Some E-book questions

by Navid
19 replies
I have 3 questions in this post would appreciate your feedback especially from those who have experience

1. Is it possible to publish an E-book on Amazon kindle that is of somewhere between 2-5 pages ? What I mean is I want to publish an E- book about how to cope with problems in life with say 7 steps and the book most probably won't be more than a few pages . My question is will Amazon Kindle accept a mini e-book like that ?

2. If Amazon doesn't accept or I cannot publish a book with few pages only what other outlets are my opinion ?

3. I am also writing some books about life after death ( Already started working on my first book ) . To increase my chances of sales should I release 2 or 3 at time or go with one first and then maybe few months later go with 2nd book and so on ?

Guys please give me some feedback
#ebook #questions
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    I would go a different route.
    Since it's so small I would use it as a lead magnet to giveaway for free to build a list, then monetize the list.
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    • Profile picture of the author Navid
      What would I give them in the list ? I am not an expert in this topic
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    I agree with Chris. I would use it as a report and then link to a longer book (for sale) that has more information.

    I don't think Kindle has a minimum. But at least be clear in your description that it's a very short report.

    I've published a short story on Kindle with some success. It had around 2,000 words.

    When publishing a series I would have them all ready to go. Release the first for free. I'd release the next ones within a few days. That way if a reader likes the first one the can quickly buy the 2nd and 3rd. If you wait a few months they will forget about you.

    Rose
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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    There has been times when Amazon has purged books from their platform - some of those have been short, likely due to overall quality or having PLR content more than just being short, but just in case I would aim to have your 7-tips guide come in at 10-15 pages. Just expand on the tips, perhaps show an example or application of each tip - and make sure this is YOUR information and not copied from private label or copied from another product.
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  • Profile picture of the author Navid
    Ok . I can probably stretch it and will try to make it longer than five pages but there is no minimum on pages in the sense that they won't accept a book with four pages ? As in there's no hard rule right because people do sell mini ebooks
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    • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
      Originally Posted by Navid View Post

      Ok . I can probably stretch it and will try to make it longer than five pages but there is no minimum on pages in the sense that they won't accept a book with four pages ? As in there's no hard rule right because people do sell mini ebooks
      here is a thought, Why not ask Amazon about this then so you will have the right answer? none of the warriors that have answered work as far as I know for the company so what worked for them before may not work now!

      Amazon is an evolving beast that will change what they put up on their store for their customers ,regardless on what is written here!
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  • Trial and error. You can try to upload your ebook on amazon, if they accept your short book, then you will know for sure.

    Sometimes you just have to take massive action to see results.

    Regarding other places to upload your book, just Google "Top 50 file sharing sites", and you will find many places to upload your books for sale
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  • Profile picture of the author Navid
    So incase Amazon doesn't allow ( I will email them soon ) then there are other good websites where I can sell right ? Can anyone recommend any good website links for example the top five
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    • Profile picture of the author quadagon
      Originally Posted by Navid View Post

      So incase Amazon doesn't allow ( I will email them soon ) then there are other good websites where I can sell right ? Can anyone recommend any good website links for example the top five
      Barnes and noble
      Apple
      Google books
      Kobo

      Then join something like smashwords and have them distribute to the other smaller retailers for you.

      For now though I would do Amazon it's like the song says 'if I can make it there I'll make it anywhere it's up to you Ama zon Ama Zon'

      I would also recommend you change your mindset. You seem focused on doing the minimum amount of work and with what Amazon will allow.

      For the moment forget what Amazon allow and look at what the market wants.

      In the Kindle store you can see the best selling books in different categories.

      Decide which categories your book fits into and look at the best sellers.

      Now do some boring data work and look at the book prices, no of pages and rankings. It will soon become clear what your market will buy.

