10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to eBook Conversion Service

The advancement of technology and popularity of new gadgets along with extensive internet accessibility have made eBooks attain more publicity among readers. The electronic renditions of the printed books are known as eBooks. It enables the readers to get and enjoy a personalized experience and user-friendly concepts. There are different kinds of eBook formats which can be used and supported by well-developed software and variety of devices. For publishing, editing, and converting books into digital format, eBook Conversion Service provider is available in the market who can help you reach out to millions worldwide without printing. They will offer the best quality ebooks, most cost effectively. Let’s look into some questions that can be asked before hiring the companies who provide eBook publishing services. Is the eBook service exclusive? The e-conversion services are directly marketed to authors nonexclusively. So, we could use their service to the maximum and at the same time, sell to others or use other services. But there are some exceptions for the same. Amazon’s Kindle Select usually needs you to subscribe to their services exclusively for three months when joining Kindle Select program where books can be lent out through the Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owner’s Lending library. For Mac users, the eBooks made with Apple iBooks Author tool, only for specified editions exclusivity is demanded. It is applied only to the books made and formatted in the Apple software. Hence, if we have to sell the book, it is possible only through the iBookstore and for selling through doors, new versions should be created. Explain the terms of contract if it is exclusive If we are hiring an eBook conversion service provider, they would ask us to sign in a contract which is of a longer term for the assurance of the company. They are asking to sign the contract to ensure the client to stay during the contract period without suddenly disappearing. It would also give the service provider more confidence in their initial investment. If you are apprehensive or unsure, you may enter into a short-term contract initially and then, depending upon the performance, upgrade to a longer term. What is the method of calculating royalty? Different services have different methods to calculate the fees. But it should be always upfront and transparent. Some services are free like Amazon KDP, Barnes & Nobles’ Nook Press etc. where they take a cut out of the sale. You can outsource eBook conversion to competent and established outsourcing partners for the best results. Who controls the pricing? Publishing services have different kind of pricing schemes where some have reasonable pricing schemes and some others give the author the complete authority over pricing. Explain about the hidden fees structure If there is any requirement for specific rates, conversion or formatting, a peculiar file format that needs extra work, charts, table, and image formatting then there will be market standard rates to run the eBook for a longer duration. A competent outsourcing partner will be transparent with the fees structure. Is there any involvement of DRM protections or proprietary formats? If we are providing the eBook works to any offshore eBook conversion company, they take care of the digital rights management (DRM). It prevents illegal copying of eBook after it is sold out. Do they accept all kind of file formats? It is important to know what file formats are allowed because it determines which service we should accept and how much it will cause extra if there are any changes required and formatting needed in the future. Commonly accepted format is Microsoft Word where industry standard eBook format is epub. PDF is one of the file formats which is difficult to convert to epub and needs extra payment. Where will the eBooks get distributed? Some of the eBook data entry service providers will allow the distribution only to that retailer itself. If a number of channels are used to distribute, the best option for service is outsourcing. After the creation, who is the owner of the eBook file? When the clients pay and receive the work, then it is completely owned by the client. But in some free service cases, the ownership goes to the company. Can changes be made after the sale? If the work is given to the best eBook conversion services providers, it is possible to upload new and the revised version of the eBook. Working with other multiple channel distributors may need to be paid for the changes.