How Do the eBook, Paperback, and Audiobook Differ?

One story, three variations.

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When I first started to self-publish, I was excited to make my book come to life in print. Here it is, in my hand – my novel! So very cool!

Over the years, while I am still a fan of paper books, I’ve shifted my focus more to eBooks. With the number of books I read a year, even with a decent-sized bookshelf, managing eBooks is far easier than handling paperbacks.

Then, on long drives, I love a good audiobook. Especially when the narrator nails the tone of the story. As a former college-radio DJ and occasional non-professional stage actor, reading my own books as audiobooks is a lot of fun.

Yet the creative process that goes into the eBook, paperback, and audiobook takes different directions depending on the medium. This is also impacted by different distribution channels.

So, how do the eBook, paperback, and audiobook differ?

My process for creating the eBook, paperback, and audiobook

I have recently completed my standalone sci-fi comedy, Jay and Char Save the Galaxy. This was a lot of fun to write for many reasons. Once it was done, and I’d gone over all the edits and the recording, formatting occurred.

Before I get into that, I think sharing my creative process is important. Overall, it looks like this:

• Start to flesh out the story idea
• Plan/plot/outline the story itself (this tends to be chapter-by-chapter)
• Write the story
• Edit the finished book
• Send the finished book to an editor
• Get cover art made
• Go over the editor’s edits
• Record the audiobook
• Format the finished product
• Upload to the distribution channels
• Market/sell the book
• Write the next book

This is a fairly broad overview, but it tends to be the same for every single book I write.

My work is all done in MS Word. I have at least 3 files I’m working on, 1 being the story, 1 the outline/plan/plot, and the last being the glossary of characters, places, and things. Due to concerns of file corruption, I generally keep the raw story files to about 50 pages of unformatted writing (hence, before creating the master document of the story, there are usually 2-3 individual files).

Now let’s look at formatting.

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Matters of formatting

For Jay and Char Save the Galaxy, and most of my other novels, there are 5 separate formatted files. This is because the needs of the eBook, paperback, and audiobook differ in many ways.

The first is the overall, formatted novel. For the first time, I create the necessary chapter headings, add the heading and closing materials (title page, copyright page, dedication, acknowledgements, about the author), and other important elements of a finished, formatted novel.

The second and third formatted files are for the eBook. Both of these get a Table of Contents added (which you can click through on the eBook). The reason I do 2 variants is 1 for Amazon and 1 for Draft2Digital (D2D). The D2D formatting takes a different approach to the title, dedication, and copyright pages in such a way that it requires separate formatting.

The fourth and fifth files are for the paperback. In 2025, I don’t feel it’s necessary to have a Table of Contents for a fiction book (but nonfiction can benefit from this; That, however, is another matter entirely). Paperbacks get headers and footers, and this is important when you upload them to the various distributors. Again, the reason I do 2 variants is 1 for Amazon and 1 for D2D.

When I record the audiobook, I work off the original, overall formatted file. This is easiest to work with, at least in my experience. For the audiobook, the basic formatted document needs to be clear so that it’s easy to read.

Formatting is the biggest difference when it comes to an eBook, paperback, and audiobook, but not the only one.

Other ways that the eBook, paperback, and audiobook differ

The written word conveys a very different picture from the spoken word. That’s why I choose, when I do my audiobooks, to vary the voices of characters, tones, inflections, and give it more life than the written words do.

Also, the audiobook has all the names pronounced correctly (or rather, correctly per my understanding and perception of them as the author).

At least via Kindle, the front and back material are sometimes glossed over by the chosen device you read on. I find that I get to “the end” of the book I’m reading and the request to review it, while the back material – acknowledgements, about the author, and so on – is ignored. I tend to go back into the book, shift away from the request for the review, to get through all the digital pages of the eBook.

With a paperback, you have physical pages to turn from beginning to end. Paperback presents options like sizing, internal paper color (cream vs white), cover options (glossy vs matte), and requires a different, full cover. This is why I learned that hiring a cover artist is important.

One story, three variations.

There you have it. My take on many of the ways that an eBook, paperback, and audiobook differ. If, like me, you’re an author, your process might be similar. But depending on how you distribute your books and if you create a separate eBook, paperback, and audiobook, your mileage may vary.

Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own creator, whatever form that takes?

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