As I said last time, this series will cover things I've learned as I've prepared for, written, launched, marketed and sold my ebook Tell Your Time. As is always the case with online business ventures, your results may vary, but I hope these tips will steer you in the right direction. Let's get right to it.
Why write an ebook?
- For the sake of being "published" (because traditional publishing is dying). If you long to be an author and you don't want to go through the long process and uncertainty of traditional publishing, this might be an excellent bet. Publishing as we know it is changing. Check out my series called Why I Turned Down a Book Deal (And the Lessons I Learned) for more.
- To sell for profit.
- To give away for free. Perhaps you'd like to use it as an incentive for people to subscribe to your feed or sign up for your mailing list. Or maybe you want to use it to stand out in your niche by offering something tangible to those who visit your site. Maybe you would just like to enrich the lives of others, no strings attached. All are great reasons to offer it for free!
- To get your feet wet in the digital book market. Did you know digital book sales have now surpassed hardcover book sales on both Amazon.com and BN.com (Barnes & Noble)? That alone is an outstanding reason to dive in. Get in on a trend that's sure to continue.
- It's quick, easy, cheap to produce and potentially more profitable. As far as publishing goes, it's not complicated at all. Really, anyone can do. As far as profits go, again, see the article Authors see e-books as escape from publishing houses (also linked to above).
So, should you write an ebook?
I posed this question last time because I think it's helpful to address it at the get-go. Keep these two things in mind:
- Even though it's not particularly complicated, writing and publishing an ebook does take work.
- Finding people to buy your ebook is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. At this stage in the ebook game, by and large, connections with people drive ebook sales.
So, if you already have an online presence and/or some great online connections, I say go for it. If, however, you're relatively new to the internet and you haven't spent much time networking, I recommend you devote the majority of your time to building relationships, while you write your ebook on the side. You'll be glad you did.
The 1st thing I wish I did differently
I wish I had established a habit of focused project time.
I don't recommend squeezing "writing an ebook" into the cracks and crevices of your life. Unless you're a master at project planning and follow through, I suggest dedicating a chunk of time every day (or several times a week) to your ebook project.
If there are days you have more time to spend on it, excellent! If not, at least you'll see steady progress, even if it's only 15 minutes at a time.
In my case, there were days and sometimes weeks when I didn't touch my ebook — life happens, you know? It was discouraging and a bit defeating. It also caused undue stress toward the end of the project when there was a deadline looming and I had to make up for lost time.
I guess my point here is, don't let this ebook thing become a beast in your life. Work on it slowly, deliberately and steadily. Be purposeful and focused. Determine beforehand how much time you're going to devote to it on a regular basis. By establishing a habit of focused project time, the whole experience is likely to be a lot more enjoyable and empowering.
Perhaps more importantly, once this ebook is done, you can keep that chunk of time in your schedule to start on your next ebook or project, ever increasing your income streams.
So what makes a good ebook topic?
I'm glad you asked…
Read the next post in the series: How to Write an Ebook: Choose a Sellable Topic
FURTHER READING:
Why I Turned Down a Book Deal (And the Lessons I Learned)
Other posts in this series
- How to Write an Ebook
- How to Write an Ebook: Why It's a Good Idea
- How to Write an Ebook: Choose a Sellable Topic
- How to Write an Ebook: Preparing to Write
- How to Write an Ebook: Writing Tips from a Non-Writer
- How to Write an Ebook: Editing and Naming
- How to Write an Ebook: Formatting
- How to Write an Ebook: Setting Up Accounts
- How to Write an Ebook: Pricing
- How to Write an Ebook: Distribution
- How to Write an Ebook: Creating a Sales Page (or Site)
- How to Write an Ebook: Preparing for Affiliates
- How to Write an Ebook: Taking care of your affiliates
- How to Write an Ebook: Paying your affiliates
- How to Make Your Ebook Available on Kindle & Nook
I try to remind myself every day to make new connections. I worry, though, if after a while all of this networking seems…forced? That's not quite the word I'm looking for. Basically, I don't want to give the impression that I am not taking genuine interest in the person, only in their connections/readership. Does that make sense?
Yes, I completely understand. I think the key here is time. Relationships grow over time, whether online or off. So, that's why I say focus your time there and let your ebook float to the surface when it feels natural.
Advice on networking would be helpful
I am sure you attribute much of your ebook success to your endorsement by Crystal, she has such a HUGE readership and sang praises for it for weeks!! Although I believe the content was so good and helpful that you would have achieved success with it even if you didn' t have that, but I am sure a large part of it's instant success was through that alliance.
I have been in the blogosphere for a long time yet feel that networking is the most difficult because it is the most time consuming!
Hi Stephanie! Yes, you are absolutely right! My connection with Crystal was definitely a huge plus as is the connection with all the rest of my affiliates as well as other factors I plan to write about in the series.
As for networking, you're right, it is time consuming, but in the end it's worth it. Twitter and Facebook are great as is leaving comments and even attending blog events if you can.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your ebook story.
I can't say that I really want to write an ebook, but I have a chunk of information that seems like it would be too much to put in a post and I don't really want it to turn into a series.
Thanks for posting your insights!
Thanks for stopping by Johnlyn. Who knows, you might end up with an ebook unwittingly!
Okay, now that's funny – I left a comment earlier saying because of your ebook I now have time to write an ebook.
I totally forgot I left this comment.
unwittingly indeed!
Good stuff, Amy. I feel I've got my network in place. (Could always grow, but I'm going forward with what I have.)
Amy-
I love your site!! I have some e-books wwritten already, but I agree you need readership and a presence on the web before you can launch e-books successfully.
I actually have a front end plan before I launch my books.
FIrst have my blog up for a year – check.
Next build readership, and networking.
Third really focus on guest posting.
Next work on affiliates and advertising.
Finally launch e-books.
What do you think?
Lisa
Love that you're so on top of things. Sounds good to me and I'm thinking you could probably tackle most of those things at the same time. Depending on how it goes, those ebooks might be ready before you know it.
Here’s a site I use when I need information when writing my ebooks. There’s more to writing than just putting pen to paper, so to speak. The reference books I bought where a great help.
I must say you have one of the most informational blogs I've every ran across! I'm not sure if I will ever write an ebook but it was definitely a great read. I can wait to get started on your blog and website tutorial. I'm curious how you find the time for such a great resource as I read you have a husband and kids. Again, nice and I'm definitely going to be spending more time here. Good Day
Hi Tim, thanks so much for stopping by. It does take a lot of time, but slowly but surely and a little a time.
I'm pretty new to the whole blogging community. I'm not sure if I'm mad at myself or at my fellow bloggers, but everytime I find a good blog (like yours) I find myself spending way too much time reading it and not enough time doing other things. LOL. Love your blog!
LOL, I hear ya! I hope overall it's helpful.