1. Consider Selling Through Established Platforms: Utilize established platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Etsy, or Gumroad to leverage their audience, payment systems, and DRM capabilities.

Password protecting a PDF or text document you wish to sell is a crucial step to safeguard your intellectual property and prevent unauthorized access to your paid content. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to password protect your documents using various methods:

Using Adobe Acrobat:

1. Open the PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.

2. Go to the "Tools" menu and select "Protect Document."

3. Choose "Encrypt with Password" in the drop-down menu.

4. Enter a strong password and retype it to confirm.

5. Select the options for opening, editing, and printing permissions.

6. Click "Set Password" to apply the password protection.

Using Microsoft Office:

1. Open the text document in Microsoft Word or another Office application.

2. Click the "File" menu and select "Info."

3. Click the "Protect Document" button on the right side.

4. Choose "Encrypt with Password" and enter a strong password.

5. Confirm the password and click "OK" to save the protection.

Using Third-party Tools:

1. Choose a reliable PDF encryption tool, such as PDF2Go or Sejda.

2. Upload your PDF document to the tool's online platform.

3. Enter a strong password and set permissions as desired.

4. Download the password-protected PDF file.

Remember to keep your password safe and only share it with authorized buyers. Consider using a password manager to securely store and manage your passwords.