There are a lot of reasons why internet marketers are interested in Writing Ebooks. Ebooks can be very useful as tools to get people to opt-in to your mailing list and perhaps you also want to put an e-book up for sale so you can sell an information product of your own but don’t know how to format it.
There are no hard and fast rules about the process but this article will give you some basic ideas.
An electronic book is just a long document. It really isn’t a difficult thing to put together. Adding photos, headers, footers, chapters, subtitles, table of contents, and a title page can give it a professional and polished look.
Formatting
A Microsoft Word document is perfectly acceptable for an ebook. But, some prefer to make it a PDF document. If you don’t own a copy of Adobe Acrobat, you can find a lot of free PDF software packages on the internet which will help you. CutePDF is one such free tool that’s very easy to use for this purpose.
It’s very easy to add headers and footers and page numbering in Microsoft Word and very advisable to use these things in order to make your ebook look good.
Photos
Using a photo is a great way to create a cover for your book. It can make it appear more desirable when you’re trying to sell it. Adding photos in the book can also be useful. You may purchase images or use stock photos at your discretion and sprinkle them throughout your ebook.
The Content
When Writing Ebooks, it’s a good idea to split the content up by subject matter. Separate your ebook into several chapters and then split each of those chapters into sub-chapters and this can make it easy to put together. If you’ve already got a series of articles that you want to turn into an ebook, this can work well.
A good way to get things started if you don’t already have content written is to write an outline of what you want the book to be about and then separate it so that you have an introduction, a conclusion, and then chapters in between.
Table Of Contents
A table of contents adds a professional look to your ebook and if you have Microsoft Word create it for you the table of contents becomes clickable and automated and can make the ebook more attractive as a quick reference guide for someone.
You’ll want to create chapter subheadings in your document for it to automatically pick up chapters, headings, and subheadings when the table of contents autogenerates. (If you make any changes after adding a TOC, you’ll need to regenerate it.)
Other Tips
• A font of at least 11 or 12 text so that people can read the book easily is a good idea.
• Larger fonts for headings and subheadings are advisable to give the book an easy to follow and scannable look.
• Fonts such as Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman work well.
• Bolding subheadings and chapter headings is advisable.
When Writing Ebooks, be sure you carefully proofread the content before sending it out and do take care to ensure you’re not breaching copyright with photos or by using information found elsewhere in the ebook.
An ebook doesn’t have to be very long. It can be short at 25 pages or very long. What’s most important is to write something valuable.
About Sean Rasmussen
Hi Sean,
Just embarking on writing an ebook at the moment – thanks for the heads up!
Nicole
Hi Sean,
I tend to get quite a few e-books because I like to see what other people think. I’ve seen some that were pretty average looking with great information and also, the reverse; great looking with no substance.
I like to write and maybe I could do this further down the track. Your tips make sense and it doesn’t seem as daunting when you break it down.
I have written up a few e-books and agree with the above. I use Open Office to convert word docs to PDF format – it’s as easy as pie and free.
I haven’t heard of Open office before Peter.
I have just written an Ebook (probably gathering dust these last few weeks)
And I have had all sorts of problems trying to download a PDF program so I will give your suggestion a go, thank you.
I have actually purchased a few ebooks for a couple of dollars each and modified them to sell or give away. Some are so badly written and not proof read at all, that I feel I could easily do a better job. This is something I will think seriously about.
mmm what to write about…..
Hi Jackie,
This is a great idea. If you have the ability to see the potential in someone’s else poorly executed work; I think you should capitalise on it. It’s kind of like buying a run down house, remodeling it and selling it for a profit.
Thanks for sharing such a great idea, Jackie.
Hi Sean
I have finished writing my Ebook and just going through the editing stages. I was going to insert photo images but am thinking about creating my own graphics as I am an illustrator and I haven’t seen much in the original drawing domain lately in Ebooks.
I really like what you have written here and will use it to go over as a check list. I will certainly use it for when I am writing Ebooks again.
Thankyou.