Overcoming Procrastination to Write an Ebook

If you've only written articles, writing an ebook may appear to be a daunting task. Writing the ebook may seem like an insurmountable task. Before starting to write you find all sorts of distractions instead of writing.

Research is a common way to procrastinate; you convince yourself that you are being productive with your work on the ebook. You tell yourself that you must be very knowledgeable before you can start writing. Despite all of this denial, you probably really do know that you are procrastinating.

Writing an ebook is no different from writing anything else.

The following is a process for writing an ebook:

- Come up with a theme or focus for your ebook. This topic is very significant because it's what you are teaching the reader.

- Write down ten working titles. A working title is a title that could possibly be used for your ebook. It has to capture the theme. It's important to come up with ten because the title you choose is the first step of your ebook.

- Write an outline, even if you despise doing so.

- Write one chapter every day the same way you would write an article every day.

- Revise your ebook.

- Make the revised ebook into a final draft.

- Format the ebook to make the appearance appealing and save to a PDF file.

- You are all finished!

Outlines are Very Helpful

Writers can be divided into two groups: people that outline before writing, and people who don't. If you're not someone who outlines now, it's important for you to start. Eventually you will realize that to work quickly to meet deadlines and outline is a necessity. Also, your writing will improve greatly when you start outlining.

All that and outline is, is a list. You should definitely outline your ebook so it doesn't change too much while you are writing it. It will be difficult to complete without an outline because the general focus will constantly change.

Start out with just a list of the chapter in your ebook. See each chapter as an individual article that revolves around a central idea. Even if you are pressed for time you can still get a chapter done each day.

Break Each Chapter into Parts

If your ebook still seems intimidating after making a list of chapters, try to write each chapter one paragraph a time. A method of doing this is to write fifty words as soon as you turn your computer on. This shouldn't be too challenging for anyone. After a while you will probably find this method slow and you will speed up. The words will come to you more easily and the ebook will be completed more quickly.

Now you can write an Ebook!

People can make a lot of money writing ebooks, whether it's for people, or as a source of income. The main obstacle when writing is getting overwhelmed and having trouble completing it. By now you should have a good idea on how to write an ebook.

If you are interested in affiliate marketing, check out my website at Ebook Affiliate Marketing. Also, take a look at some of our articles, such as Ebook Writing Basics.

5 E-Book Selling Tips

E-book selling requires that you are knowledgeable about the common ways of internet marketing. Experience is very important here. If you have an idea as to how products move in the internet, then you will have an easier time generating sales for your e-book. If you are merely a content creator and not a marketer, it's probably best that you seek the help of someone who has experience in the field. Make no mistake about it, e-book selling shouldn't be that hard. But if you are inexperienced marketing-wise, things can get very complicated. To help you get started, below are a few tips on how you should sell your e-book online. Implement these tips and you will surely see a substantial increase in your sales.

1. Create an attractive and eye-catching cover for your e-book. The adage "don't judge a book by its cover" doesn't apply much in online marketing. The more eye-catching your e-book cover is, the more people will be interested in purchasing it. It really is as simple as that. The cover is the very first thing that your customers will see on your product. If it's poorly made, people will easily assumes that it has poor content as well. That said, invest your efforts in creating a really attractive e-book cover.

2. Gather testimonials before you offer your book to the public. This is one of the most common tricks of e-book selling. Testimonials are proof that your e-book is indeed valuable and people will benefit from it. To get these testimonials, have your e-book reviewed by several individuals first before you offer it to the buying public. If possible, you should get these testimonials from webmasters or bloggers that belong to the same niche as your book. Show your potential customers that the testimonials are real and that you did not make them up.

3. Set up a blog and website for your book. In fact, you should set up the website long before you offer the e-book for sale. In essence, the blog and the website are marketing platforms. You use them to drum up interest towards your e-book. You can set up a blog which is separate from the main website or you can put them together in a single domain. It's up to you. What really matters is that you should have a website which acts a resource site for people planning to purchase your e-book.

4. Offer a few chapters for free to give your readers an overview of what to expect from your book. This technique works very well. You simply allow people to download sample chapters from your e-book. If you are confident about the quality of your product, this should not be a problem at all. If people like what they read from the sample chapters, they'll likely buy the whole book.

5. Promote your e-book in every conceivable online platform. Make use of social media sites, forums, and article directories to build hype for your e-book.

