What's your experience with removing a hub to create your own ebook?

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   Billie Kelpinposted 10 years ago

   I hope I'm allowed to ask this question !   I make only pennies on my hubs.  Granted only a few are evergreen, but I'm wonder if I would be better off taking one of my everygreen hubs which would lend itself well to an ebook app and publishing that way. I've used ibuild app and desktopauthor to publish some other projects.  The problem is that if you offer your app for free, the advertising gives you pennies.  If you charge 99 cents (the lowest you can charge in Apple and Googleplay, I believe, you get few customers.  However, if I sold only 10 book apps for 99 cents, I'd have more money than I've made on this hub EVER!  The problem with ibuildapp is that when you have more than 2000 downloads, the cost per publication is $79 a month.  Any wisdom you can pass on? 
   
   Cheers,
   Billie

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      From what I understand, you can do both.  No need to delete your Hubs, because an e-book is not published online for open viewing; i.e., the articles/chapters will not be indexed by Google, so you do not run afoul of the 'duplicate content' bugaboo.
      They are totally separate entities, and you can thereby earn from both sources.

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      1. 87

         Billie Kelpinposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         REALLY?  Oh, my gosh, "Lizzy" that would be GREAT!  I'm going to check this out.  I can see the logic in that.  I think that I wouldn't be able to use Desktop Author (page-turning software out of Austrailia) because that creates an .exe that can be read on the web.  Hmmmm....  I have a little more hope now.  Thanks so much!  I'll explore further just so I don't get arrested or something

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         1. 92

            DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I'm currently creating an e-book on the Smashwords platform.  There are a few others that some of the other authors here are familiar with, but right now, I don't remember the names..I think one is something on the order of "book tango" or some such thing....

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               Twilight Lawnsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Hi, Lizzy, my friend.  I first published my e-book on Smashwords.  I love the  site.  Mark Coker is a saint.  No costs to publish and his instructions, although long winded are so easy to understand.
               I am just in the middle of trying to create a Table of Contents for something I am putting together, and I wished I hadn't been so smart and used his format, instead of what I did... because it isn't too easy through Windows XP.  Live and learn!
               I will "unpublish" it from HubPages because I don;t think it's fair for anyone to buy ti at Amazon or Barnes & Noble et cetera, if it's free on HP.
               But that's just me.  You are right in what you say regarding internet and e-books being different animals.

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                  DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi, Twilight Lawns...
                  You have a point, vis-a-vis the pay/free issue.
                  You could also edit the Hubs, perhaps into shorter 'teaser' pieces for your book....and if you do that, perhaps move them to a blog instead of leaving them here.
                  I'm not as sure about the rules for that.  Articles reviewing products, with relevant Amazon capsules seem to be okay, so I'm not sure about touting a self-published book...it may be a gray area.
                  That said, if what remains here on HP is just a single chapter, if that's what existed of the original post, then it should be fine.  If it's your entire book, that might   be a different matter.  Someone with more experience than I needs to address that angle.

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     I have individual pages from my flamenco ebook here as Hubs.  Each one offers basic useful information, then finishes with "This is an excerpt from Flamenco Dance Essentials by Marisa Wright, available from ..."  Then I list the various sites it can be downloaded from (from the information supplied by Smashwords).   I've also created a coupon so people can get a discount if they download it directly from Smashwords.  And I use the cover photo as an image next to that blurb. 
                     
                     Those Hubs don't breach any "overly promotional" rules.  If you wrote a Hub where the text simply said, "this product is marvellous and you must buy it", full of meaningless advertising slogans - that would break the rule.   But if you offer useful information about the product, it is perfectly acceptable.  Hence promoting your ebook using excerpts is fine.\
                     
                     As for publishing online and in an ebook - in the blurb for my ebook, I'm open about that.  I say, "this book gathers together a collection of articles on flamenco published online and in print".

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               2. 73

                  merej99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I've been working on 2 projects for Smashwords.  One based on my ASD articles here and a romance novel.  I would think that you could publish AND keep your hub because you are reaching a wider potential audience with your book through BN's Kindle, Amazon or any other reading platform that is available through the publisher.  As much as I would love to think HP reaches everyone - not everyone knows about HP.  Just saying.

