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| The Art of Writing a Successful Ebook |
The
art of Writing a Successful Ebook
Copyright 2008 © Mark Dunbar
So you've decided to Work from Home using
Your PC
and writing Ebooks that will bring the cash rolling in.
But, before you can do that, you need to learn the basics,
the "how to" and most importantly the "What will work".
So let me help you with some important tips on writing
a successful Ebook, by taking you through the process
step by step.
The hardest part of writing is the first sentence.
When you look at the whole project, it seems like an
impossible task. That's why you have to break it down
into manageable tasks.
The first thing you have to do, is to get organized.
There are some steps you should take before
you even begin writing.Once you've gone through the
following list, you will be ready to actually begin
writing your Ebook.
Step 1:
First, figure out your Ebook's working title. Write out
a few different titles, and eventually, choose one that
feels right to you. Titles help you to focus your
writing on your topic; they guide you in
anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many
non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity
in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell
books , as long as it's not too cute. For example,
Remedies for Insomnia: " twenty different ways to count
sheep". Or, " How to Work from Home using Your PC".
Just use your imagination and come up with some
awesome ideas and thoughts to glue your audience
to every single word you write.
Step 2:
Write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a
sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are
addressing and how your Ebook will solve that problem.
All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement.
Once you've got your thesis statement fine-tuned,
you've built your foundation. From that foundation,
your Ebook will grow, chapter by chapter.
Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your
Ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis
statement. For example, your thesis statement could read:
"We've all experienced insomnia at one time or another
in our lives,
but there are twenty proven techniques
and methods to
help you get a good night's sleep".
Once you have your thesis,make sure there is
a good reason to write your Ebook ;
by asking yourself some questions:
(a) Does My Ebook present useful information and is
that information currently relevant?
(b) Will My Ebook positively affect the lives of my
readers?
(c) Is My Ebook dynamic and will it keep the reader's
attention?
(d) Does My Ebook answer questions that are meaningful
and significant?
If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel
confident about the potential of your Ebook.
Step 3:
An important step is to figure out who your
target audience is.It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many
elements of your Ebook, such as style, tone, diction,
and even length. Figure out the age range of your
readers, their general gender, what they are most
interested in, and even the socio-economic group they
primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion
magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters
or spend hours every day online. The more you know
about your target audience, the easier it will
be to write your Ebook for them.
Step 4:
Make a list of the reasons you are writing your
Ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you
want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you
want to enhance your reputation?
Now write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do
you want to sell it as a product on your website, or
do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out
a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use
the chapters to create an E-course, or use your Ebook
to attract affiliates around the world? The more you
know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.
Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction,
keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly
consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to
your chapter topic, and then divide it into four or five
subhead topics.
Step 5:
How to make your Ebook "user friendly"
You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging.
Use anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos,
graphs, advice, and tips to keep the reader turning
the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible
information, and they break up the density of the
page.
Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a
formal tone.Reader's respond to the feeling that
you are having a conversation with them.
Break up the length and structure of your
sentences so that you don't hypnotize your readers into a
deep sleep.Sentences that are all the same length and
structure tend to be a good remedy for insomnia!
Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of
practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a
day. Read books and magazines about the process of
writing, and write down tips that jump out at you. The
art of writing is a lifetime process ; the more you
write (and read), the better your writing will become.
The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales
figures.
In an Ebook that is read on a screen, be aware that
you must give your reader's eye a break. You can do
this by utilizing white space.(as below)
If your page is too dense, your reader will opt out
of it as soon as their eyes begin to get tired.
Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This
makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the
reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs
one after the other.
Final Step:
Decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font
that's easy on the eyes, and stick to that font.
Using dozens of fonts will only tire your
readers out, before they even get past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line
spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
a screen, but small enough so that the whole page
can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to
experiment with this to find the right combination.
Also, don't forget to run a spell and grammar
check. You are judged by something as minor as correct
punctuation, so don't mess up a great Ebook by tossing
out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences
together with commas.
Lastly, create an index and a bibliography, providing
some information about you, the author.
There you have it ! You've just written your first Ebook ! Now all you
have to
do is publish your Ebook online, and wait for the cash to
come rolling in
when people start downloading it from your website.
About the Author:
My name is Mark dunbar and if you would like more information on how to
start an online Business using Ebooks as sales tools and other exciting
home Business Oppurtunities, I welcome
you to visit the following sites: Work from Home
Using Your Computer and How to start
your own Online Business
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