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How To Publish An E-Book Online And Make Money
Are you interested in how to publish an ebook online and make money with it? We have garnered the best strategy you can use to help write and publish your ebook and also make money from it.
The internet has undoubtedly affected a lot of things in our world. An email has taken the place of snail mail letters for consumers. Instead of emptying our pockets with long-distance calls, we use Skype. And instead of battling for a parking spot and navigating the crowds at the neighbourhood mall, we shop on Amazon.
On the other hand, as online business owners, we may make a living by selling on Amazon.com and using Skype to conduct meetings and email to market our goods and services.
These, we will say, are a few of the disruptions the internet has caused in our world. You can see what the large publishing houses do with their spacious offices of writers, editors, and support staff. then substantial printing presses… then distribution hubs to send their books to booksellers all around the nation… everything with the intention of putting books in buyers’ hands.
Many people are discovering that self-publishing is a much better option—and, in most cases, a more lucrative option—than traditional publishing because of the lack of marketing support from the major publishing houses, as well as low royalties.
Everything you need to know about writing and publishing an ebook and making money is covered in this article, from the writing, creation, publishing, and marketing of an ebook through its sale on numerous platforms. However, before we explain how to publish an ebook online, let’s explain what is an ebook
What Are Ebooks?
Digital books are called ebooks. but in a format that enables online delivery or download. You can write them yourself, hire writers, use content from the public domain, and combine many other methods to produce your ebooks.
And because you can adapt your books to specific niche audiences, virtually any topic can be covered – just as many, if not more, than what a traditional publisher might print. Any topic is fair game as long as there is a market of eager purchasers, including travel guides, how-to manuals, mystery, romance, science fiction, self-help, and books about religions or technology.
The good news for aspiring authors is that ebook publication is cost-free. We do, however, advise spending a little money on a professional proofreader and your ebook’s cover design. A little bit of money doesn’t have to be much, but it helps a lot to have your ebook look good and ready for sale.
Why Sell Your Ebooks
Ebooks are a terrific lead magnet since they can draw potential customers to your business. This is primarily due to the value you provide through your ebooks, which need to go above what is already freely available online. They also assist in establishing your authority on the subject of your writing.
There are many platforms that provide basic and inexpensive services for publishing ebooks. In fact, if you already have your ebook’s material prepared, you might publish it right away and begin selling it online.
However, you must put in some effort if you want to receive long-term, sustainable financial rewards, and we will show you how to do this in the following 5 steps.
How To Write And Publish An E-Book Online
When you are ready to write your ebook, it is pertinent to make judicious planning, regardless of whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction, plan. There are several ways to approach this, but whichever method you choose, you must be ready to invest some time in planning.
1. Research Your eBook Topic
2. Write Your Ebook
3. Find The Best Self Publishing Platform
4. Promote Your Ebook
1. Research Your eBook Topic
If you want to write ebooks, you must make a plan in advance. This preliminary phase will help you decide whether your idea is valuable. If it turns out that it isn’t, you can go on to the following realistic choice. In reality, throughout the course of their study, several well-known authors were able to come up with creative ideas.
i. Niche Down
The ability to establish yourself as an authority on the subject of your ebook is the primary benefit of having a “niche.” You might have extensive knowledge of a select few topics but minimal knowledge of many others. Be detailed and concentrate on what you are knowledgeable about.
Although you might be able to create a full book on a particular subject, there are probably already hundreds of excellently written books on that subject. Being particular will enable you to contribute something novel that your readers will value.
ii. Choose the Right Audience
Take into account the demographics of the readers of your book, including their location, occupation, age, gender, and reading habits. You may identify who your primary audience is and draw particular people to you by using your brand, which includes elements like your book cover, writing style, font size, title metadata, and other aspects.
iii. Jump on Trending Topics
If you select the appropriate ebook category—one in which you can sell more copies per day than the bestseller right now—you can become a best-selling author. Although it can seem difficult, all you need to do is conduct thorough online research on “hot themes.”
You can choose from more than 10,000 different book and ebook categories. Place your ebooks in the most popular category that corresponds to the genre of your book in order to ensure that you can profit from selling ebooks.
2. Write Your Ebook
Your eBook will be better and you may charge more for it if you invest more time and effort into it. You must be prepared to spend months (or even years!) producing a high-quality eBook, followed by numerous rounds of editing and proofreading to get it just right.
Editing your eBook using free tools can greatly enhance its quality. To make sure your writing is free of spelling and grammar mistakes, we advise downloading Grammarly. Additionally, make an effort to solicit as much additional criticism on your writing as you can along the route.
While the writing process could take some time, it will be worthwhile to generate work of a good calibre. This will allow you to increase the price at which your eBook is sold as well as the likelihood that readers will suggest it to their friends and acquaintances, which should result in an increase in sales.
Making an ebook involves using the same writing and design techniques as making a traditional book: you conduct research, create an outline, connect the dots, write, rewrite, and rewrite some more, let your content sit for a few days, go over it again with fresh eyes, make any necessary adjustments, and you’re done.
We advise adhering to these fundamentals to develop a better ebook.
i. Editing and Proof-Reading
There are numerous approaches you can take to editing your book. Hiring an editor to merely review the first few chapters of your ebook would be a cost-effective solution. Many of the problems the editor found are probably present across the entire ebook, but if you know what to look for, you can fix them yourself.
Try printing it out and reading it aloud if you do decide to modify and proofread it yourself. You may also read through the entire document several times while experimenting with different fonts and styles.
ii. Book Length
The length of an ebook might range from 12 pages to 1,000 pages. Since there are no hard and fast standards, you can start by looking through books in your genre to gauge the length of your book by comparing it to similar, popular competitors.
