Why eBook Publishing is no Longer Optional

Publishing statistics are showing that all authors need to have eBook versions of their printed titles in order to remain competitive. As you will see in the publishing statistics below, the marketplace demands it.

  • It's estimated that 100 million eBooks were sold in 2010.
  • It's estimated that 500 million eBooks will be sold in 2011.
  • According to a recent report by Forrester, book executives expect eBooks to be half of all books sold in units by 2014.
  • Cisco's report says there will be 25 billion internet users by 2025. This is why you must market your book online.1
  • eReading devices are causing people to read more.2
  • Sales of eBooks are 191% so far in 2011—authors, again, eBook versions are a must.3
  • 54% of eReader owners say they read more now than 6 months ago. Only 18% of non-eReader users say the same.4
  • At the end of August 2010, eBook sales made up 9% of all trade book sales. In August 2009, they only represented 3.3%.5
  • The Confession by John Grisham was released simultaneously as a hardcover and eBook. His one week sales were 160,000 hardcovers and 70,000 eBooks. His last book, The Associate, sold 233,000 copies in the first week that it was available as an eBook. It's obvious that when given the opportunity, readers are flocking to eBook versions of popular books.6

Don't Let Your Work Get Overlooked

In addition to making sure that your book is formatted to work on multiple eReaders, you need to make sure that your book looks great. eBooks that are run through automatic conversion software or done using conversion guides usually end up looking sloppy and unprofessional. In building your reputation as a writer, it is important to make sure that your eBook projects a professional and polished image. Don't allow your work to get overlooked for something silly like missing sentences or misplaced images!

eBook Conversion Options

There are essentially three eBook conversion options: convert it yourself, use an automated conversion program, or hire an ePublisher.

Several free guides exist to help you through the process if you decide to hand-format it yourself. If you have some basic HTML knowledge you should expect to spend at least 8 hours on formatting. It is certainly possible to hand format without this knowledge, but it will take a little longer.

Another option is to use an automated conversion program. The existing programs available are good, but there is a very high risk of errors since these programs have a limited ability to recognize subtle differences in your original file. If you use an automated conversion program and want your book to maintain consistency in appearance, you'll likely need to go through and fix the errors by hand after the initial conversion. You can expect to see missing text, inconsistent font size, and funny looking paragraph breaks.

The last option is to hire an ePublisher that doesn't run your book through an automated conversion program. A good ePublisher will format your book by hand, give you all of the files, and provide you with unique versions of your book that are optimized for specific eReaders.

The most common mistakes you will find when using automated conversion software are missing words, inconsistencies in font size, and improper page breaks. Here you can see the difference:

compare human versus automated epublisher

The Advantages of ePublishing with Publish Green

We hope you have a better idea of what is involved with the process of ePublishing. The choice is obviously yours, but we honestly think that Publish Green provides the best product in the industry. Here's why:

  1. We do the work by hand.
    We'll make your eBook work on virtually EVERY eReader. We can even create device-specific files for the Kindle, iPad, and Nook.
  2. You get the most formatting options.
    Hyperlinking footnotes, image placement, and UnicodeTM are no problem for us.
  3. You own ALL of the files.
    We'll give you the EPUB and MOBI files we create. You own them all. You can do whatever you'd like with these files.
  4. We offer complete eBook distribution.
    We can handle all of the distribution for your eBook through Amazon.com, the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, the Sony Reader Store, and up to 30 more. We even create electronic sales reports for you and pay you directly.
  5. You can focus on what you're good at.
    You are a professional writer. You shouldn't need to worry about formatting and distribution (unless you want to, of course).
  6. You choose your royalty level.
    We offer 90% royalties by default, with the option to upgrade to 100% royalties.

We'd love to hear about your book.

  1. http://www.thedomains.com/2010/09/21/cisco-25-billion-internet-users-by-2025/
  2. http://www.informationweek.com/news/storage/portable/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=227500440&cidRSSfeed_IWK_ALLINGRAMPUBLISHESAPPIngramlaunchedVitalSourceBookshelfAppfortheiPhone
  3. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/financial-reporting/article/44546-e-book-sales-jump-150-in-july.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly's+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=783e160f6
  4. http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/new-harris-poll-ereader-users-reading-more-and-purchasing-more-books-09-25-10/
  5. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/44836-e-book-sales-jump-172-in-august.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly's+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=e03bb67
  6. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703957804575602792076468702.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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