In a recent series, we looked at the advantages and disadvantages of print books and ebooks in self-publishing. This is not a simple decision to make – there are a lot of pros and cons to each option and it is not always easy to see which option is better for you and your book.
Of course, you may well decide to have both a print version and an ebook, which is very common. This allows you to benefit from both methods and market your book in different ways, meaning that you can maximise sales.
However, having both formats means that you have to invest time and money in both. For example, ebooks will need electronic files created, which you may well decide to hire someone to do for you. Print books will also need formatting and may have setup costs if you will be using a traditional offset printing method, which requires metal plates to be created for each page of your book.
Your final decision on how to publish your book comes down to you and will likely be influenced by a number of different factors. You may only be selling your book locally or at talks, meaning that just a print book may be sufficient for your needs. Alternatively, you might have a big online following and know that they would be happy with your book only being available as an ebook.
This blog will be looking at a case study to consider the variety of facts which affected the decisions the subject made. If you need to remind yourself of some more general pros and cons of each option, take a look at my previous instalments in this series:
- Should I Have a Print Version of My Self-Published Book? – Advantages of Print;
- Should I Have a Print Version of My Self-Published Book? – Disadvantages of Print;
- Should I Have a Print Version of My Self-Published Book? – Advantages of Ebooks;
- Should I Have a Print Version of My Self-Published Book? – Disadvantages of Ebooks.
I also have a blog on a different case study here.
Now that you know some of the possible advantages and disadvantages of print books and ebooks, we will look at our case study for this blog.
Nadia
Today’s case study is Nadia. She works full-time and has been writing her book for several years as she has to fit it around her work. Now that she has finished her book, she has decided to self-publish rather than using a traditional publishing house. Although she knows how she wants the book published, she is still unsure of which format would be best for it. Some facts about her book:
- It is a non-fiction book about starting your own business and how to make it a success.
- It is a medium-length book and a fairly standard word count for the topic it is about.
- It has some graphs and tables, which readers may want to flip between, but it has no photographs or high-resolution images.
- It has already had multiple rounds of editing and proofreading and has had a cover designed.
Some facts about Nadia herself:
- She has not written or published a book before and does not have any experience of the processes involved.
- She does not have much money available for upfront costs but has a small amount budgeted if necessary.
- She works as a freelance business adviser and travels around the area giving talks on starting and growing businesses, which is why she has decided to write the book.
- She knows that at least some of her audience at talks and regular clients would be interested in buying the book.
Considering all of these points, there are some advantages to just having an ebook for Nadia. One is that it is cheaper for her to just have this, as there will not be many more costs that she needs to account for. She has already had her book edited and proofread, so she has paid for this and the cover design. She will still need her book to be formatted, which she could do herself or hire a professional for. This will likely be within her budget.
Another advantage of an ebook for Nadia is that she does not need her book to be at any particular size or resolution for the charts and graphs, so it would be suitable for this. However, if readers do want to move between the graphics, it would probably be better to have a physical book.
There should not be too many extra costs with a printed book, as again she only really needs formatting, assuming she has also had a back cover and spine designed. However, traditional offset printing requires metal plates to be made for each book and for a whole batch to be printed at once, resulting in high upfront costs.
Therefore, Nadia’s book might be better suited to a print-on-demand method as this has no upfront costs apart from formatting and each book is printed individually, as needed, with the buyer paying the full amount and a certain amount of this going to Nadia.
A print-on-demand method would also allow Nadia herself to have several copies printed to take with her to her talks and sell to her regular clients. Depending on how many copies she can reasonably expect to sell in this way, she could possibly save money in the long run by investing in an offset print run, as this usually has a lower cost per unit, even with the upfront costs.
Conclusion
Considering all of these points together, it seems that Nadia would benefit from a print version of her book. Print-on-demand would be cheaper upfront, but more expensive per unit. Nadia could have an offset print run, as she already has potential buyers lined up, so there is less risk for her. Ultimately this will depend on what Nadia can afford and would prefer. Next time we will be considering the offset printing or print-on-demand question in more detail with a new case study.
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