Imagine the sound of someone flipping through the pages of your new eBook. What would it feel like, waking up every morning, knowing that you are spicing up the internet sphere with some valuable information packaged as an eBook?
With an eBook, you will be free to tell anyone that ‘I am published.’ That is a sense of pride that comes with accomplishment.
Writing Excuses
But when will your book be out?
I am pretty sure that this is not the first time you have always wished to write your first eBook. You’ve had this thought a couple of times, and you have always brushed it off, with some flimsy excuses like:
I got some important things to do now.
How to fix: Place great importance on your book and it will make it up your to-do list
I got no time yet, I will write later.
How to fix: Start with an outline and schedule the chapters at the most convenient times. Stick to the schedules.
I really don’t know what to write about.
How to fix: Find out what you love doing, what your blog is about. Then delve into a bit of research on these topics.
However to write your first eBook is not complicated as it seems to be. Producing top-notch content that readers would willingly exchange for their dollars is not rocket science either.
You see, if really want to do something, we will find a way. If not, we will look for excuses. I have been a victim of procrastination before. I would simply push forward anything that would appear to be more demanding at the moment. What this resulted in are piles of uncompleted tasks whose deadlines are long overdue.
The only way to start writing your first eBook is to start writing your first eBook!
There are no hidden secrets. You’ve got to wake up and face the tasks head-on. Do not push anything forward, while you can have it done now.
Benefits of Writing an eBook
There are several reasons why you would want to write an eBook, but here are the main ones, as suggested by some famous experts in the field like Chandler Bolt.
1. An Authoritative eBook Spices Up Your Personal Brand
Think of what it takes to think of writing a book, eventually writing it, marketing it to finally have it as a talk of the day by your targeted audience. If you believe in your book, you are not going to rest until it gets downloaded, read and reviewed by those you specifically wrote it for.
As an author, your brand is established and you are automatically positioned as an expert in your field.
If you decide to write a book giving tips on blogging, SEO strategies, building email lists, etc. then your brand will be established around the blogging niche.
2. eBooks are Great Sources of Income to Bloggers and writers.
Whether you gonna have it published on Amazon Kindle, Smash words, Create-space, Book Baby, Lulu or even your own website, revenues will always find their way to your bank account!
Come to think of this, you need money to sustain your blog and to improve it, to pay bills, and to treat your soul mate, right?
3. eBooks are Great Giveaways Incentives to Grab Your Readers Email addresses.
Email marketing is becoming a very important strategy to sustaining your blogs, both for the continued and assured percentage of traffic to your website, and as customers for your own products and services or affiliated ones.
In this case, you are willing to give away your great eBook for free, in exchange for their email addresses. And just because it is a giveaway, do not offer junk! Loyalty is hard to build, yet so easy to break. You don’t want a high rate of unsubscribes, do you?
Before You Write an eBook …
Think as a publisher, not as an author.
From the onset, you have to envision and be crystal clear on where you want to take your book. Also, do thorough and effective research on self-publishing.
Use keywords such as ‘How to Write an eBook,” to find tips from experts. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, do you?
What are your goals, why now?
Below are some of the questions you should ponder about before you start writing your book?
What problem am I going to solve in this book?
- Who are my target audiences?
- What don’t they know, which I know and which they should know about this niche?
- Is this something I love?
- Where will I sell or offer my book?
- What are similar books in this niche, and how competitive and authoritative are they?
- What are my marketing strategies?
- What Connections do I need to make before launching my book?
- Who should be my accountability partner?
How to Write an eBook
The art of self-discipline demands that you get down to tasks as soon as they arise. Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today. get down to planning and writing your book.
Analyze your niche, and choose what you want to write about.
Your expertise comes handy when it comes to producing something epic for your readers. To successfully write and sell your first eBook, you need to choose a topic you are passionate about.
Note that writing an eBook is something that requires total commitment, and so, if you are not passionate about what you are writing about, chances are, you are most likely going to send the drafts into the dustbin and forget about them altogether.
Set realistic and attainable goals with time limits.
Goals keep us on track. Writing an eBook should be taken as one’s dream career sort of, and hence the need to have clearly set objectives for your new venture.
Develop an action plan. The thought of writing your own first-ever eBook can be very overwhelming, but when this is broken down into smaller actionable sections, it appears very possible.
For instance, you can commit to writing one chapter of your book a week, where you take three days to research, and four days to write it.
Block out writing time daily.
Set aside at least 2 hours a day to work on your book. The tasks could include researching, drafting, and writing. Do not edit your work at this time. Just allow the flow of ideas to go on smoothly without disruptions.
Start with an Outline.
Do not just jump into the hefty task first, without proper compass that will direct you where you should go next. From the objectives you set above, you can use them to generate steps/chapters for your book.
Where applicable, you can also include subheadings. What are you planning to include in each of the outlined chapters?
Set a total word count.
How many words do you want your eBook to sum up to? Depending on the scope of your book, you can have an eBook with as low as 10000 words to as high as 100000 words count. Then clearly state for how long you would like to be writing your book, e.g. two months, six months etc.
Set Weekly Goals and Meet them. For instance, if you have committed to be writing a chapter a week, stick to that.
Go through your work.
If you stick to your goals, chances are your book will be ready in about two months or less time. Duration largely depends on your commitment and the length of your book. After your book is done, read through it again and again, rewrite where necessary. You may also need to reorganize your thoughts.
