Despite the fact they have been on the market for around four years previously, it is fair to say that 2011 has been the year of the ebook.

The year started with the news that sales of Kindle ebooks outsold paperback sales on Amazon in the final three months of 2010, with sales of the digital downloads topping $10 billion for the first time.

Over the quarter, Amazon sold 115 ebooks for every 100 paperbacks and this trend was only set to carry on with Kindles and Sony e-readers ranking among the most popular Christmas gifts during the 2010 festive season.

Over the past six months, Kindles and other e-reading devices have been the talk of the publishing industry and it seems that a month can't go by without another sales record being smashed as people ditch bulky paperbacks and hardbacks in favour of an easy-to-carry electronic device.

Last month, both Amazon and UK book retail giant Waterstones reported that sales of digital downloads were higher than those for print books, with May marking the first month that ebooks outsold both paper and hardback books combined on Amazon.

And the fact that the ebook is overshadowing physical books by such a margin cannot even be attributed to a decline in reading, as Amazon claims sales of all books are at a record high.

Commenting on the shift towards digital books, Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, said: "Customers are now choosing Kindle books more often than print books.

"We had high hopes that this would happen eventually, but we never imagined it would happen this quickly – we've been selling print books for 15 years and Kindle books for less than four years."

The ebook's impact on publishing

So with ebook sales showing no signs of slowing, the publishing industry is having to adapt to make sure it is not left behind.

One of the biggest names in publishing Bloomsbury has spoken out about the changing face of the sector, praising the explosive sales e-readers have led to.

The publisher, which is behind popular books such as the Harry Potter franchise, has reported that its ebook revenues have soared to £1.5 million in 2010, a massive increase on the £79,000 brought in the previous year.

Jeremy Wilson, the chairman of Bloomsbury, said that the company is undergoing one of the most significant periods of adaptations in its history.

Nigel Newton, the founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury, suggested that the focus over the coming years will be working towards a global ebook market adding: "UK and US e-book sales are both growing apace, and with the Kindle now firmly established in the UK market and recently launched in Germany, there is now a focused effort to sell e-books throughout the world."

HarperCollins is also looking to get the most out of the ebook market and has announced plans to team up with Sterling and breathe new life into 57 of its classic modern thrillers by releasing them via the ebook, as well as in paperback form.

This tactic could bring older books to a whole new generation of readers and is a great way for publishers to make the most of the ebook revolution.

With data from Citi suggesting that the popularity of the ebooks shows no signs of waning, and predicting that ebooks and accessories will account for ten per cent of Amazon's revenue in 2012, publishers will have to keep thinking of new ways to embrace the trend.
 

2011: The year of the ebook