Fiction books are almost always a good match for ebook publishing, and the word “almost” is only there to be on the safe side. Fiction is story telling, and story telling is now moving fast to ebook format.  So the question is most relevant when it comes to epublish a non-fiction book.

Does your book lend itself to epublishing?

If your book contains information that will be obsolete in a short time, such as information about SEO or, actually, the new epublishing technologies, or any other subject where the progresses in the field are so fast that the mere fact of printing a book makes it obsolete at time of print, not only does your book lend itself to epublishing, it actually does not suit a print format at all anymore. Books containing information that have a longer lasting shelf life, such as books on relationships, parenting or history for example, can benefit from both digital and print publishing. On the other hand, for books about art or containing a topic mainly related to visual graphics, where the quality of the graphics are paramount, epublishing might lead to distortions or differences in the quality of the rendering, so these might be best confined to the print realm or be entrusted to serious professional for conversion to ebook format.

Does my book have too many pages for ebook publishing?

Traditionally, ebooks are rather shorter than print books. Yet, this does not mean that long books cannot succeed in ebook format, Both Harry Potter books and Stieg Larson trilogy about the Girl with the Tattoo are doing rather well on ebook format, but their initial success was as print books.

For very long books first published in ebook format, publishing it in two or more part might be a valid option. In addition, from a purely marketing point of view, as series are still reputed to be an efficient way to gain readership, it might be a clever promotional move as well.

For non-fiction books, will ebook publishing lessen the likelihood that professionals will use my ebook as a resource?

If your book is a resource for professionals, would they prefer to thumb through it or access it from their computer. Well, again, there is no fixed rule. For some topics, such as topics related to work performed mainly on a computer, such as programming or SEO, an ebook is definitely indispensable. For other topics, more linked to human interaction, such as psychology for example, a print book might be more likely to succeed, but in any case do not rule out publishing an ebook as well.

After all, a growing number of people now appreciate ereaders for their ability to expand the size of the font, which makes reading easier, so even print readers are turning to ebooks purely  for comfort now.

So, whatever it is you publish that relies mainly on the printed word, ebooks are definitely an option , and, increasingly, one that you cannot ignore.