As I read through Smashword's Style Guide, which is a great tool to prepare your work to meet their uploading format, I put all other thoughts aside for an entire afternoon and simply embraced the process of publishing something new. My self-help booklet: Becoming the Creative Writer that You know You are! was my test book for the eBook self-publishing world of mine. I spent more than 4 hours re-formatting my book to meet their standards and finally getting it uploaded. Upon reflection, I learned a lot about how to format and utilize tools on Word that I had never clicked on before. Once the process ended and my book successfully uploaded, as I am anal about following the guidelines that companies take the time to inform you of, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and immediately began thinking about the next book I want to turn into an eBook. Sometimes, learning new things is difficult but if you make the time for it, there is much to be gained in your writing profession. The book market will continue to expand and speed up. We have come a long way since writing a book in a spiral notebook, better or worse, and it is only up to us to make things easier on ourselves as time goes by. So, what are you waiting for? These thoughts will help you decide if creating an eBook is right for you:
1. Do you have something that you would like to offer to your blog members? Creating an eBook is a great way to draw new members to your blog as well as give a little surprise to your current members. Creating your own eBook is fairly easy and your members will appreciate the gift.
2. Do you want to surpass query letters and agents and loads of rejections? I will be the first to tell you that I Love querying agents and awaiting that hopeful day to be signed by one, thus becoming a regular client. However, I have some books that I want full control over. There is nothing wrong with either approach to getting your book on the market. Think about it.
3. Do you want to get material to specific audiences? Sometimes, writers write for a specific group of people. I wrote one book specifically for people who have suffered through trauma and wanted an eBook so that I could send my book directly to them. This also gives them easy, inexpensive access to my book. Who knows where it will go from there?
4. Do you like the idea of people downloading your book? An eBook, as we all know, can easily be downloaded through several apps worldwide. Now, all you'll have to do is help people realize that your book is out there.
5. How would it hurt? Realistically, creating an eBook doesn't hurt your career and may be just the side-job you need to supplement income. Besides, self-publishing an eBook isn't going to discredit your abilities as a writer. Just make sure that your book is written well and edited before making it available.
Okay, you just read 5 thoughts that should set you on the track best for your needs. Before creating an eBook, I would recommend taking the time to discover what you really want and what would serve your purpose best. Remember, most of the greatest writers of the past wrote shorts that never went through an agent or publisher's hands. Nope, they simply created many of their own copies and handed them out to gain recognition of themselves or specific information. In all essence, creating your own eBook is the same as handing them out! Whatever you decide, embrace the process!
Jaymes Ian Woode
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