Writing An Ebook and Getting Published

It's the ebook revolution I'm really excited about, and the new mass market created by Amazon with its Kindle ebook readers and their complementary Kindle Store. Publishers were slow to appreciate what Amazon was doing to the market for their printed books, and indeed some are still protesting all the way to the bankruptcy courts as their old-fashioned ways of operating are exposed for the rackets they were: ones that benefited neither writer or reader, or indeed often the publishing houses themselves.

The Kindle Store, devoted to ebook retailing, offers new writers a free platform for their books; one where you can list your book, describe its merits, offer a profile of you the author, and set your price for the product. Yes, Amazon take a commission on all sales, but even that compares well with the paltry net royalties offered by traditional publishers.

But if something sounds too good to be true, as this does, then what are the disadvantages, the dangers, the horrors that might dog you as a newly published author once your book is available for readers worldwide?

If you put your name on an ebook, then its shortcomings will be down to you. Nobody else. And to anticipate and ward off these downsides let's split the marketing aspect into three components:

* what does the packaging proclaim, tell readers what treats are to come

* how are the contents displayed

* how well written, instructive, informative or simply entertaining is the book

Taking the above in reverse order, therefore, if your writing is semi-literate, poorly punctuated, and wanders all over the shop as you attempt and fail to take your reader on a literary journey, or any journey for that matter, then your reputation is punctured both as a writer (probably for good) and as a person (what will your friends think of you when they read it?). The same care needs to be taken writing an ebook as you would for a print version. Your manuscript should be planned, edited, proofread, and targeted from birth at a known readership, and then it should respect it. Provide what readers want and they will respect you and look out for you in the future, tell them its a romantic novel when it is in fact an action thriller and you will lose them at the first hurdle.

Assuming you have a brilliant, professional-looking manuscript, the next thing to ensure is that it is laid out properly so that the software employed by Amazon and the like can convert it into a file that will display well on ebook readers. If you fluff this stage - Amazon offers copious advice, but it's not always easy to follow - then your wonderful work may look dreadful when viewed on ebook readers. And if that's the case, your book will neither sell or do you justice. My advice: unless you are comfortable with the jargon employed by computer and print people, pay an expert to help - at least for your first offering.

And finally we come to the marketing and 'packaging'. Here we are talking about what visitors first see when they visit the Kindle Store or other online ebook retailers. Your ebook will have two things: a unique listing page, and a slot where it sits with all other similar books in your chosen category.

Dealing with your unique listing first, you will be asked to describe your book, categorise it, give it a title, price it, and provide an image of 'the cover', a reminder that while no ebook will ever exist outside the screen you view it on, publishers still think of it as a tangible thing you can handle. Every one of these things, if badly done, will scupper your chances of success.

Moving to the listings, your competitors will all be visible now alongside a brief summary of your new book, and because you are new to the listings, don't expect to be number one. You won't be; you'll more likely be number fifty or sixty. But if everything you've done works as it should, day by day your sales should rise as readers take to your work. But it will take time.

Finally, I would advise all new writers to seek a little help when tackling this brilliant new market for the first time. Editorial assistance should iron out the minor literary flaws soon enough (if they don't then perhaps you shouldn't be publishing at all) and technical support to ensure a well laid out book, and an attractive and informative listing will ensure your book has a decent chance of being a success.

Go for it, I say . . . but take as much care as you can to deliver a truly professional work you can be proud of.