If you develop your own ebooks and you market them yourself, there's been an important development in the marketplace that you have to be aware of.
It could mean a ton of free exposure and free traffic for your ebook, which of course could mean increased sales.
Google is obviously a major player in the online world.
And as of December 6, 2010, they have entered the eBook market in a big way, joining their competitors Apple and Amazon in this growing market.
Google eBooks is their new program, and like a lot of new services these days, it focuses heavily on "the cloud.
" What that means is that you can purchase ebooks on the Google eBooks website, and then read the eBook on a wide variety of devices, and your location in the eBook will sync regardless of whether you're using a device or reading it on the web.
And their new service is launching with apps for Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Sony eReader, and Nook, which means it will be possible to read your ebooks on virtually any device you want.
Google has secured pretty much all the major publishers, making them instantly competitive with Apple and Amazon.
And they are also working on including a lot of technical and scientific works that can't be found elsewhere.
In short, Google is trying to create the largest eBook market in the world.
What does this mean for independent eBook publishers? Google allows independent publishers to include their works in the Google eBook Store.
Not only that, but if you list your eBook with Google, it will show up in Google search results related to the contents of your ebook.
This could mean a ton of exposure and traffic, and it's all free.
If you're an independent eBook publisher, getting with Google eBooks should instantly become a high priority.
So how do you join? Go to the Google eBooks website and scroll down to the "Information for Publishers" link.
You can sign up for their partner program, and you can upload your ebooks to them or you can mail them in if you have hard copies.
If you're ebooks don't have ISBN numbers, you can still upload your ebooks using the Google Uploader program.
They also let you provide a "buy link" for each ebook.
You can also find FAQs and resources for authors and publishers regarding best practices.
If you market your own ebooks independently, this should be getting you very excited, as it really could be a game-changer in the eBook marketplace.
Google search results is one of the classic ways to get more traffic, and the new Google eBooks program allows you to place your eBook in those search results, for free.
Do this right, and it could mean a huge increase in exposure and sales for your ebooks.
Who doesn't want that?