Tuesday 9 November 2010

How do I Publish My Novel as an Ebook for Free?

An author wishing to self publish a novel online is able to emarket the book to a wide audience with free publishing tools to different channels. A great way is epublishing through Amazon.com.

Online Book Publishing Companies

The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living
click to buy from Amazon
Most authors would jump at the chance at having a published novel on the bookshelves, but sadly, this is difficult to achieve. But the past few years has seen a revolutionary power shift in the author’s favour. Ebook publishing companies such as Google Ebooks, LuLu, Smashwords, XinZii and, the focus of this article, Amazon.com have made publishing tools and resources available to the author.

Amazon contains a host of publishing options via their CreateSpace, explored on a separate article, which includes the option of publishing the novel as an Ebook on their Kindle bookstore, or through print on demand.

Ebook PDF for Novels

Once the novel has been edited to perfection, the writer may use Amazon’s free publishing tools to create a digital book. A file format that is widely accepted is PDF. PDF can be read on many digital platforms, such as Kindler reader, Ipad, Sony Reader and Adobe digital readers.

PDF also retains much of the original look of the word document regarding fonts and layout, but also allows embedding of navigation software. Free downloadable PDF software for writers can be found on Microsoft.com/downloads.

Ideal Page Size for Electronic Books

Some digital readers allow pages to be displayed side by side, others as one page at a time. This many make it difficult for the author to decide on the page size, format and fonts. Of course, this is down to personal choice, but ideally, select portrait mode, A5 which is 140mm wide by 210mm high. Leave at least 20mm margins around the page.

Best Font for Online Books

Keep the fonts simple and consistent, and avoid those that are hard to decipher. Arial, Georgia or the well-used Times New Roman is perhaps best. 12point will make the page easy to read. Think carefully before deciding to choose justify, as lines that contain few words can look unsightly if they are separated by large spaces between. Avoid numbering the page on the file, as the reader will automatically generate page numbers for the ebook.

Ebook Cover Design

If the author is adept at painting or design, all well and good, but may have the option to commission an artist, or use Amazon’s online cover designer. The great thing about this is that creative control remains with the author. In many cases, potential customers judge a product by its package, and this is certainly true of books. Avoid cheap garish colors. Prefer an evocative book title and avoid clichés or overused phraseology. Endeavour for a book cover that stands out from the rest.

Ebook Royalties

Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books with Print on Demand and Online Book Marketing on Amazon.com
click to buy from Amazon
Amazon offer two pricing options for the ebook: The first is the 70% royalty option, for ebooks within a low price threshold, the other is 35% royalty for ebooks within a higher price range. It is worth bearing in mind, that the enovel may attract more buyers if it is low in price.


How to Publish an Ebook to Amazon

The Author has three requirements prior to uploading a book to Amazon: The complete book, saved in a PDF file, the book cover and the price. Creating a digital novel is made easy through Amazon’s publishing tools. This entails uploading the book to Amazon and previewing it for formatting errors. Upload the book cover or use Amazon’s online cover designer, and then decide on the pricing. It is all quite easy. The hard part is marketing the ebook to get it seen.

Links Relating to Marketing a Novel

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