This is a guest post from my friend and colleague Jim Edwards.

How long does an ebook need to be to be considered a “real book”?

-by Jim Edwards

It used to be that a “real book” (especially a business book) had some very definite characteristics that made it real. It should contain at least 200 pages, start with a story, contain at least 12 chapters, and have at least one third party story per chapter. The title should be short (no more than 4 words) and should create a “brand,” etc. I think all these rules about what made a “real book” were as much about making it harder to get published as they were about creating books worth reading.

Now, with the digital revolution and the spread of ebooks, anyone can claim the title of“author” – and the floodgates have certainly opened with a tsunami of new ebooks of varying quality. The majority of new authors now completely bypass “traditional” publishing and go straight to digital with ebooks. They are “real authors” publishing “real ebooks” and making “real money” as a result. A mistake many would-be authors make, however, is thinking that “page count” (number of pages in their ebook) determines whether they’ve written a “real book” or not.  This new ebook age has turned that evaluation criterion on its ear. Page count now has very little to do with what actually makes an ebook a R.E.A.L. B.O.O.K.

(R) Relevant

Relevant means your ebook is current and timely, as well as applicable to the readers’ wants and desires. Relevant ebooks cut to the chase and give readers exactly what they need and want with no extra fluff.

(E) Enlightening

“Enlighten” is defined as “to give intellectual or spiritual light to; instruct; impart knowledge.” Real books enlighten the reader and give them new knowledge, insight, and ideas they can use, especially in non-fiction ebooks.

(A) Actionable

Real books give the reader specific actionable steps they can implement immediately to make a difference in their life or business. Ideas readers can take action on instantly separate the real books from the fluff, regardless of page length!

(L) Legitimate

Many authors try to pass off theory and conjecture as fact. Real books give legitimate information, tested and proven in the real world, which the reader can trust to deliver results.

(B) (O)Better Off

This one rates pretty simple. Real books leave the reader better off for having read the book than not. Again, book length and leaving a reader better off don’t necessarily coincide. “Long enough” to impart the information necessary to leave the reader better off is a much better measuring stick.

(O) Organized

Many books ramble. Many books also lack any real organization beyond chapter headings. A real book is well organized and leads the reader from where they are to where they want to be as quickly, neatly and in as organized a fashion as possible – irrespective of length.

(K) Kindle

Real books are “published” by a legitimate source. Having your book listed on Amazon rates as “published” in the minds of the majority of people who buy ebooks (and regular books too, for that matter). Fulfill all the criteria listed above, then publish your ebook on Kindle, and YOU will have a “real book” in the eyes of just about everyone else in the world (including yourself)!

Jim Edwards

Selling online since 1997, Jim is an Internet Marketing Expert, Author, Elite Mentor and Coach.

He specializes in helping individual entrepreneurs, small business owners and authors to understand how to use technology to build your online business.

Jim is the author of dozens of ebooks, hundreds of webinars, over 1,000 blog posts and articles.

His flagship ebook “How To Write and Publish Your Own eBook… in as little as 7 Days” – newly revised and updated with V2.0 – has been helping book and ebook authors create their own best-selling ebooks since 2001! Get more information about Jim and how he can help you get more readers, make more sales, and skyrocket your credibility here => How To Write and Publish Your Own eBook…in as little as 7 Days.