Have you always wanted to write an eBook but never knew how? Do you enjoy reading other people’s work and would like to try your hand at writing a book? If so, then this article is for you.
You can write an eBook in 7-14 days by the Book, a collaboration between Bonjoro and Lorelei, authors of Lead Generation for Network Marketers and The Tao of Twitter, which explores the processes behind creating and publishing a digital book.
The article provides step-by-step instructions on how to write an eBook in 7-14 days by the Book, including how to choose a topic, how to market the book, and how to create the book itself.
Choose A Topic
The very first step is to choose a topic for your book. You don’t need to write a book about everything, but you should try to cover a broad range of topics. If you pick a narrow topic like ‘social media’ or ‘search engine optimization’ then you will only be able to write about a very specific aspect of it. Think of a theme for your book – maybe something about content marketing for business, or how to become a better parent. Don’t worry too much about what the theme is; the most important thing is that you choose something that you feel passionate about.
Decide On The Book’s Purpose
In addition to choosing a topic, you need to decide on the book’s purpose. Why are you writing the book? What problem are you trying to solve? Your answer to these questions will help you determine what aspects of the subject matter you should cover in your book and which parts you should leave out. For example, if your answer is ‘to help people learn more about SEO’ then you will want to include everything about SEO in your book. However, if your answer is ‘to teach people how to become better parents’ then you will need to leave out a lot of the stuff related to SEO.
Brainstorm Ideas
Now that you have your topic, you can start brainstorming ideas for your book. Brainstorming is different from writing – while you are brainstorming you are not actually writing anything. When you have a bunch of ideas in your head, it’s hard to know which one to choose. That’s why you want to take some time before you start writing to think of as many ideas as you can. Visit a brainstorming session with your notebook and pen, or your iPad if you are at home. If you are in a creative environment like a writing café, you can use their tools to jot down your ideas.
Choose An Appropriate Publishing Platform
You need to decide on an appropriate publishing platform before you start writing. There are a variety of options to choose from, but you want to look for a versatile one that will allow you to publish your book on various devices like the Kindle, iPad, or Google Play.
Research The Book’s Keywords
Many eBook writers use free tools like Google Keyword Planner to find the right keywords for their book. When you are researching keywords it is important to look for a variety of terms. You don’t want to narrow your search down to a few terms because then your results will be limited to only those terms. If you want your book to be found by a variety of people you should look for long-tail keywords – these are longer phrases that describe your book. For example, if you are writing about SEO and you want your book to be found by people searching for ‘SEO guides’ then you should look for keywords like ‘SEO guide’ or ‘SEO instructions’ instead of just ‘SEO’.
Start With A Title
The first thing you need to do before you start writing is to come up with a title for your book. You can use the following guidelines to help you:
- Keep it short – a title should be between 3 and 6 words
- Make it relevant to your book’s purpose – for example, if your purpose is ‘to help people learn SEO’ then your title should be something like ‘SEO for Dummies’
- Choose a word or phrase that will appear in bold when someone is searching for books on your topic – this will make your book stand out from the crowd
- Do not use all caps – titles should be capitalized
- Avoid using spaces in your title – you can use punctuation like hyphens or colons to join words instead of using spaces
Once you have your title, you can move on to the next step.
Write An Introduction
After you have your title, you can start working on the book’s introduction. The introduction is a short piece that gives the reader an idea of what the book is about. It should not be longer than a page and should include everything in it – the most important information that the reader needs to know about your book. Your introduction should include:
- The book’s purpose
- A short overview of the topic
- Keywords
- Your publishing platform
- Contact information
You don’t need to start with an overview of the topic; you can simply write ‘In Search of a Complete Social Media Strategy’ as your book’s introduction and it will be perfectly understood by anyone reading it. After you have written your introduction, you can move on to the next step.
Brainstorm The Book’s Body
The next step is to brainstorm the book’s body. This is where you put all the details about your book that you have gathered so far. The body of the book is made up of sections – each one of these sections corresponds to a chapter in the book. Make sure that each section is no longer than a couple of pages. You can refer to the table of contents to see what your body looks like so far. You will need to add more sections as you continue to write.
The body needs to be as comprehensive as possible – it should contain as much information as possible without going over the allotted word count. It should include both details about your book and the structure of the material. You can use the following guidelines to help you:
- Make the text concise but comprehensive.
- Use the right vocabulary – make sure that your choice of words will not confuse the reader.
- Avoid using too many technical terms – the more you use, the more the reader will have to go back and learn the terms.
- Make the text easy to understand – you can use visuals like headings, bold text, and bullet points to make information easier to understand. Ensure that the text is engaging, and will keep the reader’s attention.
- Use the right grammar – make sure you have proper punctuation and capitalization. You should also look into using the appropriate levels of English; if you are using a dictionary, ensure that its definitions match the context of your book.
- Avoid plagiarism – this is cheating. Make sure you are not copying from other sources without giving proper credit.
- Make the text attractive – this helps with the reader’s engagement with the text. Use color, headings, and bold text to make the content easy to scan.
- Check for spelling errors – this is critical. The last thing you want is for someone to discover a typo in your book and for it to be published with the wrong information.
- The book’s layout – look into publishing companies that can help you with the layout of your book. If you are doing this yourself, use a template to save time.
- The eBook’s size – make sure you choose the right size for your eBook based on your target audience and device. Your book may be a little larger than usual due to the inclusion of images or videos. If this is the case, then you may want to consider bumping up the font size slightly to make it easier to read. You can also use the zoom function on your device or download specially designed apps for this purpose.
Once you have completed your body, you can move on to the last step.