The History of the Electronic Book
- Early e-books generally dealt with specialist topics aimed at a small audience. The market for them was fragmented because there was little consensus about formatting software, they were poorly marketed and consumer resistance to reading "on screen" was high. As a result, they remained an "underground" product with little mainstream market presence.
- The growth in the self-publishing market made a major contribution to the expansion of the e-book. The romance novel genre in particular played a significant role in early e-book sales. In 2001, the major mainstream publishers realized they needed to embrace the format and develop e-book versions of print publications, which were sold via sites such as Amazon.
- The lack of a comfortable method of reading e-books hindered their widespread acceptance. The launch of Kindle, the iPad and other portable devices has made them more user-friendly. In addition, software now formats e-books in a way that mimics paper, giving the reader a more satisfying e-book experience.
