Making Money Typing Ebooks

Ebooks are a big industry, and one that’s growing every day; it’s estimated that ebook sales are well on their way to comprising 1/3 of all book sales across all markets. Ebook publishing is easier to break in to than traditional publishing as well; with a word processor and a few free tools, just about anyone can make their own ebook and publish it to Amazon’s Kindle network or post it online for purchase. The people who come up with the ideas for these ebooks aren’t the only ones who can make money off of them, however. Typing ebooks for others can be almost as lucrative (and in some cases more so) than writing original ebooks yourself.

Typing ebooks can be a great work-at-home opportunity because you generally only have to do the actual typing of the ebook’s content and not the final layout and design. Because you’re typing the book based on someone else’s ideas and research, the time involved in typing ebooks is significantly less than if you were creating an ebook of your own. Though typists generally have a deadline that they have to have the ebook finished by, they are typically free to set their own schedule and workflow.

Another advantage of typing ebooks for others is that your financial interest in the book generally isn’t tied to how well the book performs in regard to sales. Most typists are paid a flat fee for the ebooks that they type, though there are some instances where they are offered an additional royalty based on sales as well. Being paid a flat fee means that you’ll get all of your money when you’ve finished your work, so you can move on to other projects without having to worry about marketing and sales performance. If given the option between a flat fee and royalty-based compensation when typing ebooks for others, it’s generally a better idea to go with the flat fee option.

Perhaps the most difficult part of typing ebooks is finding work. Many people who want to develop their life stories or other ideas into ebooks post ads online seeking typists, but some of them tend to undervalue the time of the people who write for them or don’t fully understand what’s involved in the creation of an ebook. Some ads seek someone to simply type out the content of the book based on existing notes and interviews, with occasional expansions made by the typist. Others seek someone to fully ghostwrite the ebook based on very sparse notes and ideas, but they don’t always have a budget that matches the extra work involved. Caution should be taken when replying to these ads, since it isn’t always a constructive use of time to fully ghostwrite an ebook for minimal compensation.

The only real requirements that you’ll find when it comes to typing ebooks is having a decent way with words and being able to deliver the finished ebook on time. Learning the basics of ebook formatting will help, though in most cases the person who hires you to type an ebook will do the final formatting himself. Once you get used to the general flow of ebooks and what is involved in their creation, you can even branch out into creating your own ebooks in addition to typing ebooks for others.