If You Are Thinking of Publishing An eBook...May I Ask You A Few Questions First?

By David Hallum
Posted Wednesday, January 12, 2005

When Was The Last Time You Read A Scroll?

I asked the question to make a point, because I'm feed up with people comparing ebooks to printed books. Folks, they are basically the same when you think about what they DO. Both printed books and ebooks hold text and pictures and are used in the distribution process, it's as simple as that. Here's something else to think about, before paper people stored their text and pictures on stones.

With the advancements in technologies people have come from lugging around heavy stones (that were known as tablets), to carrying rolls of cloth (known as scrolls), they then advanced to the lightweight wood product paper (known as books) which can be quite heavy actually in certain circumstances. The first books were done by hand, then came the printing press. And now we come to the next generation of storing and distributing text and pictures (ebooks). I'm a true believer in the "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle, as an entrepreneur that happen to be in the publishing business, I have too.

Why Do You Want To Complicate Things For Yourself?

I ask you this to answer your question about which format you should publish your ebook in. As I said above I'm an entrepreneur that happen to be in the publishing business. So let's look at it this way, what if I was in the automotive industry, what type of cars would I produce? I wouldn't, I'd make the parts for all the manufactures. Why? Because, I'd have a ready made market. So ask yourself, what market do I want to reach and what type of vehicle do the vast majority of them drive (computer, or handheld device). Then make your part (ebook) to fit their vehicle.

Here's a tip, work on one vehicle (format) at a time or you could make a product like tires (PDF) that would fit on most makes and models. Then expand your product line in the future, after your first product has been branded and sent out to pasture to get fat for market.

What Do Cattle And eBooks Have In Common?

They both need to carry your name or mark on them. As a Texan, I know the importance of "Branding" or "Tagging" you do it not only to mark your property, but also so that others will know your name or mark. Sure there are rustlers (hackers) out there that will attempt to alter or remove your name/mark, but if you brand your name/mark in enough people minds it will be hard for these thieves to sell your stuff. And if they can sell your stuff you can bet they will not be getting top dollar for it. Plus they will not be doing it for a long period of time because sooner or later they will get busted.

Why Do You Keep The Lights Turned Off?

Please turn them on, I want to see your pretty face. This reminds me of the statement most every business owner has heard at least once in his or her lifetime. The statement is "Not advertising is like winking at a pretty girl across the room with the lights off. You know what you are doing, but she doesn't" Folks there have never been a truer statement made about advertising.

There are basically two types of advertising, passive and aggressive.

When you are first starting out you will want to use "Aggressive Adverting" and here's why. Remember I told you about those rustlers? Well, you need to brand your name in as many people minds as possible to head off those rustlers. To do this you will have to aggressively advertise. If you hate to "advertise," hire someone to do it. This is a thief prevention task that will have to be done. That's why in the old west the ranch owner would hire cowboys, they had to be an aggressive type, they had to wrestle up to a 1000 pounds of animal to put the owners mark on them. Boy has "BRANDING" changed.

After you have branded your name in a good many of the public minds, it's time to start your passive adverting campaign, now that you don't have to worry about loosing your entire stock to those no good rustlers. "Passive Advertising" is done to inform the people about your brand that you may have missed during your branding, and to remind or keep up to date those that do know your brand.

Summary - I think I've explained in this article what an ebook is, what format is best, and as an extra I've touched on marketing, branding, and advertising. I wrote this article to answer some of the most FAQ's I get and to point out how important it is to advertise a new ebook.

About the Author
David Hallum is the publisher of the "eBook Catalog" you can get a free copy of the email version of this catalog by sending a blank email to ebookcatalog@referralware.com It's FREE to list your ebook/s in this catalog details are in the catalog.