STAFF REPORT
ISLAMABAD: E-Commerce experts have urged the Pakistani writers to enhance their digital skills and sell their books on online platforms as readers around the world spent $405 million on e-books in 2020.
Talking here on Friday, an e-commerce expert Syed Moneeb Ali urged the writers to use online platforms for showcasing their literary work globally. He said that writers can register their accounts to sell books on e-commerce platforms including Amazon.
He said that Amazon had added Pakistan to its seller’s list and now writers were getting the benefit of Kindle – a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon.
He informed that Amazon Kindle devices were enabling users to browse, buy, download, and read through wireless networking to the Kindle store. He said that publishing takes less than five minutes and the book appears in Kindle stores worldwide within 72 hours.
He stated that 72 percent of the e-reader market belongs to Amazon Kindle while the share belongs to Barnes and Noble Nook is 10 percent. He said books with eye-catching covers and valuable content attract readers on digital platforms.
Describing the benefits of e-books, a consumer Waqas Khan said that reading has become convenient for people due to easy search methods and the availability of e-books. He said talented Pakistani writers can have a good share in e-book market.
He said online books save the trips to the library and readers can customize the font size as per desire. He said e-books are portable and easy to carry and one e-book reader can hold thousands of books. “Text-to-speech and read aloud feature are also helpful for children and adults with a learning disability or with visual impairment”, he added.
A writer Muhammad Akbar said that paper books were thought of as less strain by many readers and being into radiation by electronic devices was not healthy for the eyes and brain. He highlighted that due to the easy publication of e-books, unauthentic and less credible literature was reaching the audience.
He said that some books were tempered and distributed on the internet and readers were unable to analyze the difference. He said that piracy and disrespect of intellectual property had also become a common phenomenon due to the wider circulation of soft copies.
Muhammad Akbar pointed out that in the age of technology, consumers should get benefit from the technology but also understand the hazards which can damage the ethics, rights and respect of others. He advised the readers to choose reliable platforms for searching and downloading the content.
