In addition to Upgrade, which enables online viewing and searching, Amazon continues to sell e-books that readers can download. But in 2006 Amazon stopped selling Microsoft and Adobe-format books to focus on selling e-books through its wholly owned subsidiary, Mobipocket. The free Mobipocket Reader software allows users of PDA handheld computers to view e-books in the Mobipocket format.
Mobipocket books will also be sold through other online retailers. The promise, especially for self-published authors, is the potential to reach millions more readers at low cost.
Mobipocket, along with Amazon's BookSurge self-publishing unit, could enable Amazon to take a big share of the world's vanity-press business with little risk. Selling paid placement and other listing enhancements such as keyword visibility could provide a significant new revenue stream for Amazon.
Skeptics worry that Mobipocket could create a monopoly in the e-book marketplace if Amazon sells only Mobipocket books and the format becomes dominant. Traditional publishers are concerned that giving virtually free content-creation tools to millions of independent writers will undercut prices of all books.
To join Mobipocket, register at its publisher portal, eBookBase:
#www.Mobipocket.com/eBookBase/en/homepage/apply.asp?Type=Publisher#
Then register, print and sign Mobipocket's publisher agreement:
#www.Mobipocket.com/eBookBase/en/Homepage/pub[underscore]agreement.asp#
Fax in the agreement. After Amazon receives your signed publisher agreement, the Mobipocket team will notify you via e-mail of your account activation. Then you can log into eBookBase to start uploading and selling your e-books.
To convert your books to the Mobipocket format, you can download a free copy of the necessary software, Mobipocket Creator, Publisher Edition. You'll be able to upload directly from the Mobipocket Creator software or using the eBookBase Web interface:
#www.Mobipocket.com/eBookBase/en/Homepage/default.asp#
The e-books you've uploaded will be available through Amazon, Mobipocket.com and other retailers. For a list of retailers who sell the books, see:
#www.Mobipocket.com/ebookbase/en/homepage/partners.asp?Type=Retailer#
For more information, join the mailing list of Amazon's Digital Text Team by sending an e-mail to #DigitalBooks@Amazon.com#.