Several people, when they experience something inspirational or humbling in life, consider writing a book about it and sharing it with others. But, only a small fraction of these people take the next steps to ebook writing. Even the dream of becoming a published author seems overwhelming to many.
What if you could divide this process into simple and manageable steps? This guide will provide you with an easy-to-follow roadmap to success in writing ebooks. It will teach you how to start an ebook, overcome barriers, and share your knowledge with the world. Let’s go through the basic steps that every new author should know.
Every ebook begins with a single great idea. Your first job is to shape and test this idea. You want to make sure that it is something people will want to read.
Writing an ebook can be time-consuming at times. You must choose a topic that you truly care about or are familiar with. Your excitement will keep going when you feel tired.
You must change your initial approach before writing. Shift from “what do I want to write?” to “what does my reader need to read?” You might love old history, but your ebook could be “History Tips for Today’s Leaders.” Identify the area where your knowledge aligns with a genuine need. This is the best way to write an ebook that people will look for and buy.
Before you write, take time to test out your idea.
Check Amazon KDP: Review the bestseller lists in your category. Read the reviews of popular ebooks. What do readers like? What do they say is missing? This is free and useful research.
Visit Online Forums: Online platforms such as Reddit and Quora are full of queries. If you see the same question being asked repeatedly, your eBook may be the answer.
Talk to People: Share your ideas with a few people who are similar to your future readers. Their questions and comments will tell you whether the idea is good.
You should have clarity in your vision. Whether your main goal is to make money, become an expert in your career, improve your business by acquiring new customers, or tell a story? Your goal will help determine your choices moving forward as it goes to price, length, and in terms of how you will promote your book in the future. This makes the ebook writing process more focused.
Starting to write without a plan creates problems. You may get stuck, or your book may not make sense. An outline is your map. It breaks down the task of writing an e-book into small steps that can be easily handled.
A good outline helps in three ways. It helps you stay on topic, making sure that your ideas flow in a manner that makes sense, and can save you a lot of time when you go back to edit. Writers who use outlines are far more likely to complete their books without hurdles.
You do not need a complicated system. Pick a way that works for you:
The List Method: Create a list of your chapters in bullet points. Under each chapter, include 3-5 bullet points of the main ideas that you will discuss.
The Mind Map: Write your major topic in the center of a page. Draw lines to connect ideas. Then add more lines to the smaller details. This is a good visual method.
The Chapter Summary: Write a brief paragraph for each chapter. Describe what the chapter will do, what the reader will learn.
The best way to write a well-organized ebook starts with this planning step. A simple outline is always better than no outline.
You have your outline. Now your only job is to write. This stage is about not being perfect, but rather about moving forward.
Allow yourself to write badly. The purpose is to get your ideas out of your head and onto the page. You may correct mistakes, awkward sentences, and errors along the way. But for now, your mission is to create a raw material for your book.
The right tool can help:
Google Docs: Great for its simplicity. It saves online automatically and is easy to share with others.
Scrivener: A great application for long writing projects. It enables you to break your book into manageable pieces for writing, show your outline when you write, and keep your research in one place. It is time-consuming to learn, but super useful.
Microsoft Word: The classic one that everyone is familiar with.
Knowing how to write ebooks is a matter of developing the habit of writing. Remember, you can not edit an empty page.
Your first draft is completed. Well done! Now, put it away. It is best if you do not edit immediately. Let it rest for a few days. It helps you return to your writing with fresh eyes.
Fix your writing in a few rounds. Each round has a different objective:
Round 1: The Big Picture. Read the whole manuscript. Does the argument make sense? Does the structure work? Are there any missing parts? This is where you move large sections around.
Round 2: The Paragraph Level. Now look at sentences and paragraphs. Is your writing clear? Can you remove extra words? Look for awkward phrases and polish the flow of the paragraphs.
Round 3: The Details. Check the whole text to find any spelling, grammar, and punctuation issues. Even trying this trick to read your text out loud is a great way to discover mistakes.
