In my last blog post, we looked at some of the benefits of having an ebook version of your nonfiction book. Having an ebook is less expensive if you will only be having it in this format and it makes it easier to make any updates or corrections you need to your book. However, there are several disadvantages to having an ebook version of your nonfiction book, especially if this is the only format you will be publishing in.
Whether or not to have an ebook will depend on you and your book and what works best in your situation, so take the time to weigh up the pros and cons. We will now look at some of the disadvantages of nonfiction ebooks.
More Work
Creating an ebook version will be more work for you, especially if you are also having a print book. You will need to make sure your book is prepared in the correct file format and that everything displays as you would expect it to on a screen. There are plenty of guides and tutorials out there if you need to learn how to prepare an ebook, but it still takes time and a lot of extra work on your part.
In addition, you will need to think about different selling methods for an ebook. Whereas it is possible to just sell a print book on your own website and in bookshops, this is not as easy with an ebook. You will probably have to sign up to at least one online selling platform and upload your ebook file, as well as a description that will persuade potential readers to buy it. Choosing keywords is also vital for a book on a selling platform such as Amazon to ensure it is appearing in searches.
Harder to Format
Ebooks are also harder to format correctly. You will want all of your images and charts to display in the right place, with the related text. However, this is more difficult in an ebook, when some readers might make the font larger, for example. Having an ebook also means that you can’t have a chart on one page and the relevant text on the opposite page, as only one page is displayed at a time.
Can Lose Quality
In addition, you may well find that ebooks have lower quality charts, graphs and pictures than print ones. This is a problem for a few different reasons. Firstly, if your book’s images are of poor quality, it will be hard for your readers to use them as you intended. For example, if the captions on a graph end up being blurry, they might not be able to tell what it is showing.
The other problem with low-quality images is simply that they look unprofessional. If a reader has paid for your book, they will expect it to be published at the same standard as a print one. Having blurry images can lead to bad reviews and losing potential buyers, as well as disappointing your existing readers.
To a degree, the quality of the images can be beyond your control. For example, your book can only ever be the same quality as the screen it is displayed on, so if your readers have a device with a low-resolution screen, your book will look worse no matter what you do. In addition, readers can usually zoom in on images in ebooks, which would also make them look blurry.
However, there are some steps you can take. Make sure that you always use the highest quality available of any images and that you use the right size to fit your book, rather than resizing them, as this can mean you lose quality. Also, make any text and captions big enough to comfortably read without your readers needing to zoom in.
Not Tactile
Some readers prefer a physical book to hold in their hands. They like the feel of it and the convenience of being able to flip back and forth between multiple sections. They may well not buy an ebook, no matter how good it is. Unfortunately, there’s not really anything you can do about this unless you are also publishing a print version you can point these readers to. If not, they might decide to settle for an ebook, but it means that you are already at a disadvantage for any reviews or future purchases.
Lower Value
Finally, ebooks have a lower perceived value than print ones. This means that you have to put the price lower than you would for a print book or risk losing buyers. On the other hand, you may find that publishing an ebook is slightly cheaper for you as well, but this will not always make up for the lower selling price.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this series has helped you decide whether you will publish your nonfiction book as an ebook. There are pros and cons of either method, so it is just a matter of deciding what’s best for you. Good luck with your book!
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