Producing an e-book is relatively simple. You can produce it in
different formats, but the most common is PDF. This is read using Adobe
Acrobat Reader, which almost every computer in creation has somewhere on
its hard-drive. It allows you to send a 'snapshot' of the pages so that
the reader sees the page exactly as you intend, regardless of what
computer or size of monitor they are looking at. You need Adobe Acrobat
5.0 to create PDFs that are 'locked' (that readers cannot print or
alter), or you can do slightly less-well-protected versions using the
free trial software at Adobe's site: http://www.adobe.com/acrofamily/main.html
Another format that I really like is Microsoft's Reader. It can be
used on PocketPCs and most of the e-book reading I have done has been in
this format. It allows the reader to resize the text, which is a good
thing in my opinion. Again there is free software online for creating
books from Word files (http://www.overdrive.com/readerworks/)
but you will need to pay for the version that lets you include copy
protection
For technical details on producing e-books, this e-newsletter is
quite good: http://wz.com/arts/CreateSelfPublishedeBooks.html
It's a bit heavy on advertising but has some good information.
On the issue of copy protection, people's opinions differ. Some would
never dream of letting people have a copy of a book that could be freely
forwarded. Others consider that it's all good advertising - the more
people who hear about it, the more who will eventually buy it. (Note:
It's still illegal for people to send your e-book to someone else, even
if you don't implement copy protection, so you can appeal to their
better nature on the copyright page!).
For distribution you have a number of choices. You can go with a
company like Booklocker, Bookbooters.com or 1stBooks.com that will post
your book at their site and handle all the sales for you. If it were a
printed book, I would tell you that you have to list your book with a
company like Amazon, so that readers can buy it from a company they
already know and trust. However, e-book publishing doesn't have
400-pound gorilla like that. You may or may not wish to use a third
party to host/distribute your book. If you have the technical savvy and
inclination, it is relatively easy to set up shopping cart software at
your own site. Most web hosts offer this option. Along with their
shopping cart program you will need to subscribe to a get credit card
processing service such as CCNow or MerchantAccount. There is some basic
information here: http://www.bcentral.com/articles/workshop/115.asp
and you will often find discussions of various merchant accounts/credit
card processing companies in discussion forums for self-publishers.
Another payment option is to use a service like PayPal.com or eCheck.
These require people to sign up, however, rather than just entering
their credit card number. Unless you know your readers are likely to be
members of Paypal already (like everyone on ebay) this can be an
obstacle. I use this at my site, for my e-book, but that's because I
don't expect the majority of my sales to come through there and I can't
be bothered with the hassle of setting up a merchant account and paying
big commission and other fees. If I had lots of products to sell, or was
planning to sell my ebook exclusively through my site, I would
definitely get a shopping cart and merchant account.
On the issue of marketing, it sounds like you know who your audience
is and have a good idea where to reach them. Even though this is an
e-book I'd recommend getting hold of some of the heavy-weights of
self-publishing how-to books: Dan Poynter, the Ross's "Jump Start
Your Book Sales", John Kremer's "1001 Ways to Market Your
Book"... These are all good for inspiration. For information
promoting online, try Angela Hoy & MJ Rose's "How To Publish
and Promote Online" from Booklocker. It has been a best-seller for
a few years now.
The most important thing is to be enthusiastic about your book and
mention it wherever you go, online or off. Send out press releases, join
discussion forums and put your book info in your signature file, become
an acknowledged expert in your subject field. Send special offers to
groups that you think will be interested in your book, offer to give
talks...
I'm giving a talk on Sunday and I'm currently making up a stack of
CD-Roms to take with me so that I can sell copies of my e-book right
then and there - even though I still send people to Booklocker, online.
I don’t want to take the risk that they'll lose the impulse to buy
while on the drive home!
Anyway, this is a sketch of some of the things you could be thinking
about. I hope it's helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Julie
