How to Design and Publish an Ebook
How to earn money by writing a book
Although there are many ways to earn money by writing, this needs expertise and there can be many platforms for them, but for a common user, is there any option in this field? Of course... If you write articles that target a specific field like if you write something related to health as a doctor, write something on education as a teacher that can help students, or you possess any technical talent and write something on a particular area related to technology or are an economic expert that writes business-related articles... or you are a poet and write poetry, a satirist and write satire, then you can publish it as a book so that not only people with interest in your area of expertise can be benefitted of this but you can earn money also.
Getting a book published is a very expensive process and even difficult to sell, as it will be difficult to get the cost back which will be spent on it. No publication will publish a book without taking any money, so a better option in this regard is to make the book an ebook and publish it without spending any money. There will be three steps in this whole process... First, design the book and the cover professionally. Second, upload the book on three to four platforms like Amazon Kindle, Google Play Book, Smashwords and Instamojo, etc. And the third is to promote the book and there are many ways for this.
In this article, you will get complete information about all the processes.
An advantage with Smashwords is that the book uploaded here also auto uploads on world level platforms of Smashwords’ partners like Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and Sony. Apart from this, you can also upload on Google Play.
How to design an ebook
In simple words, an ebook is the PDF format of a text file and when you convert it to a PDF, it usually takes the form automatically in which you save it as a Word file but there are things that require special attention. Simple Word files may open differently on different systems while PDFs remain the same on all systems.
The thing to note here is that you will have to design the file professionally in word format only because the three-four platforms on which you will upload your ebook will only support PDF on Instamojo and Google Play, whereas on Kindle, word file has to be uploaded which the Kindle converts itself and if its format is not correct, then after uploading it will not be displayed properly.
And apart from these three, both these formats of the file will not be uploaded on Smashwords or even if it supports the word file, it will not find a place in the premium catalogue (that includes partner platforms like Apple, Sony, Kobo). Here, you have to upload the EPUB file designed on the Calibre so that it can be read uniformly on all platforms. So let's first talk about converting a text file into an ebook.
What should be the format of an ebook
Irrespective of the page size, when converted to PDF, EPUB or Kindle format, it automatically adjusts according to the screen, but it is better to set the size that most readers read, that is according to a smartphone screen so that you can have an idea of what and how your file will appear.
For that, whatever page size is set in the file, go to the function tab of the "layout" of the file, click on customs margin and in the pop-up that opens here, choose the margins as top 1.27 cm, bottom, left and right 0.51 cm to all the content. Keep the orientation portrait. Keep the width 8.89 cm and height 15.24 cm in the "paper" size. There is no need to tick the section start> new page, odd-even or different first page in "layout". Keep both headers, footer to 0.25 cm and select OK after clicking "apply to whole document" at the bottom.
Now your file will be designed according to a smartphone which will fit as per the requirement of the tablet or desktop/laptop screen on any system further. Now in this file, you need to turn on the paragraph marker, so that you can see unnecessary spacing, line gap or page break and section.
On the first page, name of the book and the author, on the second-page little information related to the book, on the third page, dedication if any, fourth is of preface, the content summary in the fifth and your book starts from the sixth page. Here this count does not just mean the page, but you have to go to "layout" and break the section from "break" function to "next page" here. This is the most important thing for an ebook or else the content will be jumbled.
Every new page you want to keep as a separate one is not meant to be created with the enter button, nor by page break with control+enter, but only by breaking the section with "next page". Apart from this, there are few things to keep in mind, that any heading you wish to keep in the centre is to be kept from the paragraph section of "home" and not by moving it with the space bar. The content has to be justified from here. Select all the matter, go to the line spacing in the spacing tab, keep at least 15 pt for Hindi and 13 pt for English content. Rest of the font can be selected 9 pt for Hindi and 10 pt for English.
Here two points are important... First, there are no limitations like the paperback version, you can also attach multiple colour/black and white photos and videos with text to the file to make the entire book attractive and second that the ebook has two more things to add, which are optional on platforms other than Smashwords, but compulsory on the EPUB. The first is about the author and the second is about the other books or material written by the author.
A bookmarked summary is the most important part in the ebook formatting because it is not a physical book that if you had read eighty-two pages in a book of one hundred and twenty pages, then you can mark that page and when you start reading again, you start from there. In the ebook, you have to take special care that your content is divided into small sections and every section has a heading that you can bookmark and link later so that the reader can touch the specific heading from the summary and go to the desired section or the page directly.
● Story of a mission to track and eliminate a mastermind sent to Kashmir
How to bookmark and link every section in the file
For this, you have to select the heading of each section, starting from the first section. Click on the "insert" function tab and go to the option "bookmark" and write the initial letter or the heading itself without spacing and add it.
Now select the same headings that you would have written in the summary one by one (you don’t need to write page numbers next to them like paperbacks here), and go to the "link" option of "insert" and in the option of Link to: place in this documents, select the same bookmarked heading to "OK". In this way, the entire summary will be linked, and the reader can touch the desired heading to reach the desired part directly.
Now come to the finishing touch of the ebook which is your cover page. Cover of the paperback is a difficult thing, in which many things have to be kept that only an expert can take care of but the ebook has only the front cover that even a common user can make according to their subject with Photoshop or Coral or can create with the help of tools of any self-publishing platforms such as Canva, Pothi, Notion, CreateSpace, etc. Or if it seems difficult to do it yourself then you can get it done by a freelancer in five dollars with the help of Fiverr.
So now your ebook is ready to be published. Now save it as a simple word file and save a copy as PDF as well which is to be uploaded in Instamojo and Google Play.
How to publish an ebook on Instamojo
First of all, go to Google Play and complete the sign-up process. It will take time to get approval. After this, sign up on Instamojo as per the pictures given. Please note that you have to create an account in the individual category everywhere and give your exact details, including bank account and PAN card. If you are going to cross the limit of ten thousand on Instamojo, then only KYC is mandatory otherwise it is not required.
If you wish, you can give a professional look to your profile by putting a profile DP and cover photo here. From here go to add product. In the product type, select digital, then upload your PDF file, fill the title and subtitle. Enter HSN code, ignore it if you do not know. Fill the price, write about your book in detail in the product description below. Select from the category option below about the subject of your book and fill the words in the tag below that match with your book.
At the moment there is no need to do anything in advance settings according to your product, but in the SEO option below, fill the title, short description and keywords keeping in mind the Google search. Keywords are very useful in terms of optimization, that can rank your book in Google search. Then click on "add a product to store"... Now your book has been published on Instamojo.
How to publish an ebook on Google Play Books
After getting the approval mail, come to Google Play, click on get started and complete the process of sign up. Keep "self-published writer" in the publisher type. Give a name in the publisher name, or write your own name, write India in country field, fill in your contact number prefixing code for India below and select OK. When you will proceed after agreeing to the terms and conditions on the next page you will directly reach the home page from here.
Here, from the option given in the left side, you have to click on the book catalogue and go to the option "add book" from the next page. On the next page, select "sell book on Google Play" in the sell option and "get a Google Book ID" in the book ID option and proceed after save continue.
The title and description of the book are to be filled in the next section. Select the language Hindi, write whatever name you want as publisher, enter recent publication date, fill the number of the pages, fill the format as an ebook, ignore the series name and number, make the minimum edge as 15, maximum as 18. Keep "no" on the audiences, escape the related book option then save and continue.
The next is the category section. You can write and search for the desired category, leave BISAC in the genre then save and proceed. Give the details of the contributor if any on the next page or save it and proceed. Apply DRM "yes" in the setting, select the preview to 20%, copy-paste limit to 0 and save.
After this, the file upload page will open where you will get a new pop-up as soon as you upload, in which upload both the cover and the PDF file. After this, the page for the book price will open. Here you have to note that if you want this book to be purchased only in India, then select India and write a price accordingly or if you wish to sell it worldwide then fill the price which is applicable globally, however, it is a bit tricky step because books are sold at different price in different countries that have a big variation. However, if you save it, after taking some time, this book will be published on Google Books or Play Store.
How to publish an ebook on Kindle
After these two, now Kindle is the most important platform, where reviews can boost the sales of your book. Amazon reviews are the most impactful in the ranking of a book. So to publish your ebook on Kindle, first you have to come to the Kindle sign up page.
First, click on the sign-up button. If you already have an Amazon account, then log in to it and if not, then go to the option of creating an account below and fill the name, mail ID and password. Come to "bookshelf" by agreeing to their terms and conditions. Here you will be asked to update the profile. After verifying your phone number with OTP, fill your bank details and PAN card number and complete the process and come to the bookshelf. Here you will see two options, Kindle ebook and paperback... If you wish, you can upload your script in paperback, it will be live in Amazon on print-on-demand mode, that is, as soon as an order is made, they will print it to deliver.
You can avail this facility for fifteen or twenty languages but for Hindi, so go to this option if your book is in English, or else come to the option of ebook. Here a page with three tabs will open, with the first tab for ebook detail, where you will have to fill all the details carefully.
Choose the language of the book first, then the title and then the subtitle if any. You do not need a series and edition number. Give details of the contributor if any. Then write a nice, long description of the book. Tick "on" the publishing rights. Then choose seven such keywords with the help of which you think people can search on Google. This is the most important feature.
After this, choose any two categories according to your book. Skip the next edge and grade option. Tick "I am ready" below and save and continue.
