Many publishers first create a book and then look for ways and places to sell it. Instead, research the conditions that are best for growth and then define the product. Jeff Bezos provides an example as he evaluated the opportunities for creating an Internet business. He believed that E-commerce was the natural solution for a fragmented market with an enormous number of SKUs, a small shippable product and a stable supply chain characterized by many sellers served by a few, dominant middlemen. He was not an experienced publisher but opted for books as the product for Amazon.com because they were the rational choice under those conditions.

Apply this concept to your business. Do not simply choose a manuscript first, and then debate the form in which you will publish it: printed book or ebook and where it will be sold. Instead, evaluate the opportunity in five categories: market conditions, competitive activity, marketing actions, consumer needs and potential outcomes. Then make the choice of product form (pbook, ebook, audiobook, vbook, app) and where, when and how you will sell it.