Learn2succeed.com Incorporated - eBook Publishing for Beginners: How to Make Money Selling Your Digital Books Online

ISBN: 978-1-55270-467-7

Written by:

Learn2succeed.com Incorporated

Published in Canada by:

Productive Publications, P.O. Box 7200

Station A, Toronto, ON. M5W 1X8

Phone: (416) 483-0634 Fax: (416) 322-7434

Canadian Web Site : www.ProductivePublications.ca

American Web Site: www.ProductivePublications.com

Front Cover Art:

Spider web adapted from copyright free clip art from Corel Gallery 200,000

Corel Corporation, 1600 Carling Ave.

Ottawa, Ont. K1Z 8R7

Copyright 2012 by Learn2succeed.com Incorporated

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

eBook publishing for beginners [electronic resource] : how to make money selling your digital books online / Learn2succeed.com Incorporated.

Electronic monograph in multiple formats.

Issued also in print format.

ISBN 978-1-55270-467-7 (EPUB)

1. Electronic publishing. 2. Electronic books. I. Learn2succeed.com Inc

Z286.E43E26 2012 070.5'797 C2012-903481-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

eBook Publishing for Beginners

How to Make Money Selling Your Digital Books Online

Barclay's Capital has suggested that a quarter of all worldwide book sales in 2015 will be made up of eBooks. This has to be a wake-up call to publishers who are still trapped in the print-on-paper world. It also has serious ramifications for bricks-and-mortar bookstores, libraries and the entire supply chain which supports them, as the rationale for their very existence comes under threat.

Publishers themselves are threatened by the lower selling prices that eBooks command compared to print-on-paper books; even though there are savings on printing, binding, warehousing and shipping costs. Publishers are also under threat as authors bypass them altogether and self-publish.

Unfortunately, the nascent eBook industry does not operate as one large happy family, but rather in a Tower of Babel with different eBook reading languages on competing devices offered by ruthless dog-eat-dog competitors; each of which is fighting for market share.

It is no wonder that many publishers, self-publishers and authors are confused. Thats where this book can help them. It reviews the myriad of different devices on which eBooks can be read and then it covers the different computer languages used to deliver them. Readers will find out whats involved in preparing their material so that it can be read in eBook format.

The Internet attracts readers on a world-wide basis but publishers face a challenge in a world where, according to UNESCO, over a million new book titles are published every year. The challenge of discoverability is of paramount importance. Thats where metadata and keywords are starting to replace traditional advertising as a means of making a books availability known around the world.

This book discusses some of the ingredients that go into creating a metadata file such as the ISBN as well as the BIC and BISAC classification schemes. It also covers other topics that are not involved in creating matadata, such as legal deposits and Cataloguing in Publication (CIP).

The pricing of eBooks is a concern to most publishers and this book contains a candid discussion of accepted pricing structures and warns them about the risk of cannibalizing the sales of the print-on-paper versions of their titles. It also covers Value Added Taxes (VAT, HST, GST) as well as some of the tax implications when entering into agreements with US book resellers.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is important when trying to reduce the risk of piracy.

New distribution and selling models are emerging for eBooks and readers are given a review of eBooks aggregators, wholesalers and agents. It discusses educational models, subscription and lending as well as one-stop-shops for eBook distribution.

In short, this book will lead readers through the complex world of eBooks, how to create them and make money selling them.

No representation is made with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and both the author and the publisher specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and in no event shall either be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages.

Throughout this book, reference is made to many different software programs; the names of which bear registered trademarks belonging to various software publishers. For the sake of making the text easier to read (as is customary in product review articles), most of these are shown without including the Trade Mark or Registered symbols. The absence of these symbols is not intended to imply any disrespect or disregard relating to the legal ownership of such trademarked or registered names.

An eBook is an electronic book which can be read on a variety of devices such as a computer monitor, laptop, netbook, computer tablet, eBook reader, smartphone or other portable devices. An eBook may or may not have a hardcover or softcover print-on-paper equivalent for the same title. Some publishers, such as Productive Publications, the publisher of this book, makes eBook versions of many of their titles available at the same time as the print-on-paper version becomes available. They may not be released on the same day, but usually within several weeks of one another.

It was 1450 when a German blacksmith, named Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, created the first printing press and made the work of many monks and scribes completely unnecessary.

Jump ahead to 1971 when the first digital books or eBooks made their appearance and the first digital library was created. It was named appropriately enough as Project Gutenberg, in honour of the worlds first print-on-paper book printer. According to Marie Lebert of the University of Toronto, the initial concept was to allow people to own their own digital library made up of copyright free books. The project received a tremendous boost with the development of the World Wide Web in 1990 and is still with us today.

After this, many publishers and book sellers entered the fray and started offering eBooks as well as print-on-paper books for sale on a commercial basis. Initial adoption was slow but as more and more eBook readers, tablets and smartphones flooded the market, eBooks came of age.

In a recent study, Barclays Capital suggested that a quarter of all worldwide book sales in 2015 will be made up of eBooks. This has to be a wake-up call to any publisher who is still trapped in the print-on-paper world.

Every publisher, bookstore, wholesaler and book distributer will have to pay close attention and adapt their business models in order to survive.

Even public and academic libraries will be affected by this paradigm shift since many bricks-and-mortar public branch libraries are in danger of being replaced by centralized electronic libraries. This trend is likely to be exacerbated as state, provincial and municipal budgets are stretched to the limit as taxation revenue declines in response to the economic slowdown that is afflicting North America and Europe.