How to write an eBook

What’s an eBook ?

An eBook is simply an electronic book.

eBooks are produced digitally on a PC (personal computer) or a Mac (Macintosh.)

The most used format for eBooks is PDF.  

It is delivered via Internet direct download or by file copying and transfer (computers, data travelers, smartphones, ereaders etc.)  

eBooks can be stored in computers, mobile phones or eBook readers.

They can be burned on CDs and DVDs.

How to create an eBook as a PDF file?

Write your content using Microsoft Word or Word Pad.

Convert  it to a PDF file using this free tool http://docs.google.com

To read a PDF file you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC or Mac: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/

Or you can use Foxit Reader: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/

Another useful tool is http://www.cutepdf.com (if you ever get stuck with Adobe Acrobat.)

Why write an eBook?

This question should be “Why write a book?”

Maybe:

You feel the need to talk about something nobody else is talking about.

You want to help people; you have the desire and the knowledge to help others.

You want to share; your experience, your interesting life stories, your opinion, your points of view, your wisdom, your advice, your irritation, your criticism.

You love building relationships with people - with your readers.

Subject of your eBook:

As an example, you may want to cover information on :

A particular discipline,

Solutions to problems / improvements,

Training / learning / skills / self development,

Hobbies and interests,

How tos, Step-by-step guides, tutorials,

Check-lists,

List of businesses / list of services.

Sharing thoughts with your community (corporation, association, sport club.)

Benefits of writing an eBook

Developing an eBook can be costless.

You don’t need the permission of an editor to edit and distribute your eBook.

You can auto-edit yourself in an unlimited number of eBooks.

Offering your eBook is a perfect mean of advertising a traditional book you wrote.

An informational eBook can be used for any kind of promotion, business related or not.

It can be sent within minutes via Internet.

eBooks are easily updateable.

An eBook allows you to share interactive content with your readers.

Ebook covers

The graphic representation of your eBook is important to your potential reader.

It helps the reader have a tangible touch of your eBook.

Your eBook’s cover is reassuring: your reader feels that he or she owns your eBook as a traditional book.

Free eCovers:

You can find free eBook covers here :

GroundBreak - http://www.groundbreak.com/graphics.html

Box Shot Maker - http://www.boxshotmaker.com

Method to write your eBook:

1-Prepare a plan :

a-Brainstorm a title:

Write multiple variants of your possible title on a notepad,

Choose a temporary title according to your subject,

You may come up with the best title once you finish writing your eBook.

b-Write an introduction:

Introduce yourself,

Introduce your experience,

Say why you decided to write this eBook,

Give a summary, show your readers what they can expect by reading your eBook.

c-Write a table of contents

It will help you have a clear idea of what you are going to write about.

Outline specific chapter titles,

Subdivide each chapter into secondary ideas or titles,

d-Organize your chapters and ideas

Reorganize your chapters and ideas in a logical or chronological order.

Each chapter should introduce the next chapter,

Each general idea should introduce the next general idea,

Secondary ideas should be complementary and relevant.

Keep coherence and logical structure through all your eBook.

Every idea you write should contribute to your eBook’s main subject.

Each irrelevant chapter or idea, no matter how great it is, should be saved for a better usage in another project.

e-Write a conclusion:

Reconnect the dots for your readers; help them have an optimal understanding of everything they’ve read in your eBook.

Share your final thoughts and recommendations.

Introduce an upcoming event, another eBook you’ll be releasing, or offer complementary references.

2-Search your eBooks subject:

Even if you are a specialist in any discipline:

Prepare a list of resources and put them within easy reach.

You will need to look into them from time to time.

3-Write the content of your eBook:

a-How to write:

Start by writing a draft.

Use the plan you created to write your eBook.

Some guidelines that will help you produce a good eBook:

You should write from your own experience,

Write with your reader in mind,

Write as you know it, as you see it, and as you feel it.

Do some more information research whenever you need to.

Provide up-to-date-information.

b-Enrich your content:

Supplement your writing by offering web-page links for greater depth information.

Ad more value to your writing by interviewing knowledgeable people about the questions/issues of your eBook’s subject.

Interview your friends, fellow-workers and other doctors, experts or particularly experimented or skilled people. Some of them will be happy to have their names included in your eBook.

Promise to offer a free copy of your eBook to your contributors as soon as it’s ready.

Accept co-authors for your project: this can be an enriching experience, especially if you share the same ideals. Plus your content will be more substantial.

Find contributors on large specialized forums (according to the discipline you’re writing about,) there are a lot of savvy contributors who are ready to help anyone who asks.

Include a link of your main website or blog on the top of each page of your eBook. It will always invite the right people to visit you and receive updates.

c-Your eBook’s length : the right number of pages

You may be questioning yourself about the “right” length for your eBook.

Should you write a 7, 15, 30, 60, 80, 130, 200, 250 or 350 pages long eBook?

Answer: you really should write enough to cover what you wanted to share in the first place.

If you find that 7 pages were absolutely useful and sufficient, you should not write more.

On the other hand, make sure this small number of pages is compensated by great value received by your readers.

Maybe there is no book in the world that provides the information you included in your small 7 pages eBook.

If it takes you 350 pages or more to share your knowledge, then go for it.

However, keep in mind that reading a more than 100 pages long eBook can be tiring for your reader.

People will start reading your eBook on their computer’s screen first, then, if they like it, they will print it, and read it more conveniently offline.

Remember, printing a large eBook can be time consuming and costly.   

That’s why you should decide carefully about the length of your eBook.

If you need to write a large eBook, consider braking it into a multiple parts series.

These smaller parts can be more useful and easier for your readers to grasp.

Also, it can help you provide a better information quality, because you’ll only concentrate on one aspect of your subject at a time.

There should be only 3 main parameters controlling the length of your eBook:

1-   relevant subjects,

2-   useful information,

3-   and sufficient quantity of information for your potential readers. 

The ideal eBook is the one providing great value for its readers.

Be careful:

1-   Don’t bore your reader,

2-   Stick to the topic,

3-   Write clearly and concisely.

Write with your natural voice, write with your personal style.

Use simple words to help average readers benefit from your content.

4-Proofread your draft eBook:

Once your draft eBook written, put it aside and forget it at least for a week or two.

This will let your subconscious incubate what you wrote.

One or two weeks later, get back to your draft eBook and revise it, from start to end.

Downloading precaution

Sometimes eBooks in PDF format can be altered while someone is downloading them. A solution is to compress your PDF file to a *.zip format in order to keep the file safer while downloading. You can get Winzip here: http://www.winzip.com.

Make your eBook downloadable

Offer your eBook to download on your own website.

Ebook Directories:

An eBook directory is a website that offers eBook listings. It’s similar to an article directory, but it provides eBooks instead of articles.

Some of these eBook directories have a lot of visitors everyday, and a lot of eBook downloads, so why not list your eBook there?

Go to http://www.google.com and search for the term ‘eBook + directory’, then choose the one you like.

Finally

Notice: This article is intended to be updated frequenty. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions.