writing an ebook

What I find effective when trying to write anything long, whether an ebook or whatever, is to start by writing the outline. I'll break down my main bullet points and then start adding in more detail. I usually fill in enough sub points so that each one covers just a couple of paragraphs.

At that point, not only do I have the entire flow of the book figured out, but it's also broken down into very bite size pieces that I can work on one at a time. I don't have to do them in order, and I don't have to do them all at once. I think it makes a daunting task quite achievable.

Always think about the least knowledgeable reader you're likely to have buying your ebooks. Better to make the more advanced folks wade through some stuff they know than lose the newer folks with jargon and ideas that are over their heads. IMHO.

The outline idea is solid. Always helps me to organize thoughts and order things with the reader's comfort in mind. Also, when you get around to actually writing it, use short sentences! This is very difficult for me as a writer, but I think it's important. Again, think like the least experienced of your readers. You can convey pretty advanced concepts with easily understood language, if you really try.

Nothing can stop someone determined enough from stealing your written work and selling it as his/her own. Just deal with that reality and don't let it interfere with your creative process. I use e-junkie, and they have an option to encode your PDF uploads with identifying information, but as I said, someone really determined will simply copy out your words and create their own PDF anyway. Don't stress over what you can't control.

John

Ken,

I used Pat Flynn's free eBook creation guide....i kept it by my side every step of the way.....

smartpassiveincome.com

it became like my bible for eBook development

An outline is good, but I like to write out the Table of Contents. I suppose that serves as an outline. If you have trouble with that, go to Amazon.com and search for books on the same topic you want to write about. You'll be able to "look inside" the books at the table of contents in many (if not most) cases. That will give you an idea of how others have structured books on the same topic, plus it may give you ideas you may not have thought of.

Still stuck? Once you have the TOC outlined, write a list of items you want to cover in each chapter and then prioritize the list in the order you want to cover the items.

Now you should be able to just start writing, but if not you can always write a summary of each list item. By the time you do that you're half done. You only have to expand on your summaries and write the text that bridges the list items together so it has flow.

Lastly, remember the TOC you plot out is not written in stone. If you think of a new or better way to present your information you can always change it. Most books are fluid with many moving parts, only requiring the bridge text to be altered to restore flow.

Before you start writing your ebook, make sure you know that you can sell it.

By know I, mean actually test it in real time.

Many people just keep harping about creating your own products and how great it is but they forget to mention that marketing it succesfully is the hardest part of all.

Apollo

Hi Ken,

about the content: the outline is a good plan.

how to build it?

go to Amazon and research your competition, most books have a table of contents. See what they are doing.

This will bring you ideas on what you want to say and how to organize it.

An ebook has 5 basic parts:

cover: you can use the ebook cover done for promotion, its flat version or something themed.

disclaimer, copyrights, etc; this is second page. Here you talk about the publishing rights you are giving with the ebook, the team that built it if applicable and disclaimers if applicable (money and health need disclaimers, there might be other niches, this is not legal advice)

then you have the table of contents, leave the space blank as you build it automatically from the sections of the ebook.

the content: In information related ebooks so far we have split it in 2 parts, the general chitchat and the "getting the hands dirty" part, where we do exactly what we talk about. Anything that tells you to do something and doesn't show it in a case study is fishy.

In general terms, to write a book is like taking someone by the hand and lead him/her for a hike path. You need to talk about everything he is going to find, where to watch the step and be careful with the equipment (knowledge assumed, times involved, money involved, etc).

the last section is the resources page: there you put additional resources, affiliate links, etc

some times you need to add still another section with appendixes. For example with short crash courses in something you are assuming.

Here is the direct download link to an ebook I wrote over six months ago, there you can see what I'm talking about:

http://www.crackingsocialmedia.com/i...media_code.zip


About formatting: choose a structure and follow it in the ebook, for example if you give 2 spaces before images, make sure you respect it, etc.

use 2 fonts max, don't overdo it.

the default fonts coming with word 2007 are nice: cambria for titles and calibri for the body. The sizes of the titles, I don't love them, so we change it to 20-22. The default size for the body is 11, it is ok usually, sometimes you want it bigger.

use the title structure, don't build the titles, so you can can create table of contents automatically.

Add a footer with the copyright info and the number of pages. Choose it not to be on first page. You can add a header with teh name of your website for example, after seeing it for 50 pages people remember it...

Hope it helps,
Laura

Um...one more thing...learn how to link the Table of Content items to the material it represents if the ebook is more than 30 or 40 pages. I hate opening a big page ebook and there are no links into the content. I may buy an ebook for one chapter, and I want to go right to that chapter. Or later, I may want to refer back to one particular item, I don't want to hunt for it, give me the link. Good luck!

I've written tons of ebooks. So take my advice, put the job on some site like elance or mturk and get someone else to write it. It will save you so much time. My guess is that you're building a website to sell this on perhaps? Concentrate on that. And or finding various sites that will sell your ebook. There's tons of sites out there that act sort of like an amazon for ebooks. You just create an account. They take your ebook. They got the traffic already. So if someone finds your book and buys you get a commission. And you could upload your site to a ton of these ebook store. But get someone else to write the first version. Then "if" it's a hit, then at some point perhaps you might want to put more of your own time and energy into the updated version. Or try and find an ebook similar to whats yours is going to be about and either use it as a referrence or find one that has reseller rights included. Food for thought.

