Pro’s and Con’s of e-Publishing

E-publishing is a form of publication especially attractive to new writers. Some of the advantages of e-publishing include:

Writers get a higher percentage of royalties through e-publishing because the initial financial layout for the publisher is so much less than for a paper publisher. Some indie writers receive as much as 70% of the profits in royalties.

There are no returns from book stores and no paper books ending up on landfills.

Faster publishing time for accepted manuscripts of they go with an e-publisher. Rather than waiting up to two years for a manuscript to see print, e-publishing generally works within a few weeks after acceptance.

Writers have the ability to update text often and easily at virtually no cost. This is particularly important for e-books related to travel guides or computer technology.

Unlimited links which are important to guide books and how-to publications, music, videos, images – all these can be added to e-books.

E-books are longer available as they can stay infinitive on digital shelves even with slower sales – not like paper books that will be discontinued after several months, if they did not become a bestseller. This gives new writers time to build a following by having their entire e-book available over extended periods of time.

If this looks all too rosy:

Many people aren’t aware of e-publishing and others prefer reading a book from print rather than electronically.

Average good sales so far amount to 500 copies for a successful manuscript.

Writers are responsible for providing their own ongoing marketing for e-published work – but this is true for paper books as well that are often not very well marketed. A book might be great, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t sell.

Authors can’t count on the public seeing their books on shelves or in store windows – they have to find it on the internet.

Writers usually do not receive an advance if they go with an e-publisher.

Facit: 
e-publishing can be a good way for a new writer to gain a following. Romance, science fiction, murder mystery and fantasy are all possible genres for e-publishing. It is also ideal for How-To and guide books that must be updated frequently. Businesses can also save money on employee manuals and training materials by e-publishing them. An added advantage is that e-books can be clickable. Table of contents and indexes can all make navigating through technical e-books a breeze.

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