Which Book Format Is For You?
The most common “book” formats are:
- eBook (Kindle (Amazon) and ePub (everyone else))
- Paperback
Each of these formats deliver a particular experience to the reader.
PDF, eBook or paperback – which one is for you?
The starting questions you may want to consider are:
- What format do you like to use when you read?
- What format would you like your readers to have access to?
While the CEO for Penguin recently noted that Penguin are ‘format-agnostic’, not all of us have the resources of an established publishing house to create all formats at once. It is most likely that many of us will have budget and time constraints that will strongly direct the first format that publication will be completed in.
For each format, there are pros and cons. I will do a deep dive into each approach in subsequent posts.
To recap, the last few posts you have had the opportunity to clarify that your manuscript is ready for converting to a book and to research potential book designers. (If you missed these it may be worth your while to read.)
The time since the last post has provided you with the opportunity to think about your goals for your book, and the look and feel of your book.
Based on the research that you did, which format resonated with you?
Do you need to do a little more research about the format that you would like to publish in?
Think about how can you achieve your publishing goal if you are set on a paperback, but your budget, at this stage, allows for a PDF publication.
Could you release PDF “mini-books” and then bundle into a paperback for publishing in the new year? This is where many business authors have started their publishing journey.
This makes me think of Warren Buffett’s quote “I don’t try to jump over 7-foot hurdles: I look for 1-foot hurdles that I can step over.”
Find your 1-foot hurdles.
In other words, set smaller milestones and reach each one.
As future posts look at each format, perhaps you will gain more clarity around your goals and outcomes. And more importantly, setting milestone to achieve them.
Next month’s post will be on the PDF format.
Until then, happy writing.