Find an editor.
Never publish your own work, if it has not gone through the hands of one or two editors. Some errors slip through our eyes when we are proofreading our own work, no matter how keen to details we believe we are. Find a third party who is a professional editor to refine your work. You may need to have a budget for this, or you can ask a friend to help out. You can also hire a freelance editor or writer.
Things to Do Before, When, and After Writing Your Great eBook.
Build Connections:
Marketing is going to be a hard part, get prepared.
Find authoritative brands in your niche, comment on their blogs, follow, tweet their stuff, be their friends, and let them know what you do.
Also, with time, let them know that you would be releasing your new book soon and you would love to gift them a copy! Most of them will read, and even review it on their blog if they sure love it.
If they love it, they might send an email with a download link to their subscribers! That’s like paying someone $10000 to do that!
Have an accountability partner (s)
Writing could sometimes get tiring, and you might be tempted to throw your killer eBook to the fire when you are just about to climax.
Having an accountability partner will help put that direly needed pressure on you, and you will not rest until you fulfill your promises.
A good way to do that is to let a word out. Post it on social media, let your relatives and friends know that you are working on a book project.
Go ahead even farther to let your subscribers know that you will be releasing a new book soon. Blog about it.
Think like a publisher, not a writer.
By this I mean apply the principle of prudence. Time is an important resource, and so if you are using it to venture into something that is not going to achieve its purpose, you better don’t.
Businesses work as a team… who is going to be your editor, cover designer, a hard-core critique, launch facilitator, etc?
Choose a topic you are passionate about…
To offer value, you need to have that value within it. There are hundreds of thousands of niches to choose from, go for the one you are passionate about.
Do a thorough research on the topic and scope you want to handle.
Before you write an eBook, you need to have the statistics right. Read similar books and eBooks, visit blogs on your niche, find newspapers and reports.
After writing your book, you might want to do further research on how to effectively market your book as well as outsourcing
Block out Writing Time.
While you might feel agitated writing when you don’t feel like, you have to learn to adjust accordingly if at all you want to see your book published.
Set aside time which will be specifically used for writing the book each day, and focus on doing nothing but just write it. This is not the time for formatting, editing, or research.
It is time to write! When it comes to writing, you need to Practice the Art of Self-Discipline.
How Long Should it Take to Write an eBook?
My first book took me approximately three years to have a complete manuscript ready for publishing. I started writing it while I was in high school, all the way through college.
However, a book doesn’t have to take that long! My next book is approximated to take about eight weeks, and am thus looking forward to having it published online in mid-March.
On my view, though, ever since I published my first eBook, book writing shouldn’t take too long. This is so because it stands to lose the psyche and euphoria that comes with the striking thought of ‘I want to get Published!’
However, the duration also majorly depends on the length of the book and the amount of research you need to do before and while writing your book.
How to Write an eBook That Gets Read
Though there is no one-size-fits-all formula or approach to book writing, I am a strong believer in learning from the mistakes and experiences of others.
However, do not be afraid of venturing in new horizons… Over my few years in the book and blogging industry, I believe that these little tips will help you create a book that will be a must-read.
Time to spice up the internet sphere, let’s get started.
1. Carefully Choose your Niche for Your Book!
Is your book going to be fiction or non-fiction? Why the choice? Perhaps it’s gonna be non-fiction because you want to offer some tips on dating, relationships, blogging, business, etc? What scope?
The choice of your niche should be around what you enjoy doing? If your blog is about relationships, then writing a book around that niche will be far more effective than crafting one on ‘Trading Forex Internationally.“
2. Create Something Others Don’t Easily get it for Free!
The point is to remain authentic, genuine and unique. Offer value, that’s what your readers and customers will be willing to exchange them for their dollars and email addresses.
Don’t just write an eBook, write a unique and irresistible one.
Do a serious research, get personal and maintain a friendly conversational yet professional tone.
3. Craft a Great Book Title.
Your book title says a lot about the content, it’s an eye to your book.
The ideal title is one that encapsulates the main concept conveyed in the book in just a few words. While choosing a book title, you should also consider the title whose domain name has not been taken.
Sometimes, later on, you will need to create a website for your book for more exposure. If you are new to blogging, then I suggest you read my guide on how to start a money-making blog.
4. Write Your Book Paying Keen Attention to Your Target Audience.
Your readers are the ‘Coca-Cola’ of your writing company. Major on them, write to them. I want to pick up and read a book that addresses ‘me’ and not just the general masses.
In other words, know your audience well. Know what they are lacking, and provide to them in the book. Quench their thirst and they will be your loyal subscribers.
5. Lead Your Readers Back to Your Site.
If your book will be downloaded on self-publishing sites like Amazon, then you are 100% sure that you will never know who did download your book, and never will you lay hands on their email addresses.
One simple trick is to offer a freebie on your website which is related to the contents of your book. Then on the front of your book, include a provocative call to action sentence like:
“Thanks for downloading this book. As a gratitude, I am offering you access to my FREE REPORTS ON…. Click Here to get it Now!”
Your Turn?
Thanks for reading through this post and for leaving a comment below, which I know you will…
Are you currently working on your book? How is the going? Feel free to let me know in the comments section… Or planning to write one? I will be glad to help.