In case you’ve missed the entire trend, if you write or do content marketing, you need to start paying attention to ebooks. Specifically, you need to start thinking about creating your own. Here are some recommendations on reading and resources to help you along the way.

CNET has an article to get you started on self-publishing, with the recommendation that digital is your best bet, “Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know.” It’s a very comprehensive list that covers some thing you may not consider (did you know that self-published books rarely get reviewed?). Definitely worth a read. 

Want some help formatting your ebook? MediaBistro has compiled some guides for you in their post “Free eBook Formatting & Marketing Guides for Writers.” If you visit the article, you can follow a link to a free copy of “iBookstore Asset Guide.”

Follow the links below to access these free style guides…

1. Smashwords Style Guide (provides guidance for “major ebook retailers such as the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Diesel”)
2. Amazon Kindle Publishing Guidelines
3. Barnes & Noble ePub Formatting Guide (PDF link)
4. Kobo Writing Life FAQ for Writers (PDF link)
5. Apple iBookstore Style Guidelines
6. Calibre User Manual (how to use this powerful eBook conversion tool)
7. Smashwords Book Marketing Guide
8. The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success

The Future of the ink has a post to get you started, “Four Crucial Steps to Writing and Publishing Your First eBook.” The post recommends, among other things, that you “don’t skip these crucial steps: editing, cover design and programming.”

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Sources & Recommended Reading:

• Four Crucial Steps to Writing and Publishing Your First eBook
• Free eBook Formatting & Marketing Guides for Writers
• Inkling makes its Google-friendly digital publishing tools free to everyone
• Erik Marshall’s Self-Publishing resources

Do you have any to add?