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How to write an ebook

March 4th, 2010 simon 1 comment

A quicker way to writing your own ebook.

You dont have to write an ebook yourself. You can purchase PLR (Private Label) products and then put your own name on and design a suitable  ecover. The major drawback behind this is that your end product is not that original or unique and generally a lot of PLR products arent that great.

The best compromise  is to use a mix of Private Label products and then edit and compile it into a BRAND NEW product. This speeds up the product creation process, and more importantly leaves you with your own unique product that you can sell or offer in Joint Ventures.

If you decide you want to start from scratch then read on:

Break it down into Manageable Steps

The hardest part of writing is the beginning. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task.

That’s why you have to break it down into manageable daily tasks. Set yourself a plan to create one page a day, giving yourself a day or two break during the week and within a month you can have an ebook created on any subject under the sun.

There are some things to bear in mind before you begin and while you are in the writing process.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First stage is planning. A top selling product needs a catchy and eye grabbing title.

Use forums within your niche in order to get a feel of what types of information people are searching for.  Afterall an ebook is basically an information product, so the more people that are searching for the information, the more will purchase.

Titles narrow the focus of your topic; and give you a platform to answering your reader’s queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Titles should be clear and concise, but cleverness always helps to sell books as long as it’s not too cute or cheesy.

For example,

Lose Belly Fat Fast – exercise plans for fastest mid-section results

Or:

Dog Training Success: Ways to keep your pet loyal and respectful.

What’s the core thesis of the book

Your info product also needs a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem.
At this stage, its very helpful if your ebook addresses a problem facing many people.

A good way to check is by checking the recent search levels in google keyword tool, and the best seller lists among Amazon books.

All chapters emanate from your thesis statement. Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you’ve built your foundation. From that foundation, your book grows, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night’s sleep.

Ask yourself some questions:

  • Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?
  • Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?
  • Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s attention?
  • Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience demographics. The age range of the reader will effect many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length.

Figure out the age range of your readers, their gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion mags or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can narrow down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them, and address your solutions to as many as possible.

Publishing Goals

Its is sound to make a list of publishing goals the reasons you are writing your ebook. Is the sale of the ebook the end in itself? Do you want to sell it as a product on your website? Do you want to use the ebook as a presell or free gift to promote another, perhaps more expensive product of yours or an affiliate? Do you want to bring extra quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

You could use the chapters to create an email mini e-course in order to market the ebook itself, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

How to make your ebook “user friendly”

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars and annotations are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up dense content on the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as in a textbook. Reader’s prefer  a conversation over a monologue. Break up the  structure and length of your sentences so you don’t hypnotize your readers into sleep.

The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures. The more you practice, the better you will become.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader’s eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as “negative space.” Reader’s eyes need to rest in the cool white oasis you create on your page.

Good formatting makes for an easier read.


Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they’ve gotten past your introduction.

Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don’t mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas.

Finishing Touches

Finally, create an index and a bibliography. That’s it! You’ve written a book! Now all you have to do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors. You can also create very professional looking eCovers with snazzy graphics for your ebook to ehance the overall quality and give your product a more realistic feel.

Make use of the guidelines above, and you should have a valuable product which you can sell and cross market for years to come !