Once you complete writing your book, request 2-3 people who are a part of your target audience to read it. These are called the beta readers. Ask them, “Was there a part that was not clear?” “Did the ending feel good?” “Where did you get bored?” Their feedback is very helpful.
This is the most important investment you can make for your ebook writing journey. A professional ebook editor makes your work a lot better. Even the books from major publishers are professionally edited.
For a new author, a copy edit and then a proofread is often the best option. This step is essential for producing high-quality ebooks.
Your book is ready. Now move towards the formatting of the book. Presentation is very important when you are publishing a book online.
Readers do judge an ebook by its cover. It is the first thing they see, often it is a small picture on a screen. A professional cover displays quality and can help you sell more books.
Hire a Professional: This is a great idea. Use professional cover design services, or even try to find a designer with experience with your type of book genre.
Makes a Good Cover: A great ebook cover must have a clear idea, a title, and an author name that are easy to read, even if they are small, and pictures that clearly show what the book is about.
A poorly formatted eBook is difficult to read. It appears poorly and leads to negative reviews. Use special format software. Vellum (for Mac) is the best tool for this purpose. It makes beautiful ebooks easily. Atticus is a new tool that runs on any PC. These tools help you save time and stress. Good formatting is the final key step to professional ebook writing before you publish.
The big moment is here. Publishing your eBook is a simple process. Your major decision is where to publish it.
There are multiple platforms to publish your book online. However, you have two widely known options:
Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing): This is the biggest ebook store. The important decision is to enroll in KDP Select. This program allows you to participate in Kindle Unlimited (KU), a popular subscription service used by many readers. The downside is that you can not sell your ebook anywhere else for 90 days. For the novice, KDP Select can be a good place to start.
Going “Wide”: This is selling your eBook in as many stores as you can, such as Apple Books, Kobo, and so on. To ensure that you make the process easier, you might want to use book publishing services. You submit your book to them, then they list it in all their partner stores. They pay you each time per sale. This enables you to reach a larger audience.
You can easily publish the book by following these steps:
Metadata: This is your book’s title, author name, description, and keywords. These help people find your book.
Upload Files: Please upload your completed book file and your cover file.
Set Your Price: Research other ebooks in your genre to determine a suitable price.
Press Publish: Click the button! It takes Amazon 1-3 days, and other stores a little longer, for your ebook to be available for sale.
You have now studied the complete guide to ebook writing. You learned about how to find your idea, to make a map, to write a first draft, then edit, then design, and finally publish. You can break down a big goal into small, easy steps. Your perspective and knowledge are valuable. The only thing now is to start.
If you have a great idea, but need help, consider working with experts like Digital Scribblers. They are able to assist you, from developing your idea to polishing the final draft and turning an idea into a professional ebook that you will be proud to publish.
Your voice is important. Your story matters. Now is the time to share it.
Some eBook platforms don’t require an ISBN, while a few non-Amazon retailers or distributors do require or prefer one.
An e-book is a book that is read using an electronic gadget, whereas a print book is a hardcopy published book that you can hold.
You can register your book with your country’s copyright office. This will give proof it belongs to you and makes it easier to take action if someone copies it.
It is different for everyone. A short e-book could take a month to write if working part-time. A lengthy ebook may take 3-6 months.
If you have the idea but lack the time or writing skills, hiring a ghostwriter is a good way to get a quality book.
You can publish at any time. Many authors skip big holidays. For non-fiction, there is not exactly a “best” time.
Use Amazon’s Early Reviewer Program, ask your email list, or ask your beta readers to leave a review.
In the US and many other countries, your work is automatically copyrighted when you create it. Registering it officially gives it stronger legal protection, but it is not required to be published.
Yes! This is a huge advantage of ebooks. You can upload a new version at any time to correct errors or update information.
Turn your manuscript into a professionally published book with Digital Scribblers. Contact us today and take the first step toward becoming a published author!
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