      If there are other short books selling then great, if not then you might have to rethink. You might want to also look at the short reads category and see if there are any similar books.
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      I've got 99 problems but a niche ain't one
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  • Profile picture of the author spartan14
    Yea i also dont think amazon it will accept it ,its beter to give it like a free report and build an emai list .In this way your subscribers will like you more and they will buy from you because you give them such a valuable gift
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  • Profile picture of the author Navid
    But after the free report I won't have anything else to give lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Navid
    Problem is my expertise runs out after the mini E-book
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Originally Posted by Navid View Post

      Problem is my expertise runs out after the mini E-book

      If all you have is expertise in one "mini ebook" I would suggest that rather than trying to sell your "2-5 pages" on Amazon you should rethink your overall business strategy. Here are some options for you:

      1- Get into a different niche where you do have true expertise
      2- Learn more and increase your expertise so you will have more to share with your audience
      3- Rely of the expertise of others in your chosen niche - you may have to pay them for their expertise
      4- Choose a different business model where you are not selling your own knowledge and skill
      5- There are more options for making money online. Spend some time here at the WF learning what they are.

      The best to you,

      Steve
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      Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
      SteveBrowneDirect

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  • Profile picture of the author Navid
    There are some fundamental differences between me and other people who look to make money online . I need to talk about these things first before I try to get advice so the people giving me advice can understand and give advice or suggest accordingly . I am physically disabled and my working capacity on the computer is probably 10 times less than regular peoples . I have been chasing after online work for over a year . I tried Fiverr.com last year and could not keep up and ultimately gave up . I learnt that I cannot do anything that requires me to deliver work on someone else's time because I simply cannot do it always even if I want to . For this reason Upwork, Fiverr and every other online platform didn't work for me . I now earn $ 200 a month thanks to my brother because he got me into his company and incase if I am unable to do the task he backs me up. So if I work on someone else's term the person has to understand that I cannot always deliver on time . In short 'flexibility' is the only key for me . I have thought about it long and hard and although I still want to try out a few different things on the side , e-books are my best option because it can be a source of passive income for me and most importantly i can do it in my own terms and own time . Now the flip side of all this is while most people who join the world of online income need more to support themselves I will doing quite well with around $300 a month . With my other 200 dollars and making around 300 dollars that will give me $500 which is quite a lot in my country . So what I am looking for is around 300 dollars a month within my capacity . If I can write a short ebook and if I can just somehow sell it on different platforms (doesn't have to be Amazon ) then there's a chance I could make some passive income money

    I am no way saying that one short book will guarantee me that money
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    the site Kindlepreneur.com might be of help to you

    al
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    "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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  • Profile picture of the author Debbie Kim
    Banned
    Hi , Navid
    If it were me, I would make another path
    Since it's not enough, because it's too short laid out to build a list, then make money from the list.
    Sometimes, Amazon has removed books from their platform either due to overall quality or have more PLR content than just short but in case I want to target your tutorials. -15 pages. Just expand the tips, which can show an example or application of each tip - and make sure this is your information and not copied from private label or copied from another product.
    That product must be your ownership completely, so you will be easier
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  • I know this is an old thread, but no one had mentioned the 2,500 word count limit, so I thought it was worth adding for anyone who reads this thread late.

    First of all, Ebooks don't have pages they have screens. The number of screens it will take to scroll through any one book depends entirely on the size of the font and the size of the device used to read it.

    I would not try publishing anything under 2,500 words. That is the word count threshhold for amazon when they feel like enforcing it. You probably won't find that written anywhere official except in an email, but it appears to be the common wisdom. It's all over the KDP forums, at least. They used to not have a threshhold, but it changed a few years ago.


    The shortest book I've ever published was 3,000 words, and it got through, but got bad reviews for being too short, which it was. I shoot for 5,000 words now and 4,500 is the shortest I'll go.
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    I write funny, informative, and sad blog posts that could easily be emails or ebooks. Come look me up at http://thecontentangel.com/

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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Brindamour
    Navid,

    Let me ask you a question, would you buy a 2-5 page book? I would agree with the other responses on here, give that one away for free and upsell them on a bigger book.

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author rhealy29
    If your expertise is exhausted after a couple of pages, I'd suggest it's likely that you don't actually have enough expertise to create a product in that niche in the first place.

    If you're absolutely deadset on that niche, then your job right now is to become a student. Study the topics you wish to write on until you not only know them well enough to produce more than a couple of pages, but the pages that you do write will also be insightful, educational, and valuable to the end reader. Once you've established some actual expertise, reattach the product creation process from your new vantage point.

    Otherwise, if you're determined to create and market products now, you should consider either hiring someone who is an expert to ghostwrite the products for you or select a different niche in which you have a wide enough breadth of knowledge to put together something decent.

    Edit: Ugh. I see now this is a necropost from August.
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