I've been writing and selling ebooks online since 2004. This was
long before self-publishing became the phenomenon it is now. And with
e-readers like the Kindle and Nook selling millions of units per year,
there's never been a better time to put pen to paper (or finger to
keyboard) if you're a wannabe writer. But length stumps many new
authors. One emailed me the following, stating:
Before we tackle the question of how long should an ebook be, let's take a quick look at those who've taken the bull by the horns and learned how to write an ebook - turning their writing dreams into reality.The Growth of Self-Publishing
One publishing industry executive proclaimed 2012 to be part of the "golden age of self-publishing. She backed it up with statistics, ie:
As these figures illustrate, the number of self-published ebook authors is growing exponentially.So, Just How Long Should an Ebook Be?
There's no right or wrong answer to this question. In my experience, it mainly depends on two things: (i) genre; and (ii) topic. For example, I write in the "how-to, non-fiction genre."
Most of my ebooks are on subjects I'm intimately familiar with, eg, freelance writing, self-publishing and internet / affiliate marketing. They tend to be between 40 and 60 pages (10,000 and 15,000 words (about 257 word per page)).
The funny thing is, I don't think about page count when I'm writing. I just write until I feel like I've addressed a topic in detail, then stop. It just so happens that this length seems to work for the (niche) topics I cover -and how I write.
I Googled the topic of " how long should an ebook be " and found various responses, ranging from:
Short non-fiction ebooks might be as little as 24 pages (6000 words), while longer ebooks are often between 10,000 and 20,000 words [Source: WarriorForum discussion on how long an ebook should be]; to
From 30 pages to 100 pages-that is the "average" size for most eBooks for sale online. This is usually long enough to be impressive but short enough to keep your audience enthralled throughout. [Source: WordsYouWant website]
Writing an Ebook: The Bottom Line on Page Count and Publishing One That Sells
Buyers purchase ebooks for many reasons, eg, to be transported by a story (fiction); or to learn how to do something (how-to, non-fiction).
Hence, how long your ebook should be is less important than knowing your audience, and why they purchase ebooks like yours. Then, give them a quality product that fulfills their need. If you do this, you'll find success writing ebooks that sell - no matter how long or short they are.
I wrote a paperback then made a copy in epub. Both on Lulu. Short novel, 30,000 word or so. After reading how many books you write per year, I just wondered as to the length or word count of these books? I published two smaller ebooks on Kindle few days ago. 3,000 worder and 4,000 words respectively.
So my question is what would you consider the minimum word count for an ebook?
Before we tackle the question of how long should an ebook be, let's take a quick look at those who've taken the bull by the horns and learned how to write an ebook - turning their writing dreams into reality.The Growth of Self-Publishing
One publishing industry executive proclaimed 2012 to be part of the "golden age of self-publishing. She backed it up with statistics, ie:
Bowker's newest figures of books produced [showed that in 2011], there were 211,269 self-published titles (based on ISBNs) released, up from 133,036 in 2010. [Source: Publishers Weekly, BEA 2012: Self-Published Titles Topped 211,000 in 2011]
As these figures illustrate, the number of self-published ebook authors is growing exponentially.So, Just How Long Should an Ebook Be?
There's no right or wrong answer to this question. In my experience, it mainly depends on two things: (i) genre; and (ii) topic. For example, I write in the "how-to, non-fiction genre."
Most of my ebooks are on subjects I'm intimately familiar with, eg, freelance writing, self-publishing and internet / affiliate marketing. They tend to be between 40 and 60 pages (10,000 and 15,000 words (about 257 word per page)).
The funny thing is, I don't think about page count when I'm writing. I just write until I feel like I've addressed a topic in detail, then stop. It just so happens that this length seems to work for the (niche) topics I cover -and how I write.
I Googled the topic of " how long should an ebook be " and found various responses, ranging from:
Short non-fiction ebooks might be as little as 24 pages (6000 words), while longer ebooks are often between 10,000 and 20,000 words [Source: WarriorForum discussion on how long an ebook should be]; to
From 30 pages to 100 pages-that is the "average" size for most eBooks for sale online. This is usually long enough to be impressive but short enough to keep your audience enthralled throughout. [Source: WordsYouWant website]
Writing an Ebook: The Bottom Line on Page Count and Publishing One That Sells
Buyers purchase ebooks for many reasons, eg, to be transported by a story (fiction); or to learn how to do something (how-to, non-fiction).
Hence, how long your ebook should be is less important than knowing your audience, and why they purchase ebooks like yours. Then, give them a quality product that fulfills their need. If you do this, you'll find success writing ebooks that sell - no matter how long or short they are.
About the Author: Yuwanda has written and
self-published over 50 ebooks, which can be found on major sites like
Amazon and Barnes & Noble, in addition to her freelance writing
website, InkwellEditorial.com. If you found the info here insightful,
get more in the complete package on writing an ebook.
It will not only teach you how to write an ebook (in just a few days!),
but also tell you exactly how to market it and start getting sales
within a week - really!
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