This year, more and more people are turning to digital reads instead of physical books. The e-book became the biggest selling format last year, outselling even the classic paperback.
And while e-books are undoubtedly popular, they’re more than just a fad. There are several big motivations behind why you might want to write an e-book.
- E-books are ideal for people who love to travel. No need to lug around heavy books when you can download the entire thing on your phone or tablet. You can mark it up and make notes in the margins which enriches the experience for both of you.
- E-books are great for people who love to read, but don’t have the time to go through a whole book in one sitting. They’re also ideal for people who want to read but don’t want to do so in loud public places. Imagine how wonderful it would be if you could read your e-book on the beach or by the bonfire with your friends and family around you. You’d have everyone’s attention, but it would be completely private.
- E-books are a great way for writers to get their work out there and for readers to discover new stories. All you need to do is download a reader, log in with your Facebook account, and start writing. Once you’ve written the first draft, you can send it to a professional editor to polish it up.
They’re Cheap
E-books don’t require the same resources as a physical book. You don’t need to buy expensive printing plates, expensive paper, or travel fees to meet with publishers. You don’t need to hire an editor or a proofreader either. All of these things add up, and it becomes more expensive to print and ship a physical book. Not to mention the cost of the actual book.
The only cost associated with writing an e-book is your time. If you want to write a best-seller, you’ll need to make sure you’ve put in the required hours. You’ll also need to spend a decent amount of time organizing and structuring your thoughts. But once that’s done, the writing itself is basically free.
They Can Be Any Length
With e-books, you don’t necessarily have to limit yourself to shorter stories. There are several tools available online that can be used to create e-books of any length. From the short shorts to the long-form novel, the online tools make it easy to create an e-book that fits perfectly into your readers’ hands.
If you’ve been turning down offers to write short stories for magazines because you want to write a novel instead, now might be the perfect opportunity for you. Not only will you have all the necessary experience in dealing with editors and writing for magazines, but you’ll also have all the necessary material to work with.
E-books Give You An Audience
If you’ve been writing for magazines, you’ll know that getting an article featured is pretty much all the praise that writers get these days. The more eyes on your work, the better, especially if those eyes are good.
If you’ve been putting in the required hours and managed to accumulate a decent amount of content, you can start selling your work digitally. The more eyeballs that can spot your special brand of prose and put it behind a payment button, the better. Readers can become your audience, and if they like what they read, they can become your advocates.
They’re Self-Publishing On The Go
Anyone can be a publisher. All you need is a computer, a WiFi connection, and a solid plan for monetizing your product. Once you’ve signed up for a publishing platform like Amazon’s Kindle, you can start publishing e-books in less than a minute.
This convenience alone might make it worth your while. However, there are several advantages to using a traditional publisher as well. Many large publishers have several teams of editors and marketers who can help you bring your book to market. Traditional publishers also have ample resources to properly promote your book.
Ultimately, it’s all about the content. If you’ve got a solid idea for an e-book and can put down some good, clean prose, you can easily entice readers into buying your book. And if you want to write an e-book and don’t have the time to do so yourself, there are plenty of good editors and proofreaders that you can hire to help you out.