Here are some simple rules for creating and publishing a quality ebook.
Why make an ebook?
Millions of people have a tablet, an ebook reader or a smartphone and are increasingly using them to read books. Even if they have not abandoned reading books in print, in many cases they prefer to choose ebooks. Because they cost less, because they find them comfortable, because in this way they can always have books at hand.
It has now become a habit of all publishers in the world to combine the paper version of a title with the digital version (ebook), leaving the reader the choice between the digital and the paper edition. And so also in self-publishing it is important for an author to publish, in addition to the paper version, also the digital version of his book.
In short, we advise you to create it even if you prefer paper books and if you are not among those who read ebooks. Making an ebook with our platform is simple and free, it opens you up to a new market and makes you participate in one of the most important innovation trends in the publishing world.
How do you create an ebook?
After creating and selling your book, use the “Create ebook” button, located under your book in the “Write” section of your personal page. Go to your personal page
At that point you will be faced with two choices:
- You can follow the “Create the ebook for free” path that will accompany you step by step in the free creation of your ebook. Once you have created the digital version of your book and uploaded your epub to our platform, we recommend that you click on the Preview button and check that your ebook is displayed perfectly before finishing the procedure. When you are satisfied put it up for sale and decide the price of your ebook. Most of the profits will remain with you, up to 80% of the final price.
We advise you not to use this path if there are numerous images, tables, graphs, etc. in your book. In this case, we recommend that you purchase our professional conversion service in order to have a quality epub at your disposal;
- You can follow the path “Create your ebook in a professional way” . The professional conversion and ebook distribution service that our platform offers you is the best on the market, necessary if you do not want to spend time creating the ebook with our free platform. The Service will allow you to convert your book into an ebook and access distribution and sale on all major Italian and international online stores, as well as make it available on request in more than 5,000 Italian libraries. By purchasing the service you will receive the epub ready to be uploaded directly to ilmiolibro.
What is the best selling price for my ebook?
You can freely set the price between a minimum of € 0.99 to a maximum of € 19.99. In general, we think that the selling price of your ebook should be lower than the price of the print version, also to attract more readers. Since there are no printing costs, you can keep a low selling price and still have a good profit margin.
In the same way, we advise not to lower the price of your ebook too much, also because – in buying it – readers will have no other expenses. Furthermore, the true value of your book is in the content, and selling it at too low a price risks debasing it and making the print edition seem – on the contrary – too expensive.
If your goal is to reach a wider audience of readers, you can later decide to reduce the price by running a promotional campaign in which – for a limited period – sell your book at a very low price.
These are the advantages of a system, such as that of ilmiolibro, which allows you to quickly change the sale price whenever you want.
For example, you could start with a price between € 4.99 and € 9.99 and after a couple of weeks change it to € 2.99 and launch a special promotion.
Remember, in this case, to send an e-mail to all your readers, contacts and friends, and to give the news also through your social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, etc, by writing for example: “For just one week, my ebook will go on sale for € 2.99. The book speaks…. “
You could also organize a “flash offer” later. Just for one day offer your ebook for only € 0.99. Also in this case it is essential that everyone knows: send an e-mail, talk about your book, let them know that only for that day they will be able to buy it for € 0.99.
Finally, you will have the opportunity to organize a 0 euro promotion, distributing your ebook completely free of charge but for a limited period. This will allow you to make yourself known, get comments, climb the popularity rankings of the different stores in which it is distributed.
What will my earnings be?
Your profit margin increases, as a percentage, as the selling price of your ebook increases: you can earn up to 80% of the actual cover price. Your earnings will be calculated like this:
Sale price – (hosting + VAT) = Author award
In practice, your earnings correspond to the selling price, minus our hosting costs. The hosting amount varies according to the price and you can check it when you define the price of your ebook. We use the hosting to cover the costs of our shop and the technical costs of delivering the ebook and applying the digital watermarking. In general, the incidence of our costs decreases with the increase in the sale price of the ebook. We will bill you for the costs of hosting and delivering the ebook. You will not have to pay the invoice, because we will deduct the amount from the price of your book and credit you the difference on the current account you entered by bank transfer. Each month you will have a report of what has been sold, on the basis of which we will credit you the earnings. To view it, just click on the Sales detail button that you can find by going to your personal page, Writing area, under your ebook. Your earnings will be credited to you together with those deriving from the sales of the print edition of your book, on average after 1 or 2 months from the sale.
Are the copyrights entirely my property?
Yes, you are the sole owner of the copyrights. In any case, the acceptance of the general conditions of service does not involve the transfer of copyright to ilmiolibro.it. This means, for example, that you can decide at any time to publish your book with a publisher.
Are the author’s fees subject to taxation?
All author’s fees are subject to taxation according to current regulations and must be declared by the author if he is required to provide a tax return. The author has a sales report on his personal page.
I have already published my book or my ebook with another self-publishing site or with Amazon, can I also put it for sale on other websites?
Yes, putting your ebook on sale also on ilmiolibro will create additional sales opportunities for you since the site is visited by hundreds of thousands of users every month and is the most used self-publishing – In addition, the profit margins that my book offers you are very high. To do this, however, you must first create the paper version of your book and print at least one copy.
You can sell your ebook with the multi-book even if you have previously published it with a publisher, as long as you are back in possession of the publishing rights assigned to the same at the time. Furthermore, if you want, ilmiolibro.it also offers you the possibility to activate the Premium Distribution Service which offers you additional visibility, allows you to assign an isbn code to your ebook and put it on sale in all major ebook stores including Amazon, Apple, IBS, laFeltrinelli, Kobo, Book Republic and many others. It will obviously be up to individual stores to decide if and how to make your ebook visible. The ebook will have an ISBN code different from the code used for the paper edition, as required by international standards.
I created my ebook, how can I edit it?
Simply by creating a new edition directly from your personal page. If you have activated the premium service, the modification of the ebook will create a real new edition, complete with a new ISBN code.
How do i promote my ebook?
Break the news! The release of the ebook version of your book is a great opportunity to break the news to all your contacts. Write an e-mail by entering the presentation of the book, the price and the link of the book’s description on the site. Also remember to ask friends to forward the email to all their contacts to spread the word. Use social networks like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin to give information about your book. First of all, however, remember to check your public page on ilmiolibro: if you haven’t, enter a short bio of yourself and enter your real name and surname instead of your nickname (it’s more professional!).
All information on how to promote a book generally applies to ebooks as well. We have collected them in a small guide that you can read here
How do readers buy and read your ebook?
After putting your ebook on sale, readers will be able to purchase it on the ilmiolibro.it website. To do this, just register (using the new quick registration), pay (by credit card or prepaid card) and immediately receive the ebook in your e-mail box. The book will be personalized (digital watermarking) with the buyer’s name and surname. The buyer will then be able to read the book through any ebook reader on their PC (for example using the free Adobe Digital Edition software), tablet or smartphone (for example using the free Bluefire software). Quick and easy isn’t it?
How to publish my ebook on Amazon, Apple and other ebookstore?
You can sell your book in all major ebook stores: large international ebookstores such as Amazon Kindle and Apple iBookstore and large Italian stores such as laFeltrinelli.it, IBS, Book Republic and many others. And the best part is that in one place you can track all your sales and receive your payouts in one place. The service assigns an ISBN to your ebook and includes a promotional activity. Also in this case you remain the sole owner of the copyright, in the spirit of self-publishing that characterizes ilmiolibro.it. to know more
Author: Angelo Raguso
