SHOULD YOU MAKE YOUR BOOK AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK?

Yes, yes, yes! Especially if it is a non-fiction book! So many more of my books have sold as e-books than as hard copies! I was skeptical at first, but I’m positive I wouldn’t have sold as many books if I hadn’t offered it in e-book form, which is priced a few dollars lower than the hard copy.

Many people (like we RVers) don’t have space to store reference books like Portable Writing that we’ll want to refer back to often. Storing it on a CD or in our computers makes it much more accessible and doesn’t take as much room as a book. If you’re self-publishing, you can offer your book on a CD or as an ebook download, but make sure to learn how to protect your work from being copied and distributed by an unethical, opportunistic buyer looking for just such an opportunity to make money.

What if you do find your work being distributed illegally? Usually a letter to the perpetrator will scare them into stopping, and you may convince them to pay you the profits they’ve made (yeah, right!) I would have a lawyer write a letter to the guilty party, which will make it appear more official and maybe convince the perp that you are willing to pursue him or her through legal channels. It’s amazing how quickly an official looking letter can scare some people straight.

Should you take it further and file suit if you find your work being used illegally? That would depend on how widely it has been distributed and how willing you are to push it. It is expensive to pursue legal avenues, so I would want to be sure I would recover what I’d lost.