Just finished my first product and what I did was think of every step in the process I was trying to teach with my ebook. As I went along in the writing, I made sure that each step was fulfilled/easily understandable and then moved on to the next one.

I also wrote an outline for my ebook. After I had the outline I set a goal for when I wanted the ebook to be done and figured out how many sections I had to write each week to reach that goal. I know a lot of people say outsource the writing or use PLR for the content, but I don't see the value of an ebook created that way. If there isn't anything unique or valuable about the ebook, then how can you convince anyone to buy it? That's just my 2 cents, I know others feel differently.

For making an ebook cover, I use this ebook cover creator software and for securing my ebook, I use Linklok - Paypal secure download. I know there are plenty of other ways to do each of those, but those are products I've used and like.

Good luck to you!

How's it coming along, Ken?

I have a few tips I can share from my experience creating Ebooks. Some of my 'must do' items have already been mentioned, so I'll just drop in a couple of additional points.

1. Mind mapping, as mentioned, is an awesome way to start your book. I find the best application for this kind of purpose is MindJet Mind Manager. The reason for this is that not only can you rearrange your map nodes as required until you perfect the structure of your book, you can also write extensive text content into the attached 'notes'.

This lets you research the topic, completely organize all your sections and sub-sections, then collect all your research into this mind map. When you are done, Mind Manager will allow you to export a Word Document of your content that forms a rough draft or starting point for your book. You can then flesh out your content and edit it, and format the content as you require. It makes the process very fast and very flexible.

2. Always have a second person edit / proof your book before you put it out for public consumption. With content you have written yourself, sometimes you just see what you think you wrote rather than what you actually wrote, no matter how many times you proof read. I always work with my partner Darren to create Ebooks and he always picks up anything I have missed, and vice versa. Even when you think the content is perfect, always get a second person to proof it.

3. Your table of contents should be more than just a table of contents. It should be a linked navigation menu that makes it easy for a reader to come back and jump to specific points whenever they want. In a non-fiction reference book, it is highly likely your reader will want to come back over and over for a refresher. The names of your sections should make it easy for the reader to identify exactly which part they want to skip to, and they should be able to get to that section with a single mouse click. Think if the table of contents as being like a navigation menu on a website and you will yield the best results possible.

Best of luck with your book!

Don't make this complicated.

Can you write an article?

If yes, you can write an ebook pretty fast.

The secret is that you don't think about an ebook. Imagine you are writing high quality articles.

Now, can you come with seven questions on your topic?

If not, here is a quick and easy way to do that:

1) go to yahoo answer and type your keyword there. Then, make a not of the questions.

2) type: your keyword + forums, and see what people are asking for.

Next step?

write one article per question. The article will be the reply, plus some tips and other advice.

Do this for each of the seven questions, add an intro, a conclusion.

You have your $10 report that you can sell.

That's it.

Oh, and I was about to forget: just write one article per day. And in less than two weeks later you have your report.

All the best.
Franck

An outline and table of contents would be a good place to start. It's difficult to start off with a blank page with no rough organization of content to guide you. I find that it's good to write in bursts and spurts, i.e. don't try to write everything down at one time. When inspiration strikes, sit down and write as much as you possibly can. When you hit a brick wall, don't try to squeeze any more content from your brain, because what will come out is most likely garbage..

Get AWAY from the computer, watch a show, walk the dog, take a nap (!), do anything and everything to take your mind off the topic of your ebook, and then come back when your mind is refreshed. You'll be amazed at how many times inspiration will strike you this way. I find that it's better to write like this than to sit down for an extended period in front of your computer, especially when you are stumped for ideas. Take a break and let your subconscious go to work and generate ideas for you. I've found this to work very well for me, so give it a try and see what you come up with!

Good luck in your ebook writing!

Take your idea for an ebook and then write a great sales letter to sell it. Forget about the book for now and focus on writing a letter for the book you'd like to have. It doesn't have to be a really great letter (yet). Just describe all the stuff your eBook will do for people. Load it up with great features and benefits. Go crazy.

Then put the letter aside for a day or two and during that time you'll come up with even more stuff to make it better. Don't write just take notes and record ideas during your rest period.

Then after a couple of days flesh out your sales letter even more. When you're finished with the letter you'll have the best possible outline you could ask for. Then write the book around what you've promised in the letter. As you go along you'll be able to improve both the book and the letter. Writing the sales copy first will add a lot of dimension to your book. Good luck!

Hey Ken,
The best way to write an ebook is step by step. People like to follow and you taking them through the process and showing them exactly how to do it will earn you some credibility and also get you more customers which equals more sales and $$$. To protect your ebook you can have a copyright in the beginning. If you ever bought an ebook you could see how its done in the beginning. Also I would suggest to add a table of contents as most people are inpatient and like to get to the juicy stuff then start and reread the book. Hope this helps.

Moe

Wow,
I am getting ready to dive in and write my first book. These are all excellent ideas and comments. Thanks for the tips and I'll look forward to February sharing my finished product.

I spend a lot of time creating an outline by listing all the major points, then I break down the major points into minor points.

Finally, I write each minor point as if it is a stand-alone article. That way, once my ebook is finished, I can submit the articles to EZA for instant traffic.