What is an e-book?
An e-book is a computer file containing all the text of a book. It is typically formatted for easy reading on a personal computer or handheld computer.
How do I obtain an e-book?
Buying an e-book from Online Originals is very easy, even for people who are not comfortable with computers. First browse our titles, read the synopses and sample texts, and find one that you like. Then simply 'Add to shopping cart' one of two formats: 'PDF' or 'Palm'. Completing your e-book purchase takes only a few seconds. After you've paid for your order, just click the 'Download' button and follow the on-screen directions, and then the file will be saved on your computer. If you have any trouble at all, just contact us by e-mail and we will help you -- you have a full 48 hours to complete the download.
Which e-book format should I use, PDF or Palm?
Anyone with a PC or Mac will be able to read a PDF file (it automatically opens when you click on it, using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software that most computers already have pre-loaded). You can read the PDF e-book on your computer screen, or print-out the whole PDF e-book or just a chapter at a time. You can also read a PDF on the Sony Reader. A Palm file is for loading onto a handheld computer that uses the Palm operating system (e.g. Palm, Treo, Samsung Smartphone, Sony Clie). The Palm file is easily transferred onto your handheld when you HotSync, and it needs no software at all -- a tiny reader program comes built into the file.
Why publish new books as e-books?
Publishing conventionally-printed books is an expensive undertaking. The costs, which include formatting and typesetting text from paper manuscripts, and then printing, storage, distribution, shipping and retailing (plus remainders and wastage from unsold or thumbed copies), add up to tens of thousands of dollars for each book. This means that conventional publishers are interested mainly in books that are sufficiently mass-market to cover these costs and make a profit. With e-books, the cost of typesetting, printing, storage, distribution, shipping, retailing, remainders and damaged copies is avoided entirely. Lower overall costs means that more works that are not mass-market -- for example, literary, avant garde and esoteric fiction, as well as specialist and alternative non-fiction -- can be published cost-effectively. Moreover, e-books can be distributed instantly worldwide and they never go out-of-print. There are also other benefits for readers: lower prices, quick access, and easy storage. Readers who own handheld computers (around 100 million people at present) can have with them at all times a large selection of e-books to read whenever they like.
What kinds of e-books does Online Originals publish?
Online Originals publishes only new e-books -- works that have never been published before in any form. As an ‘e-book only’ publisher, Online Originals specialises in the kinds of works that are newly-enabled by the medium: fiction that tends to be literary or quirky rather than mass-market, and non-fiction for general readers that offers an original, alternative perspective. The list includes some foreign language works, some fiction for younger readers (ages 8 to 16), and plays.
What’s the difference between Online Originals and conventional publishers or booksellers on the web?
Conventional publishers on the web have begun to produce e-book formats of the books they produce in print, treating e-books as simply an additional distribution channel for their mass-market content. Accordingly, they tend to set prices for e-books as high as the cover prices of their print editions, to avoid harming paper sales, while paying their authors the usual royalty rate of 5-10% of e-book sales. Conventional publishers also add burdensome security encryption processes for fear of readers copying the e-book for their friends and relations. By contrast, Online Originals is an Internet-only, e-book-only publisher of new writing that is selected entirely on the basis of its quality, not its profitability. We pay our authors a full 50% of revenues received. Moreover, Online Originals offers low prices commensurate with the real costs of e-book publishing, and does not use any form of security encryption.
Why doesn’t Online Originals use security encryption for its e-books?
For a publisher whose aim is to broaden access to quality writing, the idea of a ‘locked’ book is anathema to Online Originals. Just as physical books are typically passed around amongst friends and relations, there is nothing wrong with sharing e-books with a few friends -- indeed it serves as a form of viral advertising for the author and publisher. The mass pirating of e-books is improbable because, unlike listening to digital music files for example, it takes several days of concentrated effort to read an e-book. Given (a) the effort required to consume an e-book, (b) the risk that a pirated copy has been altered, abridged or contaminated with a virus, and (c) Online Originals’ low prices, it makes more sense simply to buy an e-book from the official site than to download a pirated copy from elsewhere.
What kind of deal does Online Originals offer its authors?
These are the headline terms of an Online Originals publishing contract: Full copyright in the manuscript remains the property of the author. The author grants electronic rights only (including print-on-demand) to Online Originals. All other rights (conventional print publishing, translation, film, etc) remain the author's, leaving authors free to seek a conventional print publisher as well. The author earns a 50% royalty on net sales receipts (i.e. the sale price less credit card and banking transaction charges) and is entitled to do paid reviews of manuscript submissions (the rate of pay is £30/$50 per review). Royalties and review fees are paid to authors once a year for the previous financial year.
How should I browse the Online Originals site?
Select from the menu on the home page, which also runs across the top of every other page. You can read a history of Online Originals, as well as excerpts from our media coverage and other links, by clicking ‘About’. Click on ‘Titles’ and then on one of the twelve categories to view selected subsets of our e-book catalogue. There is always at least one ‘Free’ title. Free ‘Braille’ titles are also available for visually-impaired readers who use electronic Braille devices or voice synthesis software. In any list of e-books, click on a title to read the Synopsis, and then click on ‘Sample text’ to read a longish section of the e-book. Alternatively, several titles have streaming audio samples you can listen to. You can also learn about the author. The main menu choice ‘Search’ allows you to find an e-book or author by entering a keyword or phrase. Writers interested in having their work published by Online Originals should click on ‘Submissions’. You are currently viewing ‘FAQ’s.
What happens if I pay but fail to complete the purchase?
As with all shopping cart systems for online media purchases, it is possible to exit the system prematurely, without the purchase being completed. In the case of Online Originals, this may occur by your accidentally closing the browser window or if your Internet connection is terminated immediately after payment. But don't worry, we have provided a simple solution. If you have made a payment in the last 48 hours but were unable to complete the purchase straight away, you may simply return to where you left off by clicking here and filling in the form.
How do I contact Online Originals?
Please click here for contact details. |