An E-book, the short form of an ‘electronic book’ is a printed book in digital format, E-books has been designed in such a way that it can be readable on digital devices like computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.
E-book consists of texts, images, or both and is readable on computers or any other digital devices.
Distance, accessibility and weight of physical books were among the factors that led to the rise of need for e-books.
With e-books, reading and accessing information has become easier as not everybody has unlimited access to the print format of a book or document.
E-books have a history from way back in the early 30s, while we all know that the printed paper format was available then, some people don’t know that the need for e-books also arose almost at the same time.
The first e-book in the world was created by Michael S. Hart, a student from the University of Illinois in the year 1971.
He launched the first e-book ‘Project Gutenberg’ and digitized the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
10 important steps in creating an e-book.
There are many steps to take in the creation of an e-book but the following stand out.
1. Creating an account: The first and foremost step to take in the creation of an e-book is to create an account on any e-book-making website. Examples of these websites are
- Canva
- Fiverr
- KDP
- Venngage, e.t.c.
2. Find a title and subtitle for your e-book: Your e-book must have a title and subtitle, while choosing a title, be sure to make use of titles that will draw the attention of the reader.
3. Write a description: Your e-book must have a description alongside your title and subtitle, and write a short introduction to the book so that the reader has an idea of what the content will look like.
4. Choose a title that matches the needs of your audience: Every book has its target audience so make sure that you’re not writing a book to the wrong audience, study the needs of your audience, and write content that suits it.
5. Write your content: This is the time to write down your work, an e-book should not be short so that the reader won’t feel unsatisfied and it shouldn’t be too long so that the reader won’t get bored.
Remember to stay in line with your work and not write out of context.
6. Make use of user-friendly or article-related images and create visuals: Images are another way to draw the attention of a reader to your e-book so make use of enticing/compelling images to create visuals.
7. Design your e-book: A good e-book design gives your work a better and more attractive display, your e-book should not be plain and boring, make use of graphics that match your article.
8. Choose the right e-book software.
9. Publish your e-book.
10. Share and promote your e-book.
How to sell your e-books.
Some ways you can sell your e-book include;
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Define your e-book’s target audience:
This is the first step you must make before deciding to sell your e-book. Understanding and having a good knowledge of your target audience will make you focus on creating content that is suitable for them.
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Have compelling content:
You won’t like your readers to start reading and stop halfway so write something catchy and attractive that will glue them to their screens till they are done.
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Choose the right platform:
Ever wondered why you have good content but a low number of readers?
Then, you need to check if you’re on the right platform.
Talking about platforms, there are many platforms on which you can sell your e-books.
Some of them are:
- Sellfy.
- Visme.
- Smashwords.
- Payhip.
- Amazon Kindle.
- Fiverr
- Google Play.
- Blurb, amongst many others.
Free E-books websites.
There are websites online where free e-books are available to readers, especially beginners who cannot afford to pay for the time being.
These websites consist of books ranging from romance novels, fantasy books, mystery books, etc.
Examples of these sites include;
- Open Library.
- Wiki books.
- Library Genesis.
- Project Gutenberg.
- Free E-books.net.
- Smashwords, amongst many others.
As a newbie, before starting to write an e-book, you can go through these sites, download free e-books, and read them to have a better idea of how you can go about yours.
In summary, e-books are dominant in almost all parts of the world today which makes it look like the printed book format is almost going extinct.
Writing an e-book is a favorable venture that can fetch you lots of profit hence the need to know all you need to know before creating one so as not to make mistakes.
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