Crash Course Guide on How to Write an Awesome eBook

Writing for a living is a tough and challenging occupation. Compelling and captivating writing that make people want to continue reading is a tough thing to do. Capturing someone’s interest while supplying them with useful information are some of the most crucial things that any writer should be able to accomplish. As the internet is inundated with repetitive material, you want to make it worth their time to read your work. Given these bitter realities, it just proves how hard it is to formulate your own book especially when you aim to sell it at a good price.

Any copywriter should have a goal for their book to be published. This would boost anyone’s portfolio and skill set. Certainly a published book is a boost in anyone’s career, but is it really a simple process to write a book? Finding a publisher and source of financing are common problems that you will face as an author. Some consider hiring ghost writers and editors but this option can be financially draining.

Writing an eBook may not always reflect on your portfolio. It is because of the fact that you may be hired as a ghost writer. A ghost writer is the person writing on behalf of an author. There are different conditions that may also apply when you decide to become a ghost writer. It may be a fixed pay job or it may turn out to be on a commission basis. Either way, it would still fatten your bank account.

An alternative draw online is creating an eBook. If you seriously want to earn money from your own written piece, without the publishers in the equation, an eBook is definitely something to consider. It is simple to write an eBook. It can be anything from 15 pages to 40 pages or even 200 pages or more! You decide on the length, topic and the voice to use in your eBook. In fact, it is even possible to explore unconventional topics that may stir attention online.

Crunching the numbers on how the eBook industry did over the past years, according to BookStats it generated $1.97 billion in 2011 alone. According to analysts, eBook sales grew as much as 177% from previous years and a huge part of this is due to the 176% increase in eBook readers in 2009. 86% of eBook readers do so on their devices more than once a week. And more than half, 51%, read daily on their device. 1 out of every 12 Americans nowadays have their own device!

Did these numbers get you excited? If so, then you probably want to get started. There are some problems though when it comes to writing an eBook. You may experience writer’s block and the lack of a specific voice in order to keep your work interesting. These things are common problems that you will just have to deal with and overcome. Sometimes, it took drinking lots of coffee to write a few chapters and crunch more pages than usual but, so far, there is no fixed rule on how to increase your output.

When you are writing an eBook, it is important to stay focused. One of the best ways to remain focused is to blog about the book you are writing. This gives you a break from what you are writing so far. Also, it keeps an established audience interested in reading the book. If you are still a starting author with a brilliant idea to write about, this can be a platform to get people’s attention. Marketing wise, this is a good decision especially when you plan to make a living out of the book you are writing. Good advice from seasoned bloggers and eBook writers is to spend 90% of the time building traffic while you chip away at the eBook. Once there is an audience, you can now turn things the other way and work full time on the book and worry less about the traffic in your blog.

Writing is all about building a system in order to get everything going. An eBook requires more than just knowledge since it involves investment of your time and efforts. Here are the steps involved in order to get your writing chops grinding. This may not work for you the same way it did for me but, in my experience, I utilized these steps and released a great eBook.

Brainstorming

It is important to know what your interest is. You have to keep in mind that the results of what you are going to produce would definitely be affected by your own knowledge and interests. It is important to first know what you really want to write about. Is it an instructional book or a fictional story? One of the most common eBooks today are the self help books on investment and other money making opportunities online. The most important thing about selection of topics is your knowledge more than anything. The things you will read should only supplement your point.

Research

It is important to have enough information on your eBook. It can only be possible if you have all the necessary information about the topic you are going to discuss. It is also a good idea to read as many books as you can and be sure to write the source in order to make it easier to credit your sources.

The internet is a good source of information though you may also have to purchase books and eBooks for additional information regarding topics you are going to write about.

Make an Outline

An outline is one of the most important things that you need to have before writing the eBook itself. Once you already know what you want to write about, it is wise to have an idea on how to form the book. Having an outline would at least grid out everything for you. Feel free to add or deduct some parts as you go through your eBook.

A good idea on how to thin out the outline is by reading the work over and over again even if it is not yet done. This way, primary proofreading can be done and weeding of the unnecessary parts can already be done as well as adding any missing parts to juice up the discussions.

Proofread

After writing everything from start to conclusion, it is now time to tirelessly edit and proofread for grammatical errors that you want to remove. It is common practice to run at least three rounds of proofreading and even hire an additional editor to make things easier.

Free or For a Price?

What is really the purpose of writing the eBook? Depending on the intention, it could either go for sale or it could be downloaded for free for different people’s disposal online. Free eBooks are typically meant to improve reputation, increase the network or even generate leads. These are some of the more popular reasons why an eBook can be downloaded without paying for anything online.

For someone selling an eBook, there are different sites that give you this opportunity. Here are some of the most popular sites that you may want to check.

• www.lulu.com
• www.wordclay.com
• www.gumroad.com

Aside from the mentioned sites above, it is also possible to sell your eBook directly to Kindle. Kindle eBook readers have grown over the years and basically, Amazon is now offering self publishing to aspiring writers. You get as much as 70% royalty and free publication, not to mention a worldwide audience.

There are a few things to think of if you are going to have an eBook launched on Kindle. You will need to have a previewer who will give you an idea if the eBook has been formatted the right way. Aside from selling, a good investment is also to sign up for Kindle Owner’s Library where you get commission as your book gets borrowed. But there is a catch to this condition, it has to be exclusive!

Reviews and Recommendations

Around 50% of online users today would only go for a product that has a good reputation. Whether it is free or not, it is crucial to get the word out there that your eBook is effective and it is something worth reading. Getting reviewers is one of the toughest jobs since different niches would mean different sets of reviewers. Bloggers can make their own recommendations of the book you are selling.

These are just ideas on how you can write an eBook flawlessly. Attending classes regarding creative writing and other related short courses can also boost your skills and definitely bring you more success in the years to come. In fact, it takes practice and improvement in your weak areas to be a good writer.