These e-book selling tips should get the ball rolling. If you apply them often enough, you can easily double or even triple your sales.

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Sneaky Little eBook Marketers Aren't They?

Back in 2010, someone had contacted me and offered to take my articles and make them into collections and compilations using a special format so they could be distributed as e-books. The concept made sense to me because I have an abundance of online articles that I have previously written on various topics. Each of these topics of course could indeed be an e-book with let's say 50 or more articles.

Indeed, I had considered the offer, until the individual told me some of the tricky marketing tactics to make sure the books sold, for instance he would put up positive reviews under a fake name. But in reality the lack of integrity of such a marketing tactic is destroying what could be a very lucrative market for a good number of e-book authors who are in specific niches but cannot find publishers, especially at a time when the publishing industry has about had it.

Over the last several months, I have been rewriting and editing previous articles and putting them into e-books. It is quite time consuming and takes a lot of energy and effort. Indeed, I do feel is worth it, as it is another avenue to get my information out to the world. Sales have been pretty good, which is nice, although that is not my sole objective, rather I want to get my information out to as many people as possible. One thing I have noted is every once in a while I see the e-books have been returned.

I find this rather problematic because someone could read an e-book in one night, and return it within 24 hours. In which case the authors are not paid, and it almost looks as a strike against them if they're e-books are being returned. When this happened to me, I was rather miffed, and therefore I traced down the purchasers to see what they were doing, and more specifically why.

Once I found out, I decided to discuss this with other e-book authors. Therefore, I asked a group of eBook authors and book sellers; if anyone had noted other authors who buy an eBook from you so that they can be listed in the "those who bought this book also bought" to get their book listed at the bottom of yours, then return your eBook after they've gotten it listed in that space? It seems rather unfortunate this is happening, worse, I don't like the idea that someone returns a book, which makes me look bad.

Well, at least they didn't write a negative comment or review, however it seems that folks need to get a little more integrity rather than try to game the system. Indeed, this is of course, my opinion, and I suppose those who are using this tactic have a different one. So the question I have is this; why is it that humans are so dishonest, disreputable, and lack integrity. It seems as if every time someone starts making money, or doing anything, then a bunch of lazy people come along, and they wreck it for everyone.

Now then, I know it is human nature to do as little as possible and get the most for it. However, the lack of integrity in our society, and specifically on the Internet with all the fraud and dishonesty is really destroying the Internet, which is undoubtedly the greatest communication device ever created in the history of mankind.

Well, it is humans after all who are using it, and the humans are the problem. That is my assessment of the issue. Too many lazy people out there who don't want to work, and they are willing to cheat to get ahead. Maybe they are still waiting for their stimulus package too? Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Many Topics. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

Thinking of Ebook Formatting? Know the Media Devices

.Every day I get questions from customers asking about formatting their ebook. This is not unusual as that is what I do, but what is difficult to understand is why they do not understand the medium they are trying to "advertise on."

"I am viewing my book and there aren't any spaces between the paragraphs."

"Why won't my font display. I have it embedded properly."

It all comes down to this... readers (people) will read your ebook on a variety of devices and Apps: and every App and Device will display your book DIFFERENTLY -- every one.

These 'concerns' are valid -- but in the first instance, there were spaces between paragraphs -- just NOT on the App she was using. This was a flaw with the App itself. Additionally, the font was embedded properly; Adobe Digital Editions refused to display it, while Kindle Fire and the iPad were fine.

Know what you are up against

Digital eBooks. Understand the technology you are considering. eReaders vary, and while you may want your book to appear like a printed book on every device, that just isn't possible (yet).

Digital books stem from HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). The latest is HTML5. Not all ereaders or Apps utilize HTML5, so you are having to adjust your layout for various e-readers.

Example:

Fixed Layouts. Many Childrens books are fixed layouts. Full page color images with text overlaid. Beautiful on the iPad and Kindle Fire. but this type of format does NOT display on the Kindle. You can only upload ONE file format to Amazon for publishing, so be aware how it will look for BOTH the Fire and basic Kindle.

In Addition IBooks and KIndle have their own twist on the code for fixed layouts -- so you have to create two separate files.

This is just one of the frustrations authors and formatters are up against in the ebook formatting world.

Buy a Device

Amazon is the most prominent source of e-books. So, spend a little $ and get the cheapest reader they have. If you are going to sell your wares you want to be able to see how it looks.

