Have you wondered about selling ebooks on the Internet? We've all seen the promotional ads - "Get Rich Selling Ebooks!" But what is really involved? First, you must understand the difference between owning an ebook for personal use, owning rights to resell an ebook, and owning Master Rights to sell the book and along with it, the rights to resell it.
Owning an Ebook for Personal Use
You may have bought an ebook on eBay or a website that dealt with a topic you were interested in. Many ebooks are quite lengthy and could actually qualify as "real books" if they were in print format. They are well organized and documented, and obviously the author has devoted much time to the content and presentation. You probably felt like you got your money's worth if you've purchased such a book.
On the other hand, there are hundreds of ebooks advertised on websites that may be priced way beyond the actual value of the content. It's hard to tell, without actually owning it and reading it. Often, sellers include a "money back guarantee" and most will honor that warranty if you are unsatisfied. Although an ebook may cost more than a printed book, if it contains information that is valuable to you or helps you make money, then its cost is not inflated, but rather worth every penny. Read the sales material well (called a "sales letter") to see what topics are covered and what material is contained in the ebook. Use your good judgment regarding the purchase. Don't be swayed by over-hyped books unless there is a great deal of disclosure regarding the content or what you will receive for your money.
Unless the sales letter or the ebook itself states clearly that you have permission from the author or distributor to sell the book -- which is a digital file and easily reproduced -- to others, then you do not have "Resale Rights" (or "Resell Rights"). You will be in violation of copyright if you do sell it to others.
Owning an Ebook with the Right to Resell
Sometimes you are given the option to purchase the "Resell Rights" (or "Resale Rights") to material in electronic (digital) format. Ebooks with resale rights usually cost a little more, and the "rights" you have may vary. Be very careful to read the specific rights you have purchased. If they are not contained in the document itself, be certain to read and SAVE the rights to a text file on your computer. Be certain to note the details of your purchase and keep the "rights" with the book and sales materials, organized some way on your hard drive. It is easy to accumulate resellable files on your computer and forget what came from whom, and what rights you have. Later, when you are really ready to upload the material to your website or list an auction, you may need to document your rights to resell it. Don't be caught without proper documentation!
With some purchased resale material, you are able to "brand" the book with your name as the author. Sometimes you can edit the text and add your own personalized links to the content. Sometimes, you have the right to resell it only, not edit it in any way. Make certain that you understand clearly what you may and may not do, or you may find yourself in violation of the terms of the "contract" of purchase.
The extent to which you can rebrand or repurpose the material included in the package you bought will vary. Often a separate piece of software is included or made available to you, called a Rebrander. There are several versions. They accomplish the same thing, but may operate a bit differently. There's a learning curve in using the rebrander. Keep the Rebrander for any given book WITH the book, because the "tags" within the files may vary from program to program. Be sure to note where the Rebrander came from -- which website -- so if need be, you can return for instructions or help.
When you own the Right to Resell, you are selling the book but the people who buy your product do NOT have the right to, in turn, sell it. They cannot "brand" it as you did.
Owning an Ebook with Master Resell Rights
If you have purchased "master resell rights," you may offer the people who buy your product the right to sell it themselves. Most "master resell rights" packages allow you and the people who buy your product to rebrand and personalize the product in some way. Master resell right products usually cost more than an ebook alone, or an ebook with resell rights. Again, be certain to understand your rights as far as personalization and sales are concerned, and also where a product may be offered for sale. (For example, some authors selling "master resell rights" specifically prohibit you from listing their product on auction sites. This is primarily to maintain the value, or perceived value, of their product. Additionally, some authors or distributors restrict you from selling below a certain price, while others place no restrictions on the price you set when reselling the product. It is up to you to set your price. Before pricing your ebook, though, do some research. See what's out there and what it costs. It is difficult to compare product to product without actually owning them both, seeing what's inside, and making an informed judgment regarding the "value" of the material contained within an ebook. The content and quality of presentation varies greatly.
Owning an Ebook with Private Label Rights
Master resell rights are the rights to sell the right to sell an ebook. Private Label Rights allow you to brand the product as your own, edit the content, and claim authorship.
What Is an Ebook Anyway?
There are two primary ebook formats: those that are contained within a file with an .exe extension and those that come in .pdf format. The first was the original popular format, but can be opened and read only on a PC, not a Macintosh computer (unless you have one of the new Intel Macs and are running Windows). The PDF ("portable document format") ebooks are saved in the file format developed by Adobe® and are opened and read with the Adobe Reader®. These are platform-independent, and PDF is the most popular format today. Most computers come with Adobe Reader, but if yours didn't, it is free and can be downloaded using the link below. Today, many word processing programs can save files in .pdf format, and there are other programs that can open and read documents in .pdf format.
An ebook is simply text (and images) contained in a document that is easy to manipulate on a computer. Some authors take the time and care to present their material in a way similar to the "standard" way we expect things to appear in printed books, with tables of contents, introductions, supplementary material at the end. Some take the care to provide help within the book itself to move from one section to another easily. Other ebooks are quickly thrown together without much thought to the standard components of printed books. Some are well-edited; others are not. The advantage of ebooks is that they are accessible, easily downloaded, easily moved to portable storage devices, and easily discarded if you no longer want them. Most ebooks cannot be edited, some even if you have resale rights. (If you do have resale or master resale rights and find errors within the content, it is frustrating not to be able to change the text!) The value of an ebook primarily depends on these things: Did you learn what you hoped to learn? Can you make use of the information? Or, can you make money with this information, or this product? Most ebooks are non-fiction, containing informational material, not novels, short stories, or the like, although authors of traditionally printed books are more and more frequently presenting their material in ebook format as well.
Can You Make Money Selling Ebooks?
Yes you can make money selling ebooks, but don't count on getting rich tomorrow (unless you already have all your ducks in a row and are ready to present your own, originally authored material in ebook format).
Know, though, that there is work involved. If you plan to "rebrand" or edit the content, this takes a bit of knowledge and skill. Hundreds of people have more hundreds of ebook files saved on their hard drives, waiting to be edited, uploaded, and sold. Today, though, there are easier, faster, and less troublesome ways to get started marketing ebooks. See my notes below for one excellent suggestion.
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Contributor's Note
The absolute easiest way to get started selling ebook products is through Extreme PLR Makeover, a new program that offers aspiring ebook sellers the content material, the images, the tools, and the tutoring necessary to actually get your digital products ready to sell. There is nothing to download except the finished product. It is free to join and affordable to upgrade for the full menu of benefits. As one who has spent a great deal of time attempting to edit and resell ebooks, I highly recommend exploring the possibilities of Extreme PLR Makeover. It will save you hours and hours of time and trouble!
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