page you will find links to download the Kindle reading app for the Windows PC, Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.

With the app installed you can download free and paid ebooks from the Kindle store and read them on your favorite device. (Because of a recent change in the terms of service for Apple apps, ebooks can not be downloaded via the Kindle apps running on an Apple device. However, ebooks can be purchased through a web browser and delivered to the Apple device.)

Even if you own a Kindle, you may want to use one or more of the Kindle reader apps. Using an app on a mobile device allows you to buy from anywhere, and read anywhere, even if you don’t have your Kindle with you. Most people have their phones with them wherever they go, so anytime you have a few spare minutes you can read a bit of that novel you are having a hard time putting down. Any of the Kindle ebooks already in your library can be transferred to other devices, and the ebooks can be accessed from more than one device. For example, I have some of my Kindle ebooks on my Kindle, my PC and my iPhone.

Amazon’s WhisperSync automatically synchronizes the last page read across multiple devices. That means that you can start reading an ebook on your Kindle, then pick up right where you left off when you turn on the Kindle app on your iPad or Windows PC.

Another advantage of the free apps is that most of them allow you to view photos and other images in the books in full color, instead of the black and white of the Kindle e-reader. Some Kindle ebooks now include audio and video that is only available when the ebooks are viewed on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad Kindle apps, making them more interactive and visually interesting than just words on the page.

I own a Kindle and I love it, but I also love the flexibility of using the Kindle apps for my other devices. And if you do not yet own a Kindle, the apps give you access to nearly a million ebooks, many of which are only available for the Kindle and its apps. You can be reading your favorites in just minutes.

Cathy Stucker is the founder of http://SellingBooks.com/. Visit SellingBooks.com to learn about writing, publishing and marketing books, including how to publish your ebook on the Kindle.