You Should Publish eBooks with Your Published Articles
I just published one over the weekend
Recently, I read an article on Medium written by Kristen Walters. I don’t normally click on titles that reference money or profits, however, since Kristen had referenced “Publishing on Amazon KDP,” it piqued my interest since I was wanting to publish an eBook.
When Kristen implies she works hard, I believe her. Her article is very interesting and complete with visuals. Her writing was the jumpstarter I needed. She also uses an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant, Jasper, to help with writing. This is a tool that sounds amazing.
This wasn’t the first time I wanted to self-publish an eBook.
Do you have a lot of articles?
Whether you have a lot of articles, or not, consider organizing them into subjects or categories in your “Lists” section on Medium. This is a convenient way of locating something you’ve written instead of going to “Stories” and scrolling down to find what you’re looking for.
All of my articles or stories are categorized accordingly. I’ve decided for the filled categories of more than 10 articles, I’m going to compose more eBooks. It’s an easy process with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). It’s self-explanatory and user-friendly. There are other tools that can assist you too as described in Kristen’s article.
Once you have gained a lot of experience on a writing platform, the next step should be getting more exposure and higher earning potential by self-publishing eBooks. I believe the potential is there.
Author Darcie Chan
I remember reading about Darcie Chan around 2012. She was an attorney who had uploaded her novel into Amazon’s Kindle Store. The name of her first book was The Miller River Recluse. She wasn’t successful in finding a traditional publisher coupled with being an unknown in the industry (something most of us experience).
Some years passed and with the growing popularity of eBooks, Darcie decided to self-publish.
I still remember when a co-worker of mine sent me an article that was in The Wall Street Journal over 10 years ago about Darcie Chan’s success.
Before opting to self-publish, when she initially sent her book out to traditional publishers, it was rejected. Darcie ended up getting an agent who sent her manuscript out and it was rejected.
When she learned eBooks were on the rise, she went on that journey making her own book cover. Darcie’s first royalty check came in at $39. When she noticed other eBooks were selling at a lower cost, she changed her price from $2.99 to 99 cents. In her first month at a lower price, 100 copies were sold.
When her book was mentioned on Ereader News Today, within two days, another 600 copies were sold. This persuaded Darcie she could be a driving force with her sale of the book. She said she spent about $1,000 on marketing. She bought banner ads to promote the book.
She also paid Kirkus Reviews to review her book (they still give you the option to receive a private review if the review is negative). She would use her reviews on Amazon to further promote her book.
By the summer, she had sold more than 14,000 copies which helped make her more visible and featured on sites. That same summer, Darcie made The New York Times and USA Today eBook bestsellers lists.
She made an estimated $130,000 before taxes plus she’s getting a steady royalty check every month.
Because Darcie’s first eBook was so successful along with her marketing efforts, she received an offer to write two novels for Ballentine Books. Ballentine also picked up publishing her first book in 2014. She eventually left her legal position to write fiction full-time. It’s hard to write full-time with a full-time job and raise a family.
When I first read about Darcie’s success, I inhaled the article as complete inspiration. But that was a decade ago and I couldn’t climb the writing mountain unless I retired early, so I did and here we are on that journey.
Today’s publishing climate affords writers so many potential paths to success. So, if you believe in a story, put your heart into the writing of it, even if you’re told that it’s quiet, or genre-bending or “ordinary.” Get your manuscript in tip-top shape and do your best to get it in front of readers.
If you don’t give up, your experience just might be life changing. (Source.)
Even Tim Denning gave some insight about eBooks in What I Learned From Writing an eBook in Under 30 Days and Selling It for $19.95. He writes:
Being forced to search my library of articles and notes to put together an eBook changed all of that. It became clear there were many techniques and skills that I could pass on. All the ideas had been ruminating in my head and waiting for a chance to be served up in one resource, such as an eBook.
We spend so much of our time perfecting one to two skills, and in the process, we forget about the talent and insights we have stumbled across. Don’t sell yourself short.
Tim also discusses having your book cover created by a professional. With an eBook, you can use the templates provided on KDP, or you can upload your own image. If I were self-publishing a long hardcover version, then I probably would go to a professional or another resource.
Your to-do list
- Create categories in your “List” area.
- Organize your articles or stories.
- Research Amazon’s KDP site.
- Take 10–12 articles in any given subject and create an eBook with Amazon’s program.
- Have a marketing plan based on your budget.
- Never give up.
© Cathy Coombs
About the Author
I have a B.A. in English Journalism & Creative Writing reaffirming my love of literature, language, and writing, and I sought early retirement to write full-time. Some of the publications I have written for include The Writing Cooperative and Illumination. Quick link to my articles on Medium.
Author of eBook: If You Read Just One Book About Online Writing Tips, Read This One: A handbook of simple advice for new and old writers who want to explore online writing.
