Why I’m a fan of ebooks
Ebooks have been outselling print books according to Amazon stats. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you probably know what they are—and maybe have even read one.
If not, immediately download the Kindle app to your smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop and buy an ebook NOW! You can also find free ebooks and get them on loan from most libraries.
History of ebooks
Ebooks in their current format burst on the scene around 2007 when Amazon released its first Kindle device. Prior to that an “ebook” was a book written and saved in a PDF format to be downloaded from any website. I wrote my first ebook—for a client—in 2004 on how to improve your bowling score. Then I wrote one for myself on hybrid cars, and I wrote several more for myself and clients.
They were most often sold by those long sales pages, some of which are still used to sell high-priced courses and workshops. As soon as Kindle was unveiled, ebooks popped on the scene at prices ranging from .99 to $9.99. Since people of all ages love the latest and greatest in technology, ebooks became hot quickly—and they still are especially since they sell for a fraction of the price of a print book.
First-time authors like ebooks
And they’re extremely popular with first-time authors as they can be short, somewhere around 10,000 words minimum. I’ve even purchased a 15-page ebook that was actually for sale on Amazon! Additionally, you can make changes quickly and easily by taking the ebook down from Amazon, fixing it up, and reloading it.
So if you’re on the edge about writing a “book” and time is your enemy, think about writing a short ebook. At least for your first go ’round. You can always convert it to printed format later on! And even to an audio book, which are now the hottest rage!
Self-publishing
Self-publishing today is a respected industry especially if authors present a professional product. With an ebook, you start with your idea, check the competition, write your short ebook of 30-50 pages, have it edited, and upload it to Amazon and other booksellers. You can do this all for only several hundred dollars (mostly for the editing) and in a short amount of time.
For those who have procrastinated writing a 200+ page novel or nonfiction book, that excuse can be simply overcome. Other than checking to see if your idea has a good size market of ideal readers, you can pretty much write and publish ebooks as the ideas flow.
I don’t know about you, but I have a file full of book titles, some even with the table of contents and mock book covers! If I commit to writing an ebook, all that stands between me and Amazon is my choice of how I commit my time.
Your first ebook
Your first ebook will most likely have its learning curves: getting your ideas out of your head, turning out a decent ebook, finding the best copy editor, and making the decisions you need to make when opening an Amazon account. But after your first ebook, you now have a system in place. You know how long it takes you to write, you know who you can trust and what it will cost to edit your ebook, and you and Amazon are now friends.
Coach with me
If you’d like to write your first ebook, why not schedule a complimentary strategy session with me so I can help you off to a great start.