You’ve probably heard about ebooks and how much they’ve been growing in popularity over the past few years. Thanks to Amazon’s eReading Apps for Android and iOS, as well as Kobo’s ebook subscription service, reading on mobile devices has become incredibly easy and convenient for people.
If you’re looking to write your own ebook, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll teach you the basics of writing an ebook so you can sit down and churn out some content in no time.
Decide On Your Product
Before you can write an ebook, you’ll need to decide on what kind of product you want to create. It’s a good idea to think about what you know and what you can offer. What problem are you solving? What makes your product unique and special?
If you’re not sure what kind of ebook to create, think about what makes you special. You could create a guide for parents on how to raise their children with confidence. Or, you could write a guide on how to choose the right engagement ring for your significant other. The ideas are endless!
Get Inspired
Once you’ve decided on your product, it’s time to get inspired. Instead of thinking about money, write what you feel is important to say. Write from the heart and let your subconscious do the rest. You can’t write a good book if you don’t have enough details to back it up. So, look into the issues that matter to you and your family.
What problems are you currently facing? Has a family member ever asked you for advice? What would you advise them to do? Write down everything you know and then start building on it. A good place to start is by looking at other successful books in your niche. What do you enjoy most about their writing?
Put Yourself In The Story
One of the most important things to do before you start writing is to put yourself in the story. You can’t write an ebook unless you have a place in your mind for the reader to live in. Before you start writing, create a character (you may use a fake name) and give them lives, problems, and feelings. This will help you connect with your audience on a personal level. If you’ve never written a book before, this may feel a little daunting. Don’t worry, you’re not alone in wanting to write an ebook. There’s a whole community of writers just waiting to help you get started.
Plan Your Outline
Now that you’re inspired and have a place in your head for the story, it’s time to start planning your outline. Your outline is very similar to a book’s structure. It’s important to have an overall idea of how your book will flow so you don’t end up with a piece of incoherent writing. Your outline will help you write a tight, cohesive story that makes sense. There are plenty of free tools online that can help you out with this, so you can focus on writing and not have to worry about the structure of your book. Having an outline also helps you see your book as a whole, instead of a jumble of random ideas. If you’re looking for an easy way to plan out your book, try using a tool like Scrivo.
Make Sure Your Book Has A Solid Hook
Every book has an overall goal, or goal. This is the part that you want the reader to pick up and continue reading. Essentially, this is the part that makes the book stand out from other books in your niche. Your goal should tie into your product and have something to do with your subject matter expertise. If you’ve never written a book before, you may find it hard to come up with a goal. That’s totally normal. Just think about what you want your book to achieve and how you want the reader to feel when they’re done. For example, let’s say your novel’s goal is to teach children how to be confident. Your goal could be something like this: “In my novel, The Confident Parent, I will teach children (or any adult for that matter) how to be more confident by showing them that they are not alone in this world and that there are others who understand what they’re going through.”
This type of goal is known as a hook. A hook will help the reader decide if your book is something they want to read or something they want to keep on their shelf. You can’t write a book without one, either. So, make sure you’ve got one! If you’re looking for a place to start, here are a few examples of hooks:
- An educational guide on how to become a successful entrepreneur
- The story of a celebrity chef discovering her inner self and how she transformed herself
- The autobiography of an entertainer who lived and died by his motto, “always entertain”, and how he inspired generations
- A business primer that teaches the reader everything they need to know about starting their own business
- The story of an inventor who designed a life-changing device and had no idea how much it would influence future generations
Find Your Perfect Editor
Your manuscript will be absolutely useless if you don’t have someone to edit it down to a readable length. In case you’re wondering, an editor is a human being who reads your drafts and gives you feedback on how to make your writing better. Finding an editor who’s a good fit for your project will be much easier if you follow these six steps:
1. Read reviews online from previous clients or customers of the services you’re considering using. These reviews can give you an idea of the quality of work the company produces and the kind of feedback their customers are giving. Remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
2. If you’re looking for an editor with a physical presence, go to where their attentional focus is—online. That is where you’ll find the best and most affordable selection. (If you’re looking for a web-based editor, try Fiverr.)
3. Once you’ve found a reliable editor, set up a time to meet in person to go over your project details. When you meet in person, you’ll have the opportunity to tell the editor a little more about yourself and your project. This will help them to understand your vision and ensure that they edit and format your manuscript in the best possible way. If possible, have a sample chapter or excerpt available to show the editor what you’re working on.
4. Once the editor has had a chance to look over your project, give them a deadline to get back to you with their comments. It’s important to have a deadline for things like this so you don’t end up with a mass of feedback that never gets acted on. In this case, you can either choose to ignore the comments or address them all before the next phase.
5. Once you’ve edited your manuscript down to a decent length, it’s time to see how it looks. If you’re looking for a polished version of your book’s rough draft, you can hire a professional copy editor to take care of all the boring, technical, and grammatical errors for you. (If you’re not sure where to start, try the #1 bestseller, The Copyeditor’s Handbook.)
6. Finally, give your book a name and publish it! A good name will help the end reader remember what the book is about and will make them want to read it. Publishing your book is the final step in the writing process. This is when you’ll find out if you wrote a good book or a bad book. Publishing your book is also when you’ll find out if you wrote the ultimate book or just another ordinary one.
As you can see, writing an ebook is a very simple process. It just takes a little bit of planning and some perseverance. Don’t get discouraged if it takes you a little while to figure out what you want to write about. That’s just the price you’ll have to pay for doing what you love. And, to echo what we said at the beginning of this article, you’ll have the opportunity to write an extraordinary book that will teach others something very important.