The Ebook Ebook
5/5
()
About this ebook
The Ebook Ebook guides aspiring author/publishers through the wilds of ebook publishing and marketing. The author explains writers' options at every stage of the e-publishing odyssey. Booth's research for The Ebook Ebook is as scrupulous as his writing is a pleasure to read. This is a book which will not only save author/publishers untold grief, but will give them a morale boost at the same time.
Michael Booth
Michael Booth is a journalist, broadcaster, and keynote speaker. He is the author of several works of non-fiction, including the award-winning, international best-seller, The Almost Nearly Perfect People and Super Sushi Ramen Express. He is a correspondent for Monocle magazine and Monocle M24 radio, as well as other international publications. His works have been adapted by BBC radio in the UK and NHK TV in Japan, and translated into over twenty languages.
Read more from Michael Booth
Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey Through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea, and Japan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Turncoat Chronicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Ebook Ebook
Related ebooks
DIY Publishing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPublish Yourself: Create & Sell Your Own E-Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarketing Your Book: A Guide For Self-Publishing Authors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWrite and Publish an eBook in 8 Hours or Less Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Make and Market an Ebook With Little or No Computer Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Successful Self-Publishing: Books for Writers and Authors, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Publish a Book: The 10 Minute Guide to Self-Publishing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Simple Guide to Self-Publishing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ebooks and Editors: What you need to know Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonfiction Ebooks Goldmine: Write and Sell Nonfiction Ebooks In 24 Hours Or Less: Selling Writer Strategies, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Practical Freelance Writer's Guide to Author Websites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTips from a Book Publishing Industry Insider Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEverything You Wanted To Know About Freelance Writing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNuts & Bolts of Self-Publishing: How to Self-Publish Ebooks and Paperbacks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGuide to Successful Online Freelancing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Guide to Writing & Publishing Your First E-Book: Insider Secrets You Need to Know to Become a Successful Author Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBackwards Book Publishing: Save Time, Earn More, Work Less Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to understand a publishing contract: Points of vigilance and traps to avoid for authors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWork at Home Ideas: The Basics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Elements of Internet Style: The New Rules of Creating Valuable Content for Today's Readers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self Publishing Toolbox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy eBook Publishing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Publish and Sell Your Ebook IN A DAY Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrash Course Digital Publishing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Consumer's Guide for Self-Publishers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Format Your Ebook for Kindle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting Started with Social Media: A Beginners Guide to Marketing Your Brand and Influencing Your Followers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBook Publishing 101: Insider Information to Getting Your First Book or Novel Published Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnybody Can Do Blogging But Not Guest Blogging! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEditing and Publishing e-Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Language Arts & Discipline For You
Get to the Point!: Sharpen Your Message and Make Your Words Matter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Sign Language Book: American Sign Language Made Easy... All new photos! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Writing to Learn: How to Write - and Think - Clearly About Any Subject at All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Verbal Judo, Second Edition: The Gentle Art of Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's the Way You Say It: Becoming Articulate, Well-spoken, and Clear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Economical Writing, Third Edition: Thirty-Five Rules for Clear and Persuasive Prose Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learn Sign Language in a Hurry: Grasp the Basics of American Sign Language Quickly and Easily Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Show, Don't Tell: How to Write Vivid Descriptions, Handle Backstory, and Describe Your Characters’ Emotions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Not Taken and other Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels: How to Write Kissing Books, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chicago Guide to Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5500 Beautiful Words You Should Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Barron's American Sign Language: A Comprehensive Guide to ASL 1 and 2 with Online Video Practice Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/510,000+ Book Titles: A Massive List of Titles to Inspire You Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Lost Art of Handwriting: Rediscover the Beauty and Power of Penmanship Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Ebook Ebook
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Ebook Ebook - Michael Booth
The Ebook Ebook
Michael Booth
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2010 Michael Booth
ISBN: 9788461440061
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. It you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Preface
Like All the Best Things in Life, This Book Was an Accident
Surprise! This Ebook Is Not About Fine-Art Printmaking
What This Book Is; What It Isn’t
Chapter 1
Just What Is an Ebook Anyway?
Free Online Ebook Self-Publishing Rears Its Beautiful Head
Do You Need More Convincing?
Is the Real Book
About to Disappear?
Weary of the Old Way? Discouraged by Rejection Slips? The Last Laugh is Yours!
What Has Happened in the Publishing Industry That the Media Devote So Much Space to Ebooks Lately?
Ebooks are Deadly Machines for Eliminating Middlemen
Some Economic Good News for a Change
Chapter 2
More Ebook Advantages for Writers and (Some) Publishers
Your Ebook Affords Your Readers So Many Advantages
A Trickle Is Becoming a Tsunami — A Quick Look at Ebook Distribution Numbers
It’s a Wonderful (Digital) World
Nothing Is Possible Without the Internet — Get Used to It
Chapter 3
Prepare Your Ebook — What Are You Waiting For? Getting Published Has Never Been So Easy
How Does a Writer Get Started Publishing His/Her Own Ebooks?
