Write an eBook

by Mrs. Crystal Paine

Everyone has a gift, talent, or interest which others would love to learn about and they would pay to learn about it. Writing an ebook is one of the most simple ways to do this! All you need to do is write something, put it into pdf, and set it up to sell it.

1. Write Something.

Start by asking yourself what your special interests are or what things you are knowledgeable about which others would like to learn about. What experiences have you been through which other people would find fascinating? Two areas which I've found people love reading about are creative home business ideas and ways to save money. Topic such as these will especially attract buyers because they will hope to get a lot more out of your ebook than they paid for it. If they expect the information in your ebook to save them quite a bit more money than they paid for it, they will usually be anxious to buy it. The same goes for ebooks on home business ideas.

Pick your topic and start writing! The nice thing about ebooks is that they don't have to be long. 25-40 pages is a good size for ebooks, though longer or shorter is acceptable. Be sure to have a couple different individuals proof your ebook; typographical errors are so common nowadays, but that doesn't make them right or acceptable. Numerous typos in books or ebooks always leaves a poor reflection on the author.

2. Convert Your eBook to PDF.

Once you have written your ebook and have it laid out in an easy-to-read manner, you will need to convert it into pdf or an ebook format using an ebook program. If you do not already have a pdf program, you can download a free pdf converter program here.

3. Set Up Your eBook to Sell.

In order to sell it online, you need to have a way to deliver your ebook to your customer. You can either do this manually by emailing the customer the ebook file after they purchase, or you can set it up to be automated. I highly recommend you automate it. A great program to begin with is PayLoadz. I have used PayLoadz in the past for some of my ebooks and have been extremely happy with it. It allows you to set up the book process so that your ebooks can be instantly downloaded once your customer pays for them. This makes it much easier for everyone! Your customers will love being able to instantly download the ebooks and you will love not having to mess with sending them a download link. Once you have your ebook written and it set up on PayLoadz, you can just sit back and allow the payments to come in. You can set up an affiliate program through PayLoadz which allows others to make money by promoting your ebook.

If you are planning to sell a lot of your ebooks and you want to have an affiliate program (which I highly recommend you do), ClickBank is an excellent program to consider using. They charge a $50 fee to set up your ebook and they take out a small percentage of each sale, but they will give you wide exposure for you ebook which you will probably not be able to generate from your website.

In order to sell your ebook online, you need to have a website. It can be something extremely basic as just a two page sales-letter-type of website. There are multitudes of website options available out there. I would recommend starting out with something simple. Make sure that you put testimonials on your website from people who have purchased your ebook (you can give away some copies in exchange for testimonials!). Testimonials add a lot of credential , especially if the people who write them have their own website or business in a similar field.

If you write an ebook, be sure to write and tell me about it. I may even be interested in promoting it for you! And, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to write and ask!

For more inspiration, here's an article I wrote last year...

You Can Be An Author
by: Crystal Paine

“You should write a book.” For years, I had been hearing this comment. Writing an entire book seemed completely overwhelming, and so, for a long time, I contented myself with writing short articles. One day, inspiration for an article hit me and, as I started writing, paragraphs began flowing out at an enormous rate. Before I knew it, a rather lengthy piece was developing. It was too long to be an article, so, I decided it would not hurt to try self-publishing a little booklet. Was I ever surprised! The first printing of this 32-page black and white booklet sold out within a week.

All of us have an area which we have more knowledge and experience than the person next to us. What many do not realize is that there is often a hungry market out there ready and willing to pay for the information we have to offer. Yes, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to see a book to completion and printing, but it is well worth it.

Some things I have learned through the experience:

1. Start small. Don’t attempt to tackle a 400-page work for your first publication. You will also save yourself a bundle on printing if you keep it small. I recommend a booklet under 50-pages to launch your career as an author.

2. Enlist the help of others who are more experienced. If you know someone who has published anything, ask their advice and help. You will gain invaluable information from them and save yourself many headaches. In addition, request assistance from others for editing and proofreading. No matter how meticulous you are, it is always good to have other eyes review the final draft before it goes to the printer.

3. Be prepared to deal with disappointment. When you put your heart into something only to hear, "We're not interested," it is easy to take it personally. But, you must continually remind yourself that this is part of the package deal in self-publishing. For every "yes" you receive at least five "no's" (or so it seems). Learning to humbly and graciously accept rejection and keep pressing forward is an absolute must in self-publishing, especially at the beginning.

4. The more you market, the more you sell. You can publish an excellent book, but unless people know it is available, you cannot expect many buyers. The possibilities for marketing are endless. Check out all the books on marketing your local library offers. These will give you some great starter ideas. Send out an e-mail to friends, family, and business associates announcing your book’s publication date and offer a limited-time pre-publication special. Join self-publishing groups and let them know about your book. Ask others to promote your book. Be pro-active and do not be afraid to try novel ideas!

Crystal Paine is a 24-year-old homeschool graduate from Topeka, Kansas. She is the blessed wife of Jesse and joyful mother of Kathrynne. Visit her site, Biblical Womanhood, for books, articles, encouragement, and inspiration!

This article may be reprinted freely in your publications or on your website, provided it is reprinted in its entirety and the bio information is kept intact. Thank you!

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