New Service Allows Authors To Write & Publish Ebooks On Mobile Device

A new start-up service called Instebooks is turning everyone with a cell phone into an author. If you have a mobile device, you can be an ebook author with relative ease.

Writing ebooks via cell phone is nothing new. Back in 2009 I wrote a post about how popular these kind of novels are in Japan. It appears that finally, this type of self-publishing might catch on here in the west.

According to this article on PR.com, the ebooks that amateur authors publish won’t be large chunks of text that are impossible to read:

Published instebooks are real eBooks readable in most eReaders, smartphones, and tablets. Though published by amateur authors the eBooks surpass many professional eBooks in leveraging eBook technology to tell great stories. “It’s more than multimedia, it’s things like our automatic hyperlinked entries, encyclopedia references, and maps showing a user’s travels that make these eBooks so fun and interesting to create and read,” noted Reece. Instebooks provides eBook apps with extra content for lifestyle interests (Pottery, Wine), activities (Soccer, Fishing) and events (Memorial Day, Weddings).

In addition to organization and supplemental content, Instebooks also automatically inserts custom covers, a table of contents, maps, and an index into every eBook. Updating the story is easy and instebooks can be re-published at any time. “That’s our ideal, add entries on the fly and publish your stories serially, like Charles Dickens used to do.”

It’s an cool concept, one that I’ve been interested in ever since reading about the mobile ebook craze in Japan. I can see this being very popular for travel journals. People will write about their travels, insert some photos, and you have a first-hand travel ebook for whatever destination it may be.

This also might turn into another form of social networking. I’m not sure exactly how it’d work in that fashion, but the ease of use and the ability to share with anyone makes it perfect for friends and family to stay connected.

I don’t think Instebooks will turn into a large profit machine for authors. I might be wrong. But I think the “traditional” ebook self-publishing route will still be the way to go for authors who want to reach a wide audience.

Related Posts

• ‘Cell phone novels’ enjoy growing popularity in Japan
• Multi-Platform Ebook Service Coming Soon (but not in the US)
• Move over Kindle, Japan is way ahead in the ebook game!
• Readdle service turns iPhone into ebook reader!
• Should Emerging Authors Skip Print And Go Straight To Ebooks?

Read More: eBooks, Self-Publishing