Mini Books: A Tail of Two Platforms

Your mini book length depends on your platform.

Mini books are the way to go for most aspiring authors.

And I have said it in multiple occasions. However, I get the same question over and over again:

“How long is a mini book?”

Now, I don’t typically think of this in word counts. I think of it in pages. Why? Because word counts make me feel restricted to the traditional ways of thinking when it comes to writing and publishing books.

So, I talk about pages.

That said, I will put approximate word counts next to all discussions of pages to be helpful in this post.

The Definition of Mini Books

Here is my main definition of a mini book:

Short, actionable books that can be consumed quickly in order to serve a specific person with a specific problem.

as you can see the most important part of a mini book is that it’s actionable and can be consumed quickly to serve a person with a specific problem.

If we use authors, can do this well then it doesn’t matter how long the book is. Most of all people will come back and buy more of your mini books to solve more of their problems.

Mini Books are Different Depending on the Platform

I believe that mini books look different when it comes to publishing on Amazon KDP and publishing to sell directly.

Here’s what I mean:

• Amazon: can be more traditionally formatted and up to 100 pages.

• Direct: can be formatted for more white space and up to 50 pages.

Sure, you can do them the same, but what I have found is that Amazon readers and direct purchase (digital product) readers have different expectations both in content and in pricing.

On Amazon, readers expect a traditional book format that they can read. Even if they are hoping to solve a problem quick, they don’t expect to see larger fonts, lots of white space or interactive sections. They are there to read.

Whereas readers from Gumroad, Stan Store, or anywhere else are expecting something where they can print it out, read and work their way through the resource and resolve their problem.

So, when you are considering writing and publishing a mini book, make sure you consider what platform you are putting your book on and what format it will be. If these two things are not meshed together right you might have a hard time with sales and getting positive reviews.

For more information on Mini Books, check out these articles:

• The Mini Book Method: How Writing Short Books in a Series Can Build Real Income

• The 7-Day Mini Book Challenge

• How You Can Take One Short Book & Turn It Into A Profitable Business In 30 Days

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