At the top of the next tab, whatever you choose in DRM as yes or no, upload the manuscript as a word file below. After this, there are two options for the cover, whether you upload your own pre-made cover or you make a cover here using the Kindle's cover creator tool. If you wish you can see the preview. Leave the ISBN number, Kindle itself will generate an ASIN number. If you want to give a name in the publisher's field you can write it. Then click on save and continue.
The next tab is of pricing... Here in KDP, you may choose to not enrol because they have many conditions. Select all territories in territories field. Though there are two options in the royalty, the 70% option is applicable on the price above Rs 100 and many expenses and taxes are deducted in it, while in the 35% option you get that full share. It is better to go with 35% only.
Here you find 12 more marketplaces including India. Now, if you want, you can fix a global price or you can set the price according to different marketplaces, but here you have to keep the price at a minimum of 49 Rs.
Whether or not to allow the book for a landing below depends on your content and choice. After this, click on "publish your Kindle book". Within 72 hours your book will be live on the Kindle platform. You can make any amendment later also, but it opens only after the featured book is live.
How to convert file to EPUB format
Now finally comes Smashwords, from where you can simultaneously get your book reach to world level platforms like Kobo, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Sony, but the most important thing for Smashwords is to convert your word file to an EPUB file. For this, you must download the Calibre from here first. Calibre is most important for file conversion.
Now when you will open the Calibre, this kind of interface will open. Here, with the option of "add books" in the left corner, you will import the word file, then click on convert while selecting it. Here you have to fill the metadata, like the output format as "EPUB" in the right corner, fill the author, publisher, tags and short description etc. below, upload the cover from the option in the centre and click OK.
After the file is uploaded, click on edit metadata above, then the edit page will open, where you can fill some information to be filled later. If you wish you can correct the title, author, etc., and give a rating, correct the tags if there is an ISBN in the ID, then you can write it or you can edit later by taking it from Smashwords. Set the published date, publisher, language, etc. and fill in the long description in the right and click OK. You can save this file wherever you want in your system, by going to save to disk option.
How to publish an ebook on Smashwords
Now come to Smashwords... First, you have to complete the sign-up process. The process is almost the same, all the necessary information is to be filled, bank details and PAN numbers have to be provided. Select the account type as an individual. Here as a writer, you get a lot of space to tell about yourself and to attach all your social media links to the profile.
You get almost all the necessary fields in the dashboard option in the functional bar above and you can upload your book by going to "publish" option.
The first thing to do here is to fill the title. Write the book description below, while ticking "for immediate release"... Write long description first and then short. Select the book language. Here you have to fill the price in the dollar which should be minimum of 0.99. You can either enable or disable sampling. If you have kept enable, keep only 10 or 20% samples. Then choose two categories... Select yes or no in the option of adult content, according to the subject and keep no to the box set. In the tag option, give seven to eight tags that are related to your book and work as keywords.
Then upload the cover, after that upload the EPUB file. Lastly, publish it by ticking on agree in the publishing agreement section. The book will be published after taking some time. Though it will take some time to get listed in the premium catalogue, it will be done. If there will be an error, then it will be mentioned, that you can edit on the Calibre itself and upload your EPUB file as a new version.
How to promote your book
For that, first of all, write short or long description etc. about your bookkeeping in mind the subject of the book. Promotion largely depends on your network and your connectivity on social media. So as the first thing post about your book on your wall, tell people about the book, post or share in all the groups you are added to.
Please give only one link for shopping, preferably of Amazon because people can review the book there and Amazon reviews boost the ranking of the book. Once the book is discussed, readers interested in the subject can buy it from other platforms themselves. For reviews, you can request friends or people in your circle those are active on this platform.
It is very important to have a page for promotion on Facebook, with that you can make an advertisement for your book and run it. Here Facebook gives you a very detailed option to target your readers and you can target them according to their age, demography, interest, behaviour and locality.
Apart from Facebook, if you have an account on Instagram, then convert it to a business account, so that you can create advertisement targeting readers according to the subject of your book like Facebook. You can also use Twitter for promotion... Tag celebrity type people of your list and post in such a way that it reaches their wall, or in response to their tweets you can tell about or give the link of your book by using the hashtag.
Apart from these mediums, you can search blogs of the specific subject
on Google, on which you have written your book about and in the comment section you can give link telling people about your book. You can do the same on YouTube. In the comment box of all the videos related to that topic, you can give details and link of your book and a website named Quora can help you more where while answering to the all the questions related to your topic, you can tell about your book with the link.
Moreover, if you want, you can take the help of professionals to share information about your book to millions of people through bulk SMS and bulk e-mails. Even after doing all this, if you do not get a very good response, then there is no need to get disappointed… It takes some time for the new writer to get recognized. You can try it better next time.
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