Op-Ed: Choosing between printing a hardbound vs an e-book for your self-help books.
When it comes to printing and publishing a “how to” or self-help book, the choice of whether to go with hardbound or E-book is a no-brainer. Why? Because, information changes, particularly with self-help books. For example, if you’re giving your readers a list of telephone numbers and contact information, that information can be outdated at any time and you may need to change it to keep the information current. Or, new methods of dealing with a problem may arise or old methods may no longer be viable. If your book is in hardbound form, it is very difficult to upgrade or update the information without spending a great deal of money.
Let’s say that you’re writing a self-help book on how to do your personal income taxes. Every year, the tax code changes, minimums and maximums allowed for different categories are changed, and certain deductible categories may disappear entirely. Instead of having to go through the expense of correcting and reprinting your hardbound book, you may want to choose an e-book format so you can simply rewrite the updated information and upload your new version.
With e-books, you can correct website links, update statistics, or include new information without incurring a huge cost. You can expand certain chapters, add chapters or delete chapters, depending on what you’ve learned in the last year.
I’ve published both paperback and e-books, and if you’re working in nonfiction writing, it may be a better choice to publish your work as an ebook. You will have more flexibility and less cost if you choose this format for self-help books.