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      drpennypincherposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Smashwords is a great way to publish an ebook.  You can also sell an ebook on Google Play.  Check my profile page, the slider has an article with detailed steps on how to publish an ebook.  Good luck!

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2. 84

   raymondphilippeposted 10 years ago

   That is a great tip Marisa. Thanks.

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3. 78

   LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years ago

   As others have pointed out there is no need to delete your hubs if you are going to use them in an eBook.
   
   I prefer Booktango rather than Smahwords for several "technical" reasons and although I only have about 12 featured books on Booktango and only about 5 on Smashwords I tend to make over $200 per month from their sales.
   
   BTW my preference for one publisher over another is heavily biased due to the live 24/7 help I get from my preferred site.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think you've also mentioned that formatting on Booktango is easier.  The one difficulty with Smashwords is that formatting the book in the first place is tear-your-hair-out territory.

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         DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That's for darned sure, Marisa!  It required me to re-format my "Word" document template, so that all the hidden paragraph and line breaks show, and I don't know how to turn it off, and I don't know how to make separate ones for my 'regular' use and for Smashwords' use; and their required formatting drives me nuts when I'm just writing a letter or something!

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            To turn it off, look for the "paragraph end" symbol on your toolbar and click it.

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            1. 92

               DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               oh.  goodness!  I thought it would be complicated, because it seems like it was a bit complicated to turn on--with drop-down menus and choices to make....
               Thanks, Marisa!

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      2. 78

         LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That's it. The formatting platform on Smashwords  drove me off the wall.

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4. 68

   Sushma Webberposted 10 years ago

   Thanks Lizzy for your question and to all of you who answered it. I am planning to write and ebook and your input has helped me out a great deal. I am glad I had a look at the forum threads.

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   DATALOADposted 10 years ago

   I use Jutoh to create my ebooks. You can save them in multiple formats and make a book cover with the same program. You really don't have to worry about formatting with this program because it formats each type to look how you wrote it (what you see is what you get).
   
   It supports .Mobi, epub, html, and a few others. It also has a preview option so you can see what it will look like on certain devices. If you're sick of worrying about formatting and you want to focus on the writing, check it out.

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6. 82

   WriteAngledposted 10 years ago

   I thought briefly about ebooks. In particular, I could provide a lot of valuable information, from over ten years experience, in how to set up and succeed as a freelance translator. However, I am not willing to jump through all the hoops demanded by the US tax people. For the few hundred dollars I might earn here and there, it is just not worth the grief. Of course, if five figure sums were possible, it might be worth considering, but given the fact ebooks market prices are ridiculously low, that is not a likely scenario. I'll just keep my knowledge to myself and carry on earning by spending my time on translation instead of on writing!

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      LOL, my earnings from Smashwords are still sitting there, over a year after I published, for that very reason.  Which is silly, because there is an easy way to bypass all the hoops, discovered by Lissie.  It involves making ONE phone call to the tax office in the States, and you're done.
      http://lissowerbutts.com/getting-your-u … d-edition/
      I haven't done it because (a) I have no landline and my mobile phone charges for international calls are horrendous and (b) Skype doesn't work on my slow connection.

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      1. 82

         WriteAngledposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, I know about that. However, apparently they get really stroppy with you if they don't understand what you are saying. Despite, or maybe because, my spoken English is fairly formal UK style with no regional or foreign accent, it has been my experience when visiting the US that many people there do not understand what I say. Likewise, I find many US accents difficult to understand. Getting into a phone conversation with a US bureaucrat is something I prefer to avoid!

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7. 87

   Billie Kelpinposted 10 years ago

   To EVERYONE who posted and continues to post here:  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  This is a wealth of information.  I'm going to have to take some time to absorb all the suggestions.  All of these comments made me wonder about a virtual Mastersmind Group.  My friend, Dr. Dyment has written about a group he started at http://www.fireyourexcuses.com/mastermi … ssing-out/  I can see this working through Skye with hubpage authors who have ebooks and other supplementary goals.  Well, this is wonderful and I'll keep reading and take the leap of creating one of my hubs into an ebook with some of the suggestions here. 
   
   Cheers and Happy St. Patricks Day.
    
   May the roads rise up to meet you,
   May the wind be always at your back
   May the sun shine warm upon your face
   The rains fall soft upon your fields.
   And may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

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