The end of the experiment

... but not the end of eBooks.

For one I am looking forward to pulling together the World Yoga Festivals Guide 2012 with findyoga.com and secondly I have another book in the pipeline. A new venture where I'll check out Lulu.com. Yes, it will be available in print and as an eBook. It will be interesting to see which medium prove to be most effective.

The most surprising outcome from the experiment - the kudos! Among friends, students, and peers, my eBooks were held in the same regard as a book. Something I had not anticipated, but a nice surprise nonetheless (who doesn't enjoy the odd pat on the back?).

So, the experiment has drawn to a close. I hope it has provided you with tips on how to make your own eBook a success.

Interested in what next? Follow me on twitter or check my website for more details and stories. 

It has been a pleasure sharing my eBook experiment with you.

Is it too early to rely on eBooks?

As a writer with four eBooks under my belt - I have come to the realisation that you cannot ignore print. (Good news really, as that's mainly where I work.) A lot of eBooks out there at the moment are simply versions of their print siblings, and many of the 'solo' eBooks out there are written by non-professionals, or businesses keen to promote their point of view.

It's a whole new arena for someone with a freelance journalist background...not used to selling anything other than my story idea to my editor.

However, it is an area that keeps developing and moving forward. Amazon launched it's lending system in December 2010. They kept it pretty straightforward with the only major drawback that it cannot be done through the Kindle device. (Wierd, given Kindle is their platform.) All of the management aspects take place in the web browser.  Then they canned it.


Far too complicated for a newbie like myself to comprehend, but eBook expert Steven Lewis is all over it. Lendle even now looks like it's back.  Only keen eBook readers will be following the debate this closely - but from my point of view it's merely interesting to see how the eBook market is being shaped from both the big players and readers alike.

I have learned something important though: it pays to know your market and identify your niche. Reference material seeming to work better than fiction, which may still need to be underpinned by a print version.

The World Yoga Festivals Guide proved to be the perfect launch pad for 2011. Despite the drama of getting the premium listing, it has generated quite the buzz in the yoga community. I am keen to be collaborating with findyoga.com to develop an even better, grander and more informative festival guide for 2012.

World Yoga Premium Listed

It's June! Easter is long behind us and our last post was April 4. But we are (very!) pleased to report that since our last post, World Yoga Festivals Guide is premium listed. However, it took a few more attempts after the hopeful submission on April 4. Two weeks of desperation, frustration when relief finally presented itself with the approval stamp on April 18.

Why it was rejected so many times* and why it was finally approved on April 18? Great question, and we too wish we knew exactly what went wrong.

The best advice and lesson learnt is to keep the document, especially the formatting, as simple and standard as possible. A World Yoga example, the first rejection was in part because we had introduced a different colour for the headers ... a no no. Message - stick with black.

Second best advice - don't give up. Persistence pays off. It may get frustrating, annoying, confusing, but when you finally see the word "Approved" - you cannot deny the sense of achievement you'll feel.

* many is many - 9 rejections before approval