Contributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers.
A website owner was asked what the “three most important components are for publishing a professionally produced e-book” and he referred the question to me. As long as I was figuring out the answer to this all-important question, I figured I’d pass it along to you but publishing an e-book is harder than reading one so I thought it better to simplify a bit. I took the liberty of qualifying it with an introductory clause and here it is.
A self-publisher must be a jack-of-all publishing trades and many readers are still not comfortable with e-books I want to tackle the question with those considerations in mind. I also believe in frugal publishing and e-books are ideal for that.
So, the three most important components of publishing an e-book are:
- The cover. Visuals are powerful tools. A great book cover may be even more important for an e-book (even though it’s virtual) than for a paper book. It will probably be the only visual a reader will have to connect the reader to the author’s (and publisher’s) credibility. Self-published authors can do a pretty good job of producing a decent cover using the free app provided by Createspace/KDP on the website.
- Great editing. Too many authors and e-book publishers think that great editing is merely the process of eradicating typos, but it’s a lot more. It’s grammar. It’s the conventions of writing (like punctuating dialogue correctly). It’s even the formatting. And it’s knowing about the things that your English teacher may have considered correct, but they’re things that tick publishing professionals like agents and publishers off! If an author can’t afford (or won’t!) spend the money for a full-service editor, read The Frugal Editor, make corrections as you go and then get a few extra pairs of eyes to give you additional input.
- Formatting. I list this last because most e-book services like Amazon, Createspace, BookBaby, etc. make it clear that formatting is essential and provide guidelines for getting it right. I included expanded step-by-step instructions for formatting your book for Kindle in the Appendix of my multi award-winning book on editing, The Frugal Editor.
Note: You should know that when a reader buys your e-book on Amazon, he or she gets to choose what reader format they prefer for his or her preferred device after clicking the buy button. When you use Createspace/KDP, you reach most everyone short of those who refuse to buy from Amazon and you save accounting time tracking different online e-book distributors. You will also saves time reformatting from a print version to an e-book and get distribution and marketing benefits when you use them exclusively.
PS: The fourth most important component of e-books is marketing. No e-book—no book!—is truly published if it hasn’t been marketed. It’s part of the publisher’s job no matter how it is published or who the publisher is. And if it is self-published, marketing is as much the author’s job as the writing of the book. Everything you need to know to market your book the way a professional would if you had the money to hire her is in The Frugal Book Promoter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Howard-Johnson is the author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including the award-winning second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor. Her latest is in the series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Learn more about her and her books on her Amazon profile page, http://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile. Visit Carolyn at http://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com
This article was republished from Writers on the Move
https://www.writersonthemove.com/2018/09/the-three-ok-four-most-important.html
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, editor, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.
Or maybe you’d rather do-it-yourself. Check out my book, How to Write a Children’s Fiction Book.
If your children’s manuscript is done and you need help self-publishing, check out Writers on the Move Press.
You can contact me at: kcioffiventrice@gmail.com. Or give me a call at 834—347—6700. (Please leave a message – I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)
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