Mrs. Mae Horn’s Advice: Make an Outline
Mind-Mapping Sounds Like Something Out of Star Trek — And It Is
Your Cover Doesn’t Just Cover and Your Title Doesn’t Just Title
What to Do with the Front Matter? Put Most of It at the Back
The Three Secrets of Writing: Sit Down and Write, Write, Write
Some Copyright Nuts and ISBN Bolts
What Do You Do When You’re Finished? Who Said ‘Finished?’
Chapter 4
Look Complicated? Get Some Help
The Mother Cat Editing Process
It’s Probably Better if Your Expert Is an Ebook Specialist
Chapter 5
Mommy, Where do Ebooks Come From?
In Passing He Invented Hypertext Links
Practical Apps
Early Adopters
E-Reader Evolution
Steve Jobs Upsets the Ebook Apple Cart
Chapter 6
The Format Wars: Proprietary vs. Open Solutions
Enter Amazon
Converting Your Personal Documents for the Kindle
Converting PDF or DOCX Files
To Send and Convert Your Personal Documents:
The Secret Which Will Set You Free
Chapter 7
How the Internet Body-Snatched Marketing and Changed Your Life
The Times They Are a‘Changing
Online PR Has Made It Possible for You to Do It Yourself, Better
Communication with Customers Is No Longer a Letter-in-a-Bottle Monologue
Time-Honored Word of Mouth Goes Viral
The Web Is the Web; The Spider Is You
The Web Log Within You
More Advantages, More Work
Images and Videos
Social Networking Is Big, But How Well Does It Sell Books?
A Social Networking Site That Will Work for You
Make Yourself Findable
Suddenly You Feel Like a Circus Performer Spinning Plates on Poles
The Online Publishing Services Are Your Best Allies in Launching Your Book
Take It from a Pro
Your Product is Not Your Book — It’s You and Your Book
Guaranteed Success!
Chapter 8
Your Ebook as a Business Venture — Life is Just One Big Business Plan
We’re Talking About Business; Bookselling Is a Lot Like Selling Manhole Covers
Do You Like Writing Fantasy?
Chapter 9
Battle in the E-reader Jungle
Will OLED Technology Be The Next Step in Displays?
41 E-readers Baked in a Pie
Breaking E-Reader News
Ebooks for Business Use
Print on Demand Publishing (PoD) as a Compliment to Ebooks, or Vice Versa
Chapter 10
To DRM or Not to DRM, That Is the Question
The Pros
The Cons
Social DRM, The Soft
DRM Option
Chapter 11
You Are Not Alone
One of Life’s Great Satisfactions is Not to Have Missed the Boat
The Meek Shall Inherit Book Publishing
Ebook Glossary
The Ebook Ebook
Now the Publisher Is You!
This book is a navigation chart for avoiding the dangerous reefs and rip tides of the new publishing mare nostrum. If it can fill in the gaps in your e-publishing knowledge and help you to avoid a shipwreck in your publishing projects, it will have been worth your time and money.
Preface
Like Almost All the Best Things in Life, This Book Was an Accident
What’s a guy like you doing writing a book like this?
I asked myself. It’s not a long story. I’m an online fine-art-printmaking publisher. Over the years our printmaking websites accumulated a lot of good content, and it seemed a shame not to gather up the best of those articles and publish them as a book. When the new wave of online ebook self-publishing arrived, that seemed to be the way to go.
It looked simple. All we had to do was to clean up our web content, knock out some introductory text, create front and back covers, and upload the whole shebang to Amazon’s Digital Text Platform publishing service. They would then format it automatically and offer it for sale in the Kindle store. We would just wait for the compliments and reviews to roll in, not to mention the money. What could be simpler? Like everything else, however, it soon began to look more complicated.
So I started looking into it, a task which led me into a maze of self-publishing platforms, authors’ services, low-grade entrepreneurial schemes, format issues, digital rights management questions, e-reader compatibility choices, marketing tactics, and social networking strategies, all being touted by experts
of all sorts, all of them with their own agendas. If I were going to publish an ebook there were a lot of decisions to make, but the objective information on which to base them was skimpy and confusing. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of information, too much in fact. But most of it was designed more to sell me something than to offer useful solutions. Everybody with interests in the business was skewing the information to their own benefit. If all that wasn’t confusing enough, all my options were morphing and multiplying at Internet speed.
I didn’t come out the other end of that maze for a couple of months. A few days into what turned out to be a period of intense research, it occurred to me that I probably wasn’t the only one faced with that cacophony of information en route to the publication of their first ebook. I suspected that many writers, in view of that panorama, would give up and turn back. Without some reliable and disinterested advice regarding their best ebook self-publishing and marketing options, a lot of worthy authors would not bother to take the first step.
Surprise! This Ebook Is Not About Fine-Art Printmaking
That group of writers who needed more — and more reliable — information before embarking on their ebook projects looked to me like a market.
So I started nosing around, consulting my writer and publisher friends, and following the online commentaries on the subject. As I suspected, most of them were unclear on what publishing tools were available and what the options were. So I planted a Google Alert with a few ebookish keyword phrases (ebook publishing, online