Everything about ebooks

[Primzi]

Hey there,

I am currently beginning to write an e-book, so I would appreciate it if someone could point out the mistakes that people usually make - I want to avoid them before I make them.

I am planning on writing a simple pdf first, but with in mind that I want to release the book for kindle as well.

If anyone has some experience with publishing for kindle and/or other similar devices/pdfs, I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me what should I pay attention to. Is it images, content,...? You do not have to actually write up a reply, a couple of links where I can read the information myself would be great already (i did google it, but I would like some advice from the people who have actually been there and done that.

Thanks in advance,

Primzi

 

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[Jablev]

Other people would probably know a lot better then I...I've not actually written ebooks, but i've affiliate hawked em off to other people and there a couple mistakes people make, and it loses them sales. Always make sure your grammar and spelling is double checked. Seems obvious but you'd be surprised. Content is King these days, google is getting tighter and tighter with website information being relevant in order to rank top 5. So you know if your website content already has to be good, then what your charging for has to be golden (or at least silver). Solving a market need would attain gold/silver/platinum status. Plus, if your content sucks and someone buys then they probably won't buy again. Good Content=Good Brand=Good Customer Relation=$$$. I mean it's not THAT easy, but you get the point. lol

 

[Jablev]

And I found this link: How to Write a High-Quality eBook in 30 Days | Copyblogger

If you have trouble outlining...I knew a guy who wrote a beta fish e-book and used the table of contents of a dummies/idiots book for the basic outline, and just reworded and researched from there.

 

[puckman]

I would read Brendan Burchards books and stuff he offers. I would also check out Kajabi.

 

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[joona]

I have created ebooks, some free, some paid. I currently distribute one of them through Kindle. So okay, here it goes:

1. Do you know there will be buyers? I.e. have you tested demand? Own experience: I know that the ebook that I created is useful for the target market (I was a part of that group some time ago) and that it really is helpful for them. But. I didn't test the willingness to pay before hand. The ebook is selling some copies a week (currently more than 200 downloaded, it was published in January) but it's not exactly a hit. No buyers, no money.
2. The cover - check out what other books are available when you search using your keywords. Check out their covers, see the color themes etc. You can grab a screenshot and then make a small version of your cover and plant it there. Is that the one that sticks to your eye? Play around with colors and see what would probably work. My ebook cover is light blue with some orange in it.
3. Pricing - Again, check what others are selling for and see if there are some price categories that are currently empty. For example if all the others are in the 8+ dollars category, you could make an ebook that sells for around $4. Of course, this would be shorter than the 8 dollar ebook.
4. Positioning - I don't know what kind of ebook you are creating, but I am assuming it is more in the "how to..."-category than fiction. If that is the case, you should again check out what are the other options the potential buyer would have. How would your ebook be different? Do you focus only on one part of the process, do you cater for a subset of customers, is your ebook written in a funny way, is your ebook the most comprehensive option etc? It is great if you can decide on this early on so that you can plan the whole ebook accordingly.

I hope this helps.

 

[Primzi]

Hey there,

Thank you for the useful info. I have tested the market by writing some free content and the audience loved the content and the way it was written. I have already received some donations for that content, so I guess that people have no problem paying for value. It is a very niche market where my ebook will help people make way more money, and it is also a market where people know that they have to invest in theirselves.

Regarding the competition, there is really no competition in that market. If I google the keywords, I find my free content on the top page of google, and some apps that are unrelated to the subject. I think it's a great opportunity, I just need to get it done and put it out, then we'll see. To be honest, I don't plan on becoming a millionaire from just one e-book. Even if I make only a couple of thousand dollars from it, I will be very satisfied since this will be my first stream of passive income which I will have created from nothing. Oh, and I have also already started some consulting in that area (got some requests after publishing my free content) and am earning a nice $50 per hour. So there definitely is value in that field. I've written 10000 words already, so I guess I am on a good track.

I am thinking about publishing it to amazon kindle and perhaps some other e-book stores, and then we'll see from there on. If there will be enough demand, I might go and make a pdf out of it, make a website and sell it via e-junkie/paypal. Do you perhaps know if I need a business account at paypal in order to sell something online? Or is a regular account good enough?

-Primzi

 

[RPagel]

I would say that using a mind mapping app like mind node will really help out with