We’ll discuss a few specific ebook features you should think about if you want to sell ebooks for a profit.
iii. Artwork
As the appearance of your ebook might affect sales, this is where the marketing of your ebook starts. Your ebook cover needs to have a pleasing visual aesthetic if you want to draw readers’ attention.
When people read your book, a beautiful design can have a significant impact on how they feel about it. You want readers to feel that your book is amazing in every way. Consider hiring a graphic designer if you’re unsure how to create an ebook cover. And never forget that you need to spend money in order to earn money.
3. Find The Best Self Publishing Platform
The hard work is practically done once your eBook is ready for publication (yay!). Finding the publication platform where you may make the most money from your eBook is the next thing to do when thinking about how to best monetize it.
Popular digital publishing sites like Amazon, Google Play, or Apple Books are some of the simplest places to sell your ebook. These platforms typically don’t charge a fee for publishing, but they do take a cut of any sales that are made via them. Royalties, which can account for up to 70% of each sale on the majority of well-known platforms, are subsequently paid to you.
That said, here are one of the best platforms to publish and earn from your ebook
i. Amazon Kindle Publishing
ii. NOOK
iii. Apple iBook Store
iv. Barnes & Noble Press
v. Kobo Writing Life
vi. Lulu
i. Amazon Kindle Publishing
Having attracted a sizable readership, Amazon KDP now houses a sizable collection of eBooks. This can be the best venue for you if you want to reach more readers. You receive better earnings, an ASIN number for your book that is free, and marketing resources. Your eBook will thereafter be restricted to Amazon alone, nevertheless.
That implies that you are unable to sell it elsewhere. The royalty might range from 35% to 70% depending on how much the book costs. For graphic novels and picture books, respectively, you can use the Kindle Comic Creator and Kindle Kids’ Book Creator.
It resembles the proverbial holy grail of ebook publishing. Not only is Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing the most well-known, but it also controls an astounding two-thirds of the market for buying ebooks. There are numerous benefits.
The Kindle store app may be downloaded by anyone for their computer, tablet, or other devices, which means that the majority of people will be able to access your Kindle book even if they don’t have Kindle readers.
ii. NOOK
The Nook is the name of the Barnes and Noble reader. About 25% of e-readers are powered by this gadget. The ease of collaborating on the Nook platform is one benefit of publishing with it. Therefore, if you are coauthoring your book with someone else, you might want to think about this. If you require assistance, Nook also provides live chat services.
Outside of that price range, royalties are 40 per cent; within it, they are 65 per cent for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99.
iii. Apple iBook Store
It is a free self-publishing platform for your eBooks in iBook format. Apple iBooks store may not have a massive audience like Amazon KDP, but it’s fairly large compared to others on the list.
You do have the alternative to sell your eBook on other platforms, unlike Amazon KDP. However, you will have to convert it into a different format such as a text file, PDF or ePUB.
Besides, to get your book hosted on the Apple iBooks store, you require a Mac system. Another option is to choose an aggregator like Smashwords which can get your book on the iBooks store.
The best part is that you get an incredible 70% royalty with this platform!
iv. Barnes & Noble Press
They used to go under the name Nook Press. Both in the US and the UK, a sizable fanbase supports Barnes & Noble. For eBooks costing $2.99 or more, writers are eligible for a 65% royalty on sales.
Because B&N boasts millions of customers, you can profit from a significant royalty as well as additional promotion. Additionally, you may monitor sales using their simple-to-use dashboard.
v. Kobo Writing Life
Despite not being as popular as Apple or Amazon, Kobo nevertheless offers eBooks in 190 different countries. Due to the lack of exclusivity restrictions on this eBook hosting site, you can publish your eBook wherever you like.
You receive a 45% royalty on eBooks that are less than £1.99. The authors receive an amazing 70% royalty on any amount above that. Making an account, uploading your eBook, and converting it to the free ePUB format are the only steps required to use Kobo Writing Life.
vi. Lulu
Lulu offers free ePUB conversion of your word document, just like other eBook hosting services. You receive 75% of the royalties from Lulu books if you choose to publish them.
You receive royalties ranging from 40 to 50 per cent if you decide to take a different path and choose different retailers. But unlike Draft2Digital, it wouldn’t provide automated formatting services.
Before it can be published, your eBook must also pass a quality assurance exam. You can use their marketing services, such as publicity and website design, for an additional fee.
4. Promote Your Ebook
Even though in most businesses promotion comes last, you should definitely start promoting your ebook before it is made available on any platform if you want it to be a bestseller as soon as it is available. Here are a few steps on how to do this.
i. Pre-Launch Promotion
Make an effort to establish a name for yourself among your target market, as readers like to purchase books from writers they are familiar with. You can start by setting up a blog, social media profiles, an Amazon Author Central profile, or any other platform of your choice.
Before it is released, you can start promoting yourself as an author and talking about your “upcoming ebook.” You should start spreading the word and encourage more individuals to sign up for your newsletter.
ii. Post-Launch Promotion
The success of your ebook’s post-launch promotion strategy will determine whether it continues to sell or is forgotten. You must continue to spread the word about your ebook in order to avoid low sales. Our top post-launch suggestions and techniques are listed below to help your ebook have the best chance of long-term success. You can use email marketing, and social media platforms and garner reviews from customers to promote your e-books.
Conclusion
Although it is much less common to publish an ebook than a printed book, the financial rewards are more long-lasting. If you want to sell ebooks for a living, you should first conduct thorough research and identify your target market.
If you are already a writer, producing high-quality content shouldn’t be a challenge. However, marketing is always important to ensure sales. You will position yourself in the market and ensure future sales through pre- and post-launch promotion.
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SOURCES: Liveabout, SaveTheStudent, Kitaboo