Many writers frustrated with having no agent or publisher nowadays contemplate the many alternatives available, such as print-on-demand (POD) self-publishing through LuLu and similar services, quasi-self-publishing through more actively involved POD publishers like iUniverse, and vanity publishers.

eBooks provide a new form of publishing that has a low cost of entry and technology that is not challenging. The cost and technology is accessible to individuals, and there are many fledgling eBook publishers to provide a more traditional publishing experience.

The traditional publishers have been trying figure out eBook publishing because they know they can't ignore it. Some of the top British publishers convened a conference on this matter during the London Book Fair, with the top question: where's the money in eBook publishing?

They worried about eBook readers, piracy ("...Scribd.com...“the YouTube of text”), and pricing. The article writer at PW,Lynn Andriani, concluded:

In the end, of course, no one solved the $64,000 question—yet the panel certainly provided plenty of food for thought for international publishers who are just dipping into the e-book market.