How to Write an Ebook and Make Money Selling It Online
A talented writer can come from anywhere. Some people have wanted to write for their entire lives. Others have never given writing any thought until one day the right idea popped into their head. Some writers live in big cities and others in small towns. The minute a person begins to write, no matter their background, they become a writer. If you have been bitten by the writing bug, you may wonder what you should do to be published. The good news for you is that the ability to get published is already at your disposal, thanks to the ebook format.
Ebooks have become incredibly popular information, entertainment, and education sources.
Here’s why and how to write an ebook
Why write an ebook?
You may sigh to yourself at the notion of writing an ebook. After all, isn’t the dream to one day hold a physical copy of your masterpiece in your hands? Of course, it is always nice to have a physical copy of your work, which is something that is not inherently off limits in the ebook world.
However, publishing your work as an ebook affords you numerous opportunities you may not have considered.
No gatekeepers
The biggest predicament most writers face when writing a book is publishing. Getting a book published is a major uphill battle, especially in this day and age. Getting the attention of a major book publisher is increasingly difficult. This is because the submission process is so brutal.
When you submit a book that you want a publisher to take on, you do so with the hope that it will land on the right person’s desk. Many people don’t realize that before it lands on the right person’s desk, it lands on the desk of a person whose job is to check your work.
This person is usually an assistant, typically drowning in other manuscripts and pitches. For lack of a better term, this person is a gatekeeper.
The beauty of the internet is that it has arguably become the single greatest social hub in the world. Everyone has a voice on the internet, and billions of people have access to it. Nobody has to give you a green light or approval to put your book online. No gatekeepers, no masters. It’s just you and your readers.
Affordability
Don’t be fooled into thinking that writing an ebook means you will not have to spend any money on its creation and publication. However, it should be said that the costs are extraordinarily low by comparison.
You can write your ebook for free. From there, it’s a matter of how much you want to pay for things like hiring an editor, designing a cover, additional formatting, and other hosting costs. Even if you spent roughly $1,000, you would still be spending less than you would on a physical publication.
Freedom
One of the biggest advantages of the ebook format is the level of freedom you have. You can publish an ebook of any length you wish, create ebooks that are only a few pages long, or write ebooks that are hundreds of pages long. Include illustrations or other multimedia types thanks to the digital format of an ebook. You can create something truly unique, and if it is, then it will potentially be valuable to your potential readers.
Choosing your topic
Your ebook topic should be considered before you write even one word. Your topic is essentially your reason for writing to begin with.
Did you have a great ebook idea for a narrative work that you want to put out there? Do you have a website and want to use your ebook to promote it further? Do you want to write a guidebook or a tutorial?
Choose a topic that you can commit to. The last thing you want to do is devote time and energy to an ebook you do not finish because you lose interest. A topic that you are somewhat knowledgeable in helps but isn’t required.
Many authors do research as they write and even include some of the learning process in the book itself. Using your learning curve as an origin story of sorts is a great way to start the book and show your readers how the subject became an interesting topic to you.
Develop your ebook title
Some writers think of their ebook title first, and others do it later in their ebook writing process. You can brainstorm some potential catchy titles to start and come back to this later.
Make sure your title has an emotional hook that draws people’s attention. Similar to how your ebook cover design piques a reader’s interest, so will the title. You should have your title finalized by the time you design the cover, which we’ll get to later.
Choosing your demographic
Whether you are working in creative writing or creating an ebook for your business, there is always a bit of research that needs to be done.
Think about the kind of reader you want to attract to your book. You don’t want a book layout incomprehensible to the demographic you are writing for. For example, it would be wrong to have a college-style paper format in a children’s book.
Learn how your audience digests their information so that you can try to follow that process with your writing.
Writing an ebook
Here you are. You’re staring at the blank document in front of you. In just a second, your fingertips will touch the keyboard, and the words will just fly onto the screen...at least that’s what you imagine happening.
The actual writing process is different for every writer of every type of work, ebook or otherwise.
Remember that your writing often differs from how you imagine you will.
Some writers do have the ability to just let the words flow from their fingertips. Other writers feel that they have to plan further ahead and map out what they want to write.
There is no linear process, but there is one requirement that all writers must meet: that they write. Whether in your local Starbucks hooked up to wi-fi or in the comfort of your home, your main focus should be putting something down on the page.
Here are some tips to help you crush writer’s block to see your ebook through to completion.
Proofreading
The proofreading process is arguably the most important part of creating your ebook. This is where all of the corrections, be they spelling, grammar, or correcting readability, take place. This stage can take your writing from promising amateur to professional.
While you most definitely can proofread your ebook on your own, this is where spending a little extra money can make a huge difference in the success of your book overall.
Setup a grammarly tool
If you attempt to proofread your work independently, you will be happy to know that machine assistance is available. Not only do you have spellcheck in most word processing programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, but there are websites and services that specialize in proofreading for spelling, grammar, and readability.
One of the most popular forms of machine assistance in proofreading is Grammarly, which will help you refine your grammar and spelling for free. If you are willing to pay the monthly subscription, even until you finish your ebook, it will also help improve the readability.
Creating your ebook cover
Probably one of the most looked forward to parts of writing for an author is finally slapping a cover onto it. For many writers, this is where their ebook starts to feel real. Creating a cover that feels like it belongs on your ebook can be daunting, but it must be done right.
The first thing you’ll want to do is research your competitors. You don’t want something that looks like all the others, but you also want to gauge what is selling. Remember that there are some publishing platforms where the cover is the first thing the reader sees and needs to be eye-catching and informative.
It must be stressed that you should only attempt to create a cover on your own if you have some background in graphic design. If creating visuals is not something that you are used to, then you could be setting your ebook up for failure by doing it yourself.
A survey of writing professionals by Written Word Media shows that most authors pay between $100 and $249. Expect to be in the lower range due, or even less, if you only plan to have an ebook.
A graphic designer can be a little pricey, but you are paying for years of experience on a product that will make you money for years to come.
