Howdy folks, I am new to the “Lounge” and I am new to E-book publishing. I actually work for a relatively well-known publishing house here in upstate New York but I truly believe that E-publishing is the way of the future. I am currently planning my first E-book project-a series of 20 E-books on residential electrical wiring, troubleshooting, and repair aimed at the do-it-yourselfer. I have done extensive online research and all the sites that I have found only offer the DIYer superficial information where electrical work is concerned. I have not set a price on these books/lessons yet but I planned to give the first in the series away free and then sell the remainder individually or as a set. Those purchasing the complete set would receive a substantial discount, perhaps as much as 30 or 35 percent.
I have had over 25 years experience in electrical work, having done everything from industrial/commercial wiring to residential wiring. I have been an avid DIYer for over 40 years, so I feel that I am more than qualified to tackle this project and, judging from what I have read on most DIY sites, there a real need for this kind of information.
I am interested in hearing what others think about this idea. E-mail me : garfield1943@verizon.net
For what it's worth I think you've got information that want/need. I'm not so sure that you need to give away the ebooks. Rather, utilize Activ's demo preview feature and allow potential buyers to have a peek preview.
BTW are you including quizes to test the user's knowledge?
Good morning Storyman, Thanks for the greeting and for the encouraging words. I still have a great deal to learn about ebook publishing and about Activ’s features and capabilities. Thanks for telling me about Sneak Preview. I will definitely consider using that feature.
There will be learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter as well as end of chapter quizzes to test the reader’s comprehension of the material covered. There will also be a final quiz/test and the end of each book. There are several ways I can handle the quizzes and tests. First, I could place all the correct answers in an answer section at the back of the book, but the down side of doing it that way would be the amount of space, the number of pages, it would use. Second, I could refer the reader back to the proper page and paragraph where the answer to the question can be located. Third, I could have the reader email the quizzes and tests to me for grading and then providing the reader/student with a certificate reflecting their degree of success. Of course, if I was to employ the third option, I would charge more to cover my additional time and expense.
By the way, Storyman, when I spoke of giving the books away, I meant just the first volume in the set-not the complete set. I do like your idea of giving the reader a sneak preview of the books better though.
You might want to consider getting a domain name that reflects your product as well as a web site--even if the books are not completed. It takes time to develop a site that ranks well in organic search engine results.
Quote: from Storyman on 9:11 am on Jan. 28, 2007[br]Hi MrFixIt,
You might want to consider getting a domain name that reflects your product as well as a web site--even if the books are not completed. It takes time to develop a site that ranks well in organic search engine results.
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