I was amazed to hear that authors of e-books could make thousands of dollars. Thousands of dollars? Yes, indeed. An e-book is a self-published book and just like the written works, the electronic book can ripen on the vine, but much faster in most cases, similar to the books that get published by the big guys.
Freelance journalist and Editor, Ruth Bushi, in her article How to Make Money from eBooks discusses how to make seom serious cash by self-publishing your own eBooks. She has some very good points and offers up a lot of food for thought. She gives insight into the steps needed.
The steps are straight forward:
- Choose a well-liked topic
- Write your e-book
- Choose your publishing
- Market your e-book
The Topic
Make sure that you focus on a topic that is popular and appeals to the masses (a provocative title for the topic is imperative). With so many “wannabe” authors, there are millions of e-books to compete with. Your subject must be compelling enough to draw in readers who want to read your take on it and not only be intrigued, but they also want to be impressed. To help compel a reader to choose your e-book, you must introduce them to something that is just a little different than what they have been reading. You must be very definitive and cater your writing to the target audience. Those are the folks who are going to pay to read your e-book and tell others about it.
The Writing
Know your topic, so that you can delve deep into it. That way you can keep the attention of the readers, providing them the value that they expect – for the price that they paid. No one wants to read a book about a book, so make sure that you provide depth on the actual subject matter that you’re writing about and make sure that it isn’t something that you just pieced together in a matter of hours. Nobody will want to pay for poorly executed writings. It also helps to provide something that is a bit different than those whom you are competing with. That might sound broad, but you must find that niche, twist, or angle. You might even consider checking out what your competitors are offering. It could turn out to be a worthwhile investment.
The Publishing
A few of the top publishing platforms (which are usually free to use) include Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Apple iBooks Author, and Barnes & Noble Press. Even though publishing seems to just be writing a document, converting it to an e-book, and then selling it, there are some bells and whistles to consider. These platforms provide everything you need to get you from ideas to dollars.
You must determine what formats you want to use, with EPUB being the most common and versatile. Apple has a proprietary format and can only be viewed using Apple devices and/or applications.
Publishing sites fall into one of two categories:
Direct to Readers – which is essentially an online store. Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble publishers fall into this category.
Aggregators – who distribute e-books to a set number of retailers, which also include Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble. This option has added costs.
The Marketing
Do not expect that because your e-book is listed on a popular online marketplace that you are golden. You have got to put your back into it and do some marketing and promotion. Focus on your target audience and market where you know they are. You, obviously, have an idea about what you think they like, so put it right out in front of them. You can also gather e-mail addresses and social media accounts to assist in your promotion. You might even be able to get others to help with getting your book out there. Setting up your own website to sell your book could be a game-changer, expanding your reach and reputation as an author.
Endgame
If you are successful, your e-book can net you a few dollars a copy, a day. You set the price, based on the e-book’s length, reviews, and what your competitors are charging. The online stores are going to get their share of each sale, but as your audience grows, so do your “royalties”. Soon enough, as you write more, you’ll be rolling in the Moula!
This is a revised version of a blog post titled “Making Moula with E-Books” on Web Publishing Unanimous.