Example: If you were to place a classified ad in a newspaper, you would probably buy a newspaper to make sure it is correct, right? Not a preview of the ad, but the actual ad itself.

TV or Radio? You wouldn't create a radio spot and then not listen to it live on the radio. A lot can happen between the final master tape and the actual airing.

So when you consider publishing in digital form, consider buying an 'actual' e-reader device. It not only will help you become more familiar on how digital devices work but will give you a better understanding of what to expect.

Side Note

I realize that it isn't possible to purchase every e-reader device. And you may think that the reader Apps for your computer or phone would be fine. Well they are... and they aren't.

For Example:

Not ALL e-readers will display embedded fontsNot ALL e-readers will understand the HTML5 or EPUB 3 standardsSome Apps fail to display the non breaking space between paragraphs (Kindle for PC).As of today (3/22/2012) only the Kindle Fire is utlizing HTML5 full capabilities: the older Kindles and the Kindle Apps (ie for iPad and iPhone) are lagging behind.)

There is a slew of other issues when comparing e-readers and Reader Apps. Your best bet is to have an actual device and then use Kindle for PC/Mac; Sony or NOOK Reader for PC/Mac, as well as the most recent Kindle Previewer.

CONCLUSION

Purchase a device of your own and find "friends" or colleagues who would be willing to view your book on their devices.

And above all -- purchase your own book to make sure the product delivered is flawless.

Another Note: what you see in the Kindle Previewer is not "exactly" how it displays on the Kindle Fire, Kinde, or the Kindle APPS -- it's close but not exact.

Suzanne Fyhrie Parrott is the founder of UnrulyGuides.com, a resource for self-published authors. She also operates OneWay Advertising. and Design, a Christian advertising and marketing agency focusing on the Book and Ebook market. Since 1988, she has provided professional services including book layout and design, book and e-book formatting, Internet marketing, website design and SEO. She has published several books including the "Ebook Formatting Kit for Epub and Mobi" and "How to Create a Book Cover Design."

SEO And Copywriting Tactics For Your Ebook

Would you like to learn some great tips for marketing and promoting your ebook online? If so, then today's lesson will be of some benefit for you. If you've ever tried selling ebooks online but have never gotten the chance to get any sales, you shouldn't give up. All you've done is discovered a few new ways of what NOT to do when marketing your ebook.

And this can be a good thing. You could take what you've learned when promoting your current product, and put it into use when it comes to promoting another product in a different niche. I would say that the toughest thing to do when it comes to earning money and getting traffic to your site is by using "search engine optimization" (SEO).

SEO is something that constantly changes, and it's tough to stay on top of these changes while trying to balance out all the rest of your marketing strategies. But you don't have to bet the farm on search engine marketing... all you really need to do is to implement the basics, and wait for visitors to come to your website.

Another thing that you will need to do if you want to make your ebook a success is to have a strong sales page. It's tough to get alot of sales with limited sales copy. If you don't have the money to hire out a copywriter, I think you should find yourself a "swipe file", and use it to guide you when creating your sales letter.

The most important thing that you will want to focus on in your sales letter is the headline. Without a strong and compelling headline, most people won't want to read the rest of your sales letter. You have to lead with your biggest benefit first, and stress the result that they will achieve after taking action and buying your ebook.

If you need help with this, then there's a simple copywriting strategy that will help you out. All you want to do is to get out a sheet of paper, and make a "T-chart" about your ebook. On the left side of the chart, write the word "Features". On the right of the chart, write the word "Benefits". Then, for each feature that you create, come up with an equal and opposite benefit.

This procedure will come in hand when it comes to creating the bullet points of your sales letter. Your bullet points are simply the area of your sales letter where you tell your reader what they will learn inside of your ebook. Truthfully, your bullet points should be like "mini-headlines". They all should be intended to revealing some new technique that they have never heard of before.

You will also want to focus on the closing part of your sales letter. Make sure you have a good "PS" at the end that reiterates what your sales letter was all about. Mention what they will receive and mention the money back guarantee that you're offering them. Creating the sales page for your ebook isn't hard, you just have to have the right tools to do so.

Good luck with using these techniques to make more money with your ebook today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Randall Magwood is one of the most respected and highly-regarded online marketing experts on the internet. He currently has a free book about internet marketing that helps small business owners market their business online successfully. To learn more and to download this free book, simply visit his website here: http://www.internetmarketing-rules.com/