Seven Advantages of Having an E-book Format

Self-publishing authors have more formats and more methods through which to get their books into readers’ hands than ever before. Yet, there’s more competition than ever for a piece of the bookselling pie. So, how do you cut through the clutter and get your book read in the quickest, most convenient way possible?

While many readers still prefer good old-fashioned hardcopies – and you should keep copies of your book on hand at all times for last-minute sales and marketing opportunities – e-books are growing ever more popular among readers and writers alike.

If you’re new to electronic books, consider these seven advantages that an additional e-book format (or multiple ebook formats) may have for you:

1. Better for the environment. Sell an e-book, save a tree! (By the way, this is the major advantage of print-on-demand paperbacks and hardbacks, too; by printing hardcopies only when needed, you reduce or eliminate the risk of having to dispose of unsold units while respecting the planet).
2. Easy to update. You can change or correct your ebook at any time and the updated version becomes available quickly and conveniently. Just like print-on-demand books.
3. Zero inventory. Gone are the days of storing thousands upon thousands of dusty books in your basement or garage. Someone buys your e-book edition only when they want it, with zero hassle for you.
4. Instant availability. E-books can be downloaded immediately, allowing readers instant gratification when they click to order your book.
5. Less expensive. Lower production costs means lower upfront costs for you, and the page count has no impact on the retail price, which means you can price that 400 page book at the $9.95 ebook price you want, thus encouraging more sales – and more potential profit.
6. Easier to share. E-books allow you to provide advance promotional copies to news outlets and reviewers more quickly and at a lower cost to you.
7. Easier to publish. Writing a book can be difficult. With Outskirts Press, publishing paperbacks and hardbacks and easy. And now with popular e-book formats, publishing that same book across multiple platforms is a snap. You’ve already written the book; make sure it’s available everywhere it can be.

Consider e-books as one of many tools in a book marketing strategy that also includes print-on-demand. You can still choose to sell hardcopies in online and brick-and-mortar bookstores, but it’s nice to know you have attractive alternatives.

The most popular e-book platforms are:

• The Amazon Kindle
• The iPad
• The Barnes & Noble NOOK

TOP 10 DIAMOND BOOKS FROM OUTSKIRTS PRESS AUTHORS

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• 5 Reasons to write and self-publish your memoirs
• Outskirts Press presents Fandemonium Volume 3 published by Outskirts Press

“It was a dream come true. I would like to thank Outskirts Press for simplifying the process and for reminding me often enough that I am in control. I will publish with Outskirts again.”

Iyabo Williams grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. She lives outside San Francisco with her husband, children and grandchildren.

At the age of eight, Aisha Praisso, alongside her great grandmother, became a victim and a rescuer of many during the Nigerian civil war of 1967 between the Hausas in the north and the Ibos in the east. The tales from the war are sporadic and many of the stories are still left untold. Aisha, a survivor and self-proclaimed motor-mouth, would not broach the subject unless her life depended on it. But it did, and her whispers became loudly heard. Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria and raised by her maternal great grandmother, Aisha had a happy life until the Biafran war bulldozed its way into her idyllic home and turned it into a torture chamber. Her innocence was stolen by an Unknown Soldier while her guardian could only stand by and watch. Though Mr. Braithwaite, a family friend and English merchant sea captain, had rescued her and her great-grandmother from the worst by arranging for their escape to Lagos, it was already too late for Aisha; she had been branded for a lifetime of abuse. When things go awry in an abusive relationship, she finds herself in a state of utter hopelessness after being arrested on charges connected to her past boyfriend. It took her fourteen years…to sort through her pain, including the self-inflicted ones and find the courage to tell her story. Fortunately, her luck turns for the better as she begins to let go and start to re-live her life again.
Iyabo Williams, author of Hidden Scars