6 Reasons Why You Need to Publish Ebooks

There's no doubt that the market for ebooks is huge and growing rapidly. Most traditional publishers are already publishing ebooks, but self-publishers need to take the initiative to get their books into ebook format and promote them. If you aren't already convinced, here are a few more reasons why your books should be available for the most popular ebook reading devices:

1. Competitive Advantage

You are at a disadvantage if competing books are in ebook format and yours are not.

2. Potentially Higher Profits

Profits per book may be higher, depending on how much profit you make on your printed books. For example, self-published authors can earn a 70% royalty on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 on the Kindle store. And simply having your books available in the ebookstores may give you more exposure to potential customers and increase sales.

3. Cross Promotional Opportunities

If you sell other books, products or services, publishing ebooks is a good promotional tool. For example, an inexpensive ebook can be used to showcase your expertise and get customers interested in your other products. Novelists can promote their other books.  Be sure to include your website address and information about your other products in your Kindle book. (Barnes & Noble does not allow self-promotional links in their ebooks.)

4. Flexibility and Market Testing

If you write about a topic that changes frequently (like my books on online marketing), ebooks allow you to produce updated versions as often as necessary. On some ebook sales platforms, such as the Kindle Store, you can also experiment with different price points and easily update your sales copy.

Many ebooks are simply electronic versions of printed books, but there are other options. If you have written a fairly long nonfiction book, consider breaking it into several logical segments to sell in ebook format. Or publish new content that's too short for printed books. Ebooks are also ideal for short fiction works such as novellas or collections of short stories.

5. Speed and Cost

Many authors are choosing to publish ebooks and bypass printed books completely. Ebooks are usually faster and cheaper to produce, depending on whether you hire out the production or do it yourself.

Contrary to some advice I have seen online, ebooks do need a good cover. Consumers still judge books by their covers, and an amateurish looking cover tends to make them question the value of the content. It is generally easier and less expensive to have ebook covers produced than print book covers. I used Killer Covers for my own ebook covers.

6. You Don't Want be Late to This Party

More than 175,000 books were added to the Kindle Store in the first five months of 2011, bringing the total number of ebooks for sale there to nearly one million. Don't get left behind and leave money on the table.

Learn More About Ebook Publishing

As ebook sales continue to soar, authors who aren't publishing in ebook format are missing out on potential revenue. I have written a series of articles to help self-published authors navigate the often confusing path to ebook publishing:

• Sales of Ebooks and Reading Devices Soar 

• 6 Reasons Why You Need to Publish Ebooks

• How to Publish an Ebook for Multiple Platforms

• Quick Start Guide to Marketing Your Kindle eBooks Like a Pro!

Subscribers to the Savvy Book Marketing Newsletter have exclusive access to the archive of newsletter feature articles, including "4 Ways to Prepare Your Ebook Files" and "Ebook Pricing Strategies". If you're not already a subscriber, sign up today and you'll also get a free copy of my Top Book Marketing Tips ebook.

Share Your Thoughts on Ebooks

Do you own an ebook reader? Has it changed your reading habits? Where do you buy your ebooks? How should ebooks be priced? I invite you to answer these four quick questions in my ebook survey. If you'd like your comments to be quoted when I report the survey results, just enter your name and the title of your book at the end of the survey.

Comments

[Ellen Violette]

Self-published authors can earn a 70% royalty on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 on the Kindle store but ebook writers can potentially make even more money seling their ebooks from their own site where they can keep 95% of the profits or more. And by adding great bonuses they can charge a lot more than $9.99. And it costs very little to get started. So that's another reason to create ebooks.

[Thomas Retterbush]

I've considered publishing in PDF, but never really thought about trying the Kindle option. I'm going to give that and your other ideas some more thought for sure. Thanks!

[Kristy Taylor - Author]

Ellen said:

"Self-published authors can earn a 70% royalty on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 on the Kindle store but ebook writers can potentially make even more money seling their ebooks from their own site where they can keep 95% of the profits or more. And by adding great bonuses they can charge a lot more than $9.99. And it costs very little to get started. So that's another reason to create ebooks."

That's true Ellen, but they won't get the massive amount of exposure that Amazon can give.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thanks Kristy - it's true that Amazon can offer exposure to a huge audience. I am publishing my own books in PDF format and on Kindle/Nook/Smashwords, for maximum exposure and profitability.

[Ann Musico]

What a great post - so much clear, practical information and if I didn't already have ebooks that I offer on my website, your article definitely would've convinced me that I need to!

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Thank you Ann - it sounds like you are ahead of the curve! Good luck with your books.

[Bea]

Nice article, Dana, and I think anyone not publishing in different formats today is just leaving lots of money on the table. I do find that the one challenge for self-published authors is marketing. With Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, etc., they can gain their market share easier if they use only some of the tools available on these platforms.

BTW, I like your blog set up. It's easy to read and not cluttered with a lot of, well, other trivia.

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Bea, thank you for your comment and your nice note about my blog. I am so happy to hear you say that, since I worry that there's too much stuff on the site!

[bert brun]

thanks for your info -- helpful. I'm currently debating with myself whether to add a $65 additional ereader option to my (standard $360)in-progress POD book negotiation with virtualbookworm.com to put out my new novel "Certain Things Happened". They also published my last novel "Murder in the Pulpit" (no ereader contract on it). Sales predictably were low but I always find that promotion and marketing are the toughest things for an aspiring writer to master.
my question is: do you think the potential greater availability in ereader form is worth paying the extra $$?
Another Q.: I currently have 3 viable books with Amazon (in addition to Murder, a couple older ones, Mystery of Olsen Island , a juvenile one, and an a 1993 novel, Cold Coffee); B&N has the 2 most recent. Is it doable/advisable to try to get all of the into ereader availability?

[Dana Lynn Smith]

Bert, I do think it's a good idea to publish your novels as ebooks, especially for Kindle. Ebook reading devices are most popular among readers of fiction (romance is the top seller and mystery/thriller is second) and the popularity will continue to grow. Whether it's worth paying $65 per book to get them published in ebook form is another issue. First, I would be sure you understand exactly what you are getting for that price (Are they just doing the ebook conversion? Which formats are they producing? Are they actually publishing the ebooks for you, and on which platforms - Kindle, B&N Nook, others?) I recommend that you consider publishing your ebooks yourself. Novels are the easiest type of files to format for ebooks and there are some resources listed above. Good luck with the books!
Dana

[Judy H. Wright]

Hello fellow writers and readers,

Thanks so much for sharing the tips and techniques that will help all of us succeed. So much to learn and earn on the internet.

Looking forward to connecting with you in person and online.

Would sure appreciate anyone who would like to review a new book on resilience--Out of Balance? Be a Bounce Back Person. It is on amazon, kindle, smashwords, and a number of other platforms.

Thanks again, Judy H. Wright