Taking the plunge into eBooks

[Mounds]

After another weekend of eBay, I've decided that eBooks are the way to go for me. The idea of selling a product I create, not having to actually ship anything and the high profit margin are worth the effort for me.
So, the first eBook I'm writing is "Beetle Collecting: From the Field to the Cabinet". It won't be very handy for a veteran collector but it will be the bible for a beginner. This bugger is already shaping up to be over 100 pages.
I realize that it's a narrow market. What I'm really after here is the experience, as well as my time compensated. Anything more is a bonus.
After this, I might try another insect related one or move into some human issue's ebooks. I've got a few ideas cooking...

[MattMacola]

Originally Posted by Mounds

So, the first eBook I'm writing is "Beetle Collecting: From the Field to the Cabinet". It won't be very handy for a veteran collector but it will be the bible for a beginner. This bugger is already shaping up to be over 100 pages.
I realize that it's a narrow market. What I'm really after here is the experience, as well as my time compensated. Anything more is a bonus.
After this, I might try another insect related one or move into some human issue's ebooks. I've got a few ideas cooking...

I don't want this post to seem harsh but does anyone actually care about collecting beetles enough to buy a book about it? I don't know anything about this so maybe there are thousands of dedicated beetle collectors out there but before writing 100 pages I would want to be sure about this.

Good luck with it!

[Moxie]

I liked the 'bugger' pun. Hee, hee!

[Mounds]

Originally Posted by MattMacola

I don't want this post to seem harsh but does anyone actually care about collecting beetles enough to buy a book about it? I don't know anything about this so maybe there are thousands of dedicated beetle collectors out there but before writing 100 pages I would want to be sure about this.

It won't be a best seller but I'm sure there will be a fair amount of interest. If you go on eBay or to InsectNet.com - The Network for Insect Collectors, there are lots of collectors who might take interest in this. Not to mention entomology students who have to build an insect collection for their class. Additionally, there is very little detailed literature in terms of actual collecting. Most of the books I've read pretty much state to go out and look under rocks. I'm pretty confident I'll be able to sell a few copies. Absolute worst case scenario, I gain a lot of writing experience and help out some young bug collectors by making it a free eBook. Either way, I can't lose! I guess that's why they say don't do anything for monetary gain alone.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by MattMacola

I don't want this post to seem harsh but does anyone actually care about collecting beetles enough to buy a book about it? I don't know anything about this so maybe there are thousands of dedicated beetle collectors out there but before writing 100 pages I would want to be sure about this.

Good luck with it!

There are 210 monthly searches for the term "beetle collecting". Even "bug collecting" has only 1,900 searches. "insect collecting" has 3,600.

Still, it should be a good experience. Good luck Mounds!

[MiBeloved]

what program are you using to create your ebook file?

[MattMacola]

Originally Posted by MiBeloved

what program are you using to create your ebook file?

OpenOffice is great for this. It's like Microsft Word only free and allows you to create PDF's with one click.

[MiBeloved]

Which ebook system do you plan of using. I ask since systems like kindle use .html files and not .pdf.

Have you submitted any other books as yet?

[newmark]

Originally Posted by Mounds

I've got a few ideas cooking...

Is that for cooking the buggers? I may be interested in that.

[Vanessa]

micro Nichey topic.

If you can write it and know there's a tiny but engaged market good on you. That's not a market that carries a lot of volume, just be realistic on what kind of awareness you can generate for your book.

You should check out selling the book also as a physical product on Amazon though Createspace.

Not the margins you'd get from a digital download but you get distribution and fulfillment for about 50% royalties.

Will be a great learning experience no matter what.

[aiyori]

Mounds,

To my surprise, people here generally think negatively.

The Japanese are people most interested in beetles. They have quite a lot of publications (books and DVD's) on this subject. Nintendo NDS has some beetle games. And Japanese kids keep beetles as pets. And growing beetles can actually be an investment as some of the rare species cost more than one grand. I mean USD, not Yen.

If you check the keyword search for カブトムシ、かぶとむし、甲虫 (pronounced as Kabutomushi, all means 'beetles'. Japanese does not have a standard writing form), this very keyword has 246,000 searches in March. After combining all the long-tail words, totally you get 420,000. It thinks numbers like this are big enough to make a niche finacially sustainable.

I don't know where you're from. But if you can introduce to the readers some beetles that can't be found in Japan, chances are you can sell it. But you need to translate it or at least write it in very simple English with pictures more than words.

Because of the famous band, the keyword 'beetles' is very difficult to handle. No matter how authoritative you are on this insect, it'll be extremely difficult for you to get on the first page of Google SERP, let alone the first 3.

[Mounds]

Hi Aiyori,

Admittedly, it is nice to hear some positive feedback! I think what people are worried about is that the market is almost zero.
Beetles are huge in Japan, pretty big in Europe and quite a bit smaller in North America. I think a major reason that more people aren't into it is because it's not really presented as a serious hobby a lot of the time. Maybe this eBook will help change that.
Since I've been involved in the insect community for a very long time, I've got a substantial network. My plan is to market the book to collectors I know, on insect forums/classifieds, eBay and maaaaaybe Amazon. I'm not too worried about coming up high in search engines. Insect collecting is a small enough world that word will get out.
That's a really good idea about marketing a different book to the Japanese! I've noticed with the Japanese that they like beetles that are either visually appealing or enormous. I'm sure some of the most expensive specimens (I once saw a butterfly sell for $36K US, extremely rare) are owned by Japanese tycoons. In fact, I recently saw someone trying to sell a Titanus giganteus, the worlds largest beetle. It might even be a record size, measuring in at over 16cm. It will probably go for well over 1k.

[aiyori]

I know nothing about beetles because my wife doesn't allow. She thinks they are croaches but my son likes touching them.

Anyway, from a parent's point of view, I think beetles are good pets. There are no ways they can hurt kids. And their food is much cheaper than dog's. After the pets die, kids can even try to make specimen. So if your books have a lot of photos and details for beginners, I think you can market it as an educational / future scientist kit. Toy manufacturers sell low power microscopes this way.

And I think you should start from 'how to hatch the eggs' or 'where to catch the beetles', so that the whole process has a beginning for beginners. And you can teach people step by step how to feed them. Since beetles are expensive (cheaper than dogs but still expensive), if you can make yourself an authority on this subject and find out a way to ship live insects cross border, this can be juicy business.

The point is: you need to make yourself an authority. And you need to give some gimmick to your product. If you can't sell it to hobbyists, then sell it to parents as an educational kit. Or you can give away the Ebook as a brochure, then sell eggs, bugs and specimen. If there are people who are willing to pay one grand for a bug and you can't make it a business, then it's your problem, not your niche's.

Someone told me this years ago: When you have a business idea, DO NOT share it with anyone. It's not that people will steal it. It's that those kind people will automatically come up with 1 million reasons why you'll become a total loser, while actually they know very little about your idea. I am making an online Japanese classroom. My wife always comments on the colors, the pictures, the layouts, the XYZ, even says that my 6 letter domain name is too difficult to spell. Then I asked her what she thought about the materials. She said she didn't want to learn Japanese. Do you get the picture?

[Mounds]

These are great ideas and I'll probably pursue some of them. Part of the attraction for me with ebooks is that you create it, put it out there and let it do it's thing. I'm looking to do something very low maintenance (already have a high maintenance business ).
I see what you mean when you say not to share your idea. I would say, share your idea with the right people. I should have brought up the idea in the insect community as oppose to a PD board with no other bug collectors, lol.