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How to write an Ebook - What you need to know

Introduction

Publishing has come along way since the days of cut and and paste work that went on in print studios. As recently as the late 1980s, publishing remained the exclusive domain of printers, typographers and paste-up artists. Computers changed all that starting around the early 1990s which transformed publishing to a desktop environment replacing much of the manual chores with mouse-click automation.

Though desktop publishing replaced manual typesetting and design, the end product remained the same - i.e., the preparation of artwork that had to be color separated for printing.

The 1990s also saw the emergence of electronically formatted documents called PDF or Portable Document Formats that provided an alternative to paper based documents. Since PDF files were meant to be read on-screen there was no need to have them printed on hard paper, thus slashing production costs by almost 75%. The digital nature of PDFs enabled them to be sent via e-mail instantaneously.

PDF also gave an opportunity for anyone to become their own publishers without the involvement of a professional publishers. This created a whole new industry called ebook publishing, where authors, in most cases wrote and self-published their own work from the convenience of their home PCs.

Today publishing your own ebook has never been easier. The amazing thing about ebooks is that once you meet your production costs, (free if you do it by your self) the profit you make from the ebook is almost 90%. (That's 90% of your share after deductions are made by the online distributor) But often, the affiliates who promote your book and make the sale possible get 50% of the selling price which the publisher readily gives since delivery charges are zero. Companies such as Clickbank sell a huge selection of such books based on this system.

The advantage is obvious. Digital ebooks can be delivered in seconds anywhere around the world through the Internet at zero cost to the publisher. Which means no printing, no packing or shipping.

Setting the ground work

Publishing an ebook for the sake of publishing it won't get you far. Don't make that mistake. Always have your customer or reader in mind. What interests you may not interest someone else. Basically you have to provide information that your customers want. This is the tricky part. Out of millions of potential readers out there, how would you know what to write on? Well fortunately the Internet again will come to your rescue. Without blindly setting forth to write an ebook first do extensive research on what people want.

May be you are passionate about fishing. But what type of fishing? Trout Fishing? Then first go to Google and find out about Trout Fishing. Visit Internet Blogs ( Weblogs) and forums to find out what's being discussed. What the issues are. What's hot and what's not. Once you get into it you would automatically update yourself on the subject and will even learn about it. News groups too are a rich source of information. Talk to people and ask them about your subject. Visit a fishing store and talk to the sales guy. This applies to all topics and not only fishing. It could be Hair Dressing, Car Detailing, Web Development, Pet care or whatever. The Important thing is to do research without which you are unlikely to succeed.

The following books are highly recommended:

Write Your Ebook or Other Short Book - Fast!

Instant Book Writing Kit - How to Write, Publish and Market Your Own Moneymaking Book (or Ebook) Online

How to Write a Damn Good Novel : A Step-by-step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling (How to Write a Damn Good Novel)

The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book, 14th Edition

Considering that you are going spend a lot of time writing this book its well worth investing in one of the above mentioned books to avoid any pitfalls.

OK. Assuming you are all ready to take off, now start listing your chapters. All have their unique styles of writing and presentation so choose what's best for you. The following is an example of a book on Sales and Consumer Behavior.

Contents :

Intended Reader
Acknowledgments (its important to thank people who helped you out)
Introduction (very important as this sets the tone)
The Right frame of mind
Planning and Preparation
Getting In
Prospecting
First Impressions
Understanding Customers
Identifying Needs
Presenting Your Case
Handling Objections
Gaining Commitment
Reinforcing Your Case
Follow-up and Persistence
Managing Customer Relationships
Developing Repeat Business
Helpful Attitudes
Afterword

Do you see the flow of the chapters here? See how they don't jump back and forth? One subject leads to another. As the author this its your task to keep the reader interested. You can basically write on anything as long as its organized properly. Within these chapters you can ever break it up into sub chapters. Make your chapters and paragraphs concise. Avoid flowery language keeping in mind that reading on screen is more difficult than reading off a paper. Remember your audience : they want quick information which can be easily understood.

When writing your ebook be selective of the typeface you use. Traditional Times fonts (Serif Fonts) can be read easily, Sans Serif fonts though it looks better tend to tire your eyes and they have a tendency to fall off. There are some beautiful typefaces that are in use today but be very selective. Cool looking fonts are not always easy to read. Its best that you stick with traditional fonts. If you need help please ask someone who knows about typefaces like a graphic designer. They are masters at this.

You can also ask a graphic designer to help you out with page layout. If you just start landing text like on MSWord it may look very unprofessional. Do not give the impression that you are writing for the first time. A good clean layout is best suited for ebooks considering they are read on screen.

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