The Benefits Of Turning Your Ebook Into A Paperback - Lynne Garner


In January of this year I combined my two ebooks (Anansi The Trickster Spider - volume one and volume two) into a single volume of 18 stories. However rather than create another ebook I decided this version would be available as a paperback version.

What I didn't realise whilst turning this into a physical book was that I was obliged to send a copy to the British Library and if requested to another five libraries, these being:

  • The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
  • Cambridge University Library
  • The National Library of Scotland
  • The Library of Trinity College, Dublin
  • The National Library of Wales

The principle of legal deposit has been well established for nearly four centuries. Publications deposited with the libraries are made available and preserved for the benefit of future generations, so these books become part of our national heritage.

However there are also other benefits, these are:

One:

Most of the books submitted are listed in the British National Bibliography (BNB), which is used by librarians and the book trade for stock selection. So for the price of a few copies my book can reach a huge possible market, one I'd never be able to reach otherwise.

Two:

Once my book was on the shelves of these libraries I was able to register it with the Public Lending Rights (PLR) along with my traditionally published books. This means I'm boosting my yearly PLR income. This is why I'm now in the process of turning Maras and the Fairy Rings into a paperback version and working on my second volume of Brer Rabbit stories, so I can combine this second volume with volume one, which I published as an ebook in August.  

So if you've only made your work available as an ebook perhaps you should think about turning into a physical book. So you can hopefully boost your income from additional sales and the benefits of the legal depository system.




Comments

madwippitt said…
Can you write another blog now about the actual process of turning a digital version into a paper one? :-)
Lynne Garner said…
Madwippitt -I wrote a post in Jan 2014 about some decisions we had to make with my first book: http://authorselectric.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/creating-book-on-createspace-lynne.html - hopefully this will be of some help.

However when I (or rather we) complete the process next week (was supposed to be this week but teaching stuff got in the way) I'll keep notes and put them up.
JO said…
I responded to requests from readers to put three of my little travelling ebooks together in a print book. The process, madwhippet, isn't so dreadful provided you are armed with plenty of coffee and patience. Like Lynne, I used createspace.
JO said…
I responded to requests from readers to put three of my little travelling ebooks together in a print book. The process, madwhippet, isn't so dreadful provided you are armed with plenty of coffee and patience. Like Lynne, I used createspace.
I'm about to do it with The Curiosity Cabinet and Bird of Passage. Well, when I say 'about' I mean early in 2015, probably. They need to be out there in paperback. I even have the ISBN numbers from when I published a poetry pamphlet. But the Createspace process looks daunting for books as long as these, especially Bird of Passage. Anyone used the D2D/ Createspace facility?
Susan Price said…
I think D2D are pretty good for ebook conversions, but the last time I looked, even they were still calling their Createspace service 'experimental' so I didn't try it. 'Experimental' is not encouraging to the punter.

Have they changed their description of it?
Jan Needle said…
My son Matti Gardner has just done a big one for me multo cheap on Createspace. Sez it was simple. But then he would, wouldn't he? matti.gardner@gmail.com
Chris Longmuir said…
A note about PLR - You will only receive income from PLR if your books are loaned out by the sample libraries used. If they are loaned out by every library in the country with the exception of the sample libraries you will get a big fat zero from PLR. When you are adding your book to the PLR database take a few moments to pop onto the page that lists the libraries that are included in this year's sample. My books always have long waiting lists in my home area but because it is 17 years since any of the local libraries in my area were included in the sample, I get nothing from them. The exception is Dead Wood which has borrows from a Welsh library which was in the sample! I did a post on PLR on 19 February this year if you want to have a look.
Mari Biella said…
Thanks for this advice, Lynne. So far I haven't got around to print publishing, but I intend to, and something tells me I'm going to need all the help I can get...
Lynne Garner said…
Chris - good point about sample libraries. However now I have print copies I have started to do readings in libraries. I did one in the summer and the library purchased 5 books. They kept one for themselves and distributed the others to nearby libraries. Also now my book is in the library catalogue and BNB I'm hoping more libraries follow suit and add it to their stock. From small acorns and all that.
Lydia Bennet said…
I tried D2D for ebooks on non-kindle platforms but the result was a mess - my fault as the Word doc wasn't stripped enough but the only way of knowing it was a mess was to go through their result. Don't know how they are with paperbacks. Thanks for the reminder Lynne, I really should do this for Lydia Bennet's Blog. One day.
Chris Longmuir said…
I do library readings as well, Lynne, and I've been seeding small acorns since 2009, but still haven't managed to crack the sample libraries except for 1 book. If you want to check out this year's sample libraries try this link https://www.plr.uk.com/libraryInformation/current.htm
Then you can go to the online catalogue of each library to see if they stock your books.
Chris Longmuir said…
PS I might have said that if any of you live in one of the sample areas I'd take it as a huge favour if you'd request my books!

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