Publishing E-Books For Dummies

Joining PayPal So That You Can Receive Payments

If you were printing paper books and selling them offline, you wouldn’t need to put much thought into how to receive payment. You would accept cash and (maybe) checks, but prospective customers wouldn’t necessarily expect you to accept credit cards. Because you’re selling online, though, you can’t ask customers to mail you a check via snail mail (postal mail) and then wait for you to cash it — they want to pay instantly and receive your e-book immediately.

You don’t need to endure the hassle and expense of registering a merchant account so that you can accept credit card payments. Dozens of different services allow you to receive money online, and I give you instructions for the most popular — PayPal. I’ve chosen it because you may already have a PayPal account for shopping on eBay or on other sites, and your customers are likely to be familiar with it. Even if they have no account, PayPal lets them simply enter the details of their credit cards or debit cards when they purchase your e-book.

Signing up for a personal PayPal account

If you don’t already have a PayPal account, registering for one is simple and straightforward:

1. Go to www.paypal.com .

2. Click the Sign Up link (on the left side).

The Create Your PayPal Account page appears.

3. Select your country or region and your language.

4. Choose a Premier account and then click the Get Started button.

The Premier account is under your own name, and the ...