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Ebook length?

by Steffy
25 replies
Is there a minimum word limit when writing an ebook?

I'm not sure I've got an entire book in me but I think I could write quite a few niche guides, let's say 10,000 words or less.

Do you think people would be interested in something that compact?

Surely it's the topic and price that matter the most?
#ebook #length
  • Profile picture of the author JoeMack
    Jey Steffy..


    You are answering your own questions. Obviously there's no cut and dry answer. It's the quality that matters.

    I once paid $20 for an "ebook" that was just two pages long. Was I ripped off? No. The information I learned in those two pages helped me create thousands of dollars in income. So don't focus on volume. Focus on value.

    JoeMack
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    eBooks = 435 pages minimum...

    Actually, there is NO set amount for pages in anything... It's all about what you deliver to the customer on those pages. It's about the information, not simply a page count.

    Right now you have preconceived notions about what an eBook length should be or at least what you think a report should be and that's completely false.

    The eBook, report or whatever should be long enough to explain what it is you want to tell, teach and share and then a little bit more to clarify.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    The book needs to be long enough to explain your concept so people can understand and implement it. That could be 400 words or 40,000 words or more. There is no standard for the length of an ebook.
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    • Profile picture of the author jerryp
      Hi Steffy,

      I agree with the others that quality is more important than the amount of content you have. When I see an informational ebook that's more than 25 pages, I'm thinking uh oh, fluff. Of course this isn't always the case. If you're writing an ebook for newbies and trying to describe buying a domain, hosting, installation and building a blog, then of course your book will have to be lengthy.

      I think it all depends on your subject matter but generally I like short and meaty ebooks. Best of luck.

      Jerry
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  • Profile picture of the author HKSEO Jonbones
    Quality, not quantity. Good material will make a short ebook well worth the cost. I find that the longer most ebooks are, the more full of non-sense and fluff they are.
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    • Profile picture of the author BrightShinyObjects
      Originally Posted by HKSEO Jonbones View Post

      Quality, not quantity. Good material will make a short ebook well worth the cost. I find that the longer most ebooks are, the more full of non-sense and fluff they are.
      I agree with this. I get frustrated with fluff inserted just to pad out the book. This is especially true for IM related books.

      That said, I do look at price. I don't want to pay $27 expecting an ebook (more than 20 pages to my mind) for what I consider a $7 report.

      Mary
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    I've written ebooks that were 5,000 words long and some that were 40,000+. The most popular size with my clients is currently 10,000 - 20,000.

    Personally, I would refer to 5,000 words as a report or guide.

    But as already stated -- there is no set word length.

    The important thing is to make sure those who buy the book feel they received value for the price they paid.

    Rose
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  • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
    I generally classify something short as a report instead of an ebook because I feel that's more accurate for my clients and for my clients' readers. I know that, when I go to buy an ebook, I'd much rather see something that's 30, 40, 50+ pages than I would something that's 2-3 pages long. If it's classified as a report, though, then I'm not surprised if it's short.

    It's all semantics, but semantics can make the difference between a refund and a happy customer.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    In all of the different answers here I really see a lot of different mindsets going on but one in particular is talking out both sides of their mouth. First they talk about NOT padding an ebook to get page count up but then in the very next sentence they put an actual page count on to the price. That to me is backwards because the information should be priced on value of the information, not page count.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
      Who is your target customer?

      As you have seen from the replies, the deeper people are in a subject the more they value their time and the more they are willing to pay for results - so the shorter your ebook should be.
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      • Profile picture of the author jamescanz
        I will never forget when I was in high school and a student asked the teacher ...

        "How long should our essays be?"

        He responded ...

        "The length of your essay should be similar to what I tell my wife about her skirt.
        Long enough to cover what's necessary, but short enough to keep me interested."

        I would say the same thing for your eBook
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  • Profile picture of the author contentwriting360
    Banned
    Steffy, let me give you an unbias comment as a provider of content writing services and as a consumer as well.

    If I were to buy a book written from one of my favorite authors or if I were to buy a book that has a direct relevance to my business or in what I am trying to learn, the first thing that comes into my mind is that every single page of that author's book is of great value to me. So, regardless of page count, it's still the impact of the words in it that matters to me.

    But hey, what would I feel if after being excited and after purchasing the book, I found that it only has 5 pages? Of course, if I knew the author or if I knew that the book is directly useful to my needs, I would expect it to have at least 100 pages because I know that my favorite author won't write anything that won't help me.

    Does that make sense to you, too?
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
    Keep it short and value packed, saves everyone time.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrelk159
    Quality over quantity my friend, an ebook can be 200 pages long and can be 200 pages of crap where you learn nothing, then there are ebooks that are 50 pages long but cut straight to the point and there is a lot of great value.
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  • Profile picture of the author Harry Nguyen
    I would say start with 5K - 10K words and then have them in series of like each chapter or so. Make a kindle book and put it on Amazon then compiled up into one and sell it higher. Start out small.
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  • Profile picture of the author sunray
    Value could be provided by 400 words, but it is NOT a book. Actually, value could be provived just in one telephone number or address, even a name, but it's not a book either. In real world even 15.000 words only make a brochure. You cannot print a greetings card with three words on it and name it a book. Why would the eBook be any different? In my opinion short works must be called reports.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    Just stuff it with high quality info. Make this your primary objective. There are many ways to "fluff up" an ebook, but stick with giving great information.
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  • Profile picture of the author sweetcrabhoney18
    It depends on your outline, your niche and the other competitors in your niche and who your customer is. If I know that I'm going to have ten chapters in my book, I'm going to aim for 10,000 words just to create a goal and a set amount of words to write per day. Good luck with your book!
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    keep moving forward

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  • Profile picture of the author Ben Clemons
    There definitely isn't a minimum, but you have to make sure you deliver the goods. Content is king.

    So, I'd say as much as it takes to get your point across, or to actually help someone achieve their promised goal....

    My ebooks / reports are generally pretty long, but I like to cover everything I can, to be sure they understand my points. One thing is for sure though.. People HATE fluff. I'd rather buy a 5 page ebook full of content, rather than a 150 page ebook that beats around the bush, and doesn't get to the point.. That's just my 2 cents.
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  • Profile picture of the author allofnone
    myfriend, just focus on quality of ebook, the content must have high info

    I think this should be good

    cheer,
    allofnone
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  • Profile picture of the author samjaynz
    How long is a piece of string?

    Your ebook should be as long as it needs to be... don't make it too short, but please don't make it novel length either!

    IMHO, most IM ebooks can be condensed down to under 50 pages.
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  • Profile picture of the author aizaku
    Yes, indeed; how long is a piece of string?

    as you can plainly see from the unanimous voices of your fellow warriors it all depends on your market, what they need and how long it takes you to tell them how to get what they need.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steffy
    Thank you everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author garyl2k
    As you can see the majority in this thread is mainly focused around one thing... Quality!

    All you need to do is make sure you have given the buyer exactly what you promised in the sales letter/squeeze page, I have bought many WSO which have only been around 5 pages, though the information has been golden and helped me out a lot.
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