Author | Josephine Ngatia
If you are a new author with no author platform, no email list or with limited finances, eBook publishing is for you. Publishing an eBook is a great idea for a first-time author who wants to build an online presence and sell their book to a global audience.
An eBook is the digital version of a print book and is sold online. You can read an eBook on e-readers like the Kindle Paperwhite (Amazon), Nook (Barnes & Noble), Kobo Aura (Kobo Books) among others. One can read an eBook on a smartphone, tablet or laptop using applications like Kindle apps. Most eBook stores have their own apps you can download on Google Play for android devices.
The Benefits of an eBook
- Global reach. An eBook is available to a wider audience worldwide.
- Author discovery. An eBook is a great way for the world to discover you as an author. You get to market it on Social Media platforms where most people hangout online. They can easily buy it at the click of a button.
- No inventory. You don’t have to deal with the Proverbial 1000 copies in your house. Without an author platform or guaranteed distribution channels, it is hard to sell copies of your print book. Most bookshops prefer to deal with publishers, not individual authors. Without inventory to keep you busy, you have more free time to market your eBook.
- Hassle free eBook distribution. There are many eBook retailers and distributors you can use to sell your eBook e.g. Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, iTunes (Apple), Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Draft2Digital, etc.
- Direct self-publishing. You can directly publish your eBook through online bookstores. You do not need a third party to do it. However, this is an option where you have the rights to your book.
- Higher royalties. Online bookstores pay you royalties of up to 70% of the retail price of your book. The payment comes directly to you. The exception is where you use a publisher to do the eBook distribution for you. The publisher will deduct their commission and your royalties will reduce.
- An eBook is easy to update if there is an error in the book file. Once you rectify the error, you can upload the edited book file again and it will be on the shelves within 24 hours.
- It takes a shorter time to publish an eBook. You decide when you want to publish it. You can publish your book in less than a month.
- A cost effective way to launch your author career. When you do not have sufficient funds to print 1000 copies of your book, then an eBook is a great way to launch your author career.
Ebook publishing in the Kenyan publishing industry remains unexplored especially for non-fiction eBooks. If you check for eBook versions of most print books by Kenyan authors on Amazon Kindle, you will find a few. Many authors have shied away from digital publishing yet its benefits far outweigh the costs.
Kenyan Publishers are waking up to the fact that eBooks are here to stay and we can now see more available on international eBook stores.
WordPower Publishing Kenya is an independent publisher whose aim is to change that narrative by providing upcoming Christian authors in Kenya a chance to self-publish their eBooks.
