How to Publish an Ebook Online

Write digital books and publish online.

Consumers who purchase electronic readers read more books than those who read bound volumes. Sales of digital books the second quarter of 2009 were three times the 2008 figure for the same period of time, according to a CNN report. You can take advantage of the ebook popularity and be a published author by writing an electronic book (ebook) and publishing it online.

Instructions

1. Write an ebook in a word-processing or desktop publishing program. Most computers have sufficient software to write the text and add some illustrations or photos.

2. Convert the ebook to a PDF file with a program on your computer or with PDF file conversion software. Word 2007 has conversion software and there are free downloads online.

3. Check the PDF file for errors, and make sure the links function properly, as this seems to be an issue with some PDF conversions. Store the PDF file in a location on your computer that you can access.

4. Go to the website where you want to host the ebook. Locate the file manager and use the "upload" button to get to the "browse" feature on your computer. Find the ebook PDF file and upload it to the website.

5. Copy the link to your ebook, as this is the portal for others to view it directly if you want to give it away.

6. Write two pages of information on the hosting website if you want to charge for the ebook: one page is the sales page and one is for the download button and "Thank You" for the purchase.

7. Set up an account with a payment service like PayPal. Go to the merchant services tab and set up a "buy now" button. Use the download page for the requested URL. Complete the information and copy the html code generated. Place this html code on the sales page you have created in the website.

8. Make sure everything works properly so that the purchaser reads the sales page and clicks the "buy now" button that takes her to the payment service to pay. To complete the sale, the person clicks on the download page, sees the download button and receives a "Thank you" notice.

9. Place an email address on the download page so the buyer may contact you with any difficulty with the download.

References

• CNN: Tech: Digital Piracy Hits the Ebook Industry
• Problogger: Darren Rowse

Resources

• How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook in as Little as 7 Days; Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale; 2007
• PDF995: Download
• Microsoft: 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS