Digital Books: When Should You Publish an eBook?

By The Author’s Writer @2024

Writing an eBook is a bit different than writing a print book. First of all, an eBook is a digital book, readable on a variety of digital devices, such as a pad, a computer, or a cell phone.  When you publish an eBook, a different formatting is required than it would be for a print book so that the book is readable on digital devices. Some popular online bookstores, such as Amazon Kindle, only publish eBooks. Not only are these books (short and sweet, or full length) less expensive than paperback and hardcover books for readers, but they are also easier to format and publish for authors. This means that voracious readers who don’t mind reading on a digital device may be more attracted purchasing the eBook due to the low cost. 

There is another form of eBooks that may not be as well known, which is the formatting as a pdf that a reader can download for a minimal cost, for free, or in exchange for information, such as an email address. These types of eBooks are generally a bit shorter, perhaps 10 to 20 pages but may still contain valuable information or a sampling of a larger book and are found on business or author websites.

The subject matter of your book and where your readers buy books will determine whether or not you should publish an eBook.

One cannot deny that digital eBooks are less costly to produce than other alternatives, such as paperback books and hardcover books. However, you will need to sell more eBooks to make a profit on your book sales if you are going to publish via the online bookstore route. Now, if you are not happy with your eBook sales, you might want to consider offering a print version instead of an eBook or in addition to it.

For example, my book and workbook, learn to write a book in 21 days: by discovering the story within was not getting the traction that I had envisioned. At first, it was to be a brand book that I could offer to people that wanted to write a book on their own but needed some direction. I actually sold quite a few copies from my website. To get some feedback, I decided to contact the purchasers of the book. I contacted my readers? Yes, I did. What I found out was that many of them never read the book because they did not see the link for the download. After some time passed, they forgot about the purchase, since the cost was so minimal, until I contacted them and asked them if they received the book. That is what prompted me to get my books into print (paperback).  I did not foresee how many copies I’d be selling, as that wasn’t my primary goal at the time, yet I still wanted to offer this help to others. So, I searched for a printer who could give me a great deal on purchasing a small number of books. I’m always one to start small before things get too big and out of control.

Going to print actually increased my sales. But were the people who were buying my book making any headway? For those who are independent learners, the answer to my question was yes, but for those who needed more guidance and assistance during the writing process, the answer was “not really.” So, I decided to start a free private group for those who purchased my book and also offered free online group coaching. This not only increased my book sales, but I also met and got to know the people who were using my program. My decision to offer the free coaching created an amazing group of supportive authors who not only shared their writing but also provided excellent feedback to those who were also writing books.

Would I ever go digital again? When it comes to offering a full-length book, probably not. I think that people like to look, feel, and smell the pages of a freshly printed book. At least that’s what the people who bought my book told me. There’s something tactile about reading rather than just looking at a screen. This is not to downplay eBooks. Of course, they have their place in this universe and many people enjoy the convenience of reading them. They are convenient for both the reader and the author as they are less expensive to buy and even less expensive to produce. Once an eBook is published, there is no cost to duplicate, resulting in higher costs, visibility, or leads for the author. This is why I think it’s such a great idea to offer as a downloadable on a website.

Regardless of how you decided to publish, whether in an online bookstore that accepts eBooks or on your own business or author website, the subject matter of your book and your readership and where they prefer to buy books will determine if you should publish an eBook or not. This will require some market research on your part. Who knows? Maybe you will offer both eBook and print book.

Need help writing your book? Need publishing and marketing information? Contact The Author’s Writer.