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.