Ebook Writing.....?

Deb -

That $3 mentality makes me nuts! The people who peddle articles for that price are junk sellers, nothing more. The good thing (if you can call it that) about there being so much garbage out there is that it makes quality work stick out like a sore thumb. My goal is to create happy, repeat customers, that know the true value of what I provide. I'm not Wal-Mart, trying to match the lowest price.

Bev,

Tried to listen to the interview and got this:

Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManagerTimeoutException: The server request timed out

Any Ideas?

Notice all the typos in my posts.....don't worry, I'm not trying to sell them! lol

I've got experience writing ebooks, hard copy books, and ghostwriting ebooks.

Have you noticed when you download ebooks the pages range from 50 words on a page to 250 words. The margins are huge, the font size 14 or more and the page is double spaced. All to give the impression that the reader is getting more bang for their buck. How many pages has nothing to do with how many words or how much work will be involved.

My suggesion is to charge by the page but specify how many words will be on that page. I usually say 350 words per page because that's about what Times New Roman font size 12 with one inch margins comes out to.

With my current clients when I begin a project I spend about a day outlining the book, coming up with chapters and a short description of what will be included in each chapter. I also provide an estimate of the length of the book. Or if the client has said they have a budget of $xxxx, I'll stay within that budget when I come up with the chapters and word count.

FYI there's not a lot of difference with coming up with the chapter outline for a ghostwritten book and the books I've had commercially published. The thought process is about the same.

I stagger the payments for the clients. 50% due upon starting the project, 25% at the midpoint and 25% when the project is finished and accepted.
I"ll submit the first 3 chapters to make sure that the client and I are on the same page (writer humour there) as far as style and voice go. I always write in my own voice but there's a difference depending on the audience for the book.

We also agree to a timeline for completion of the first chapters, first half of the book and the final target date.

The less opportunity for misunderstanding between myself and the client the more productive the relationship and the happier we both are. Writing a 20,000 word or more ebook is a major committment of time.

Unfortunately there is a lot of opportunity for writers to get ripped off. Protect yourself.

I'm lucky because I have writing credentials. I can point people to amazon.com and show them the books I've written. I also have a number of websites that show different topics. For example my dogs and I write a blog that's a completely different style than the weight loss site I have which is different again from my business oriented sites.

Ebooks on topics I enjoy writing about or am curious about are more fun for me than writing articles. In fact I don't write articles very much anymore except for my own sites.

Dee

Nick did you bring a Joe's with you, if not go and get me one now

We lived in Waunarlwydd when we got married, and my mother still lives in Swansea.

I do a lot of the formatting as I write, so headings are included, headers and footers etc, and then the table of contents which is clickable is also included. Sometimes, I will write a glossary, and each word will be linked during the book.

Some clients ask for both the .doc and .pdf because some are not sure how to create the pdf themselves. We have even created the pdf with security for the person.

The basic answer is it depends on what the client asks for originally.

Bev

Hi Recruitment Nick --- glad you could add to the thread. There is a lot of great information here.......feel free to keep in touch with me and I will let you know what I do and how it goes --- I am not sure if it is necessary to start out with articles but that is what I did. I have been writing articles for various people, including some well known Internet Marketers, for the past couple of years.

I just find that writing ebooks is more enjoyable because you can keep your thoughts flowing in one direction for a longer period of time.

I appreciate your kind thoughts.....I am determined to make 2009 a 'work smarter, not harder' year for me. I believe I have built credibility with my work and I want to leverage that. I always have a goal of pleasing my clients and I do my best to meet their needs. I have found that the more information they can provide you upfront the better your product will match their desires. The point is, you should let your clients know that they need to have some idea of what they want and expect. Everyone is happier in the end that way!

Debbie