First off, what are the bonuses of converting your mod to an esm over leaving it as an esp? Does it improve performance or something like that within your mod?

Also is there a limit to the size of an esp? Mine is nearing 1 Mb and I don't want stuff to suddenly get corrupted or something like that.

And finally how would I do this?

Thanks guys.

Bonuses: ESMs purportedly sidestep the grey face bug, or at least that was a plus for them in the past. ESMs can also bear ONAM lists whch can currently only be added via FO3Edit or version control. ALso, while the engine can handle ESP masters, the CK will not allow it, so having your plugin as an ESM makes it easier for supplements to be created with the CK.

File size limit: Not that I'm aware of. Large plugins do tend to become unwieldily, however.

Conversion: Change extension to ESM from ESP, load as "Active" in CK, save. CK cannot have an ESM (internally flagged) as active, however. You can use WryeSmash to ESM'ify or ESP'ify a plugin as well. When TES5Edit is available, I'd recommend using it exclusively if not using VCS as it will add ONAM lists if necessary.

SO if I was to make a large or decent sized quest mod, would you recommend converting to an esm now mid process, basically level design at the moment or wait til the mod is finished with the scripts, quests, NPCs, ect then converting to esm?

So would it be recommended to convert a said esp to an esm when the mod is essentially finished and if anything was to be added to it such as quests and perhaps additional optional content, it should be done through a separate esp with the esm as a master file? And this would allow for others to modify the mod to their liking, I know people do this for Mothership Zeta Crew for example seeing as it seems to be a still interested mod amongst a relatively dead community.

Also, do you mean use TES5Edit over WryeSmash when TES5Edit becomes available, is that what you mean by exclusively? Also I am unfamiliar with VCS or ONAM lists.

Thanks for the help.

IMO the only reason to use an esm is if you need data to be accessed by a dependent mod and you dont want to use a script for it.

these days there isnt much of a benefit for using esms anymore compared to the number of potential cons you may encounter

It shouldn't be necessary unless you're going to have supplemental plugins. I'd just keep it an ESP if all is going well as is. Still, you could always convert it to ESM when it's the final version.

Yes, unless WryeSmash were to also create http://uesp.net/wiki/Tes5Mod:Mod_File_Format/TES4.

Alright this is settling news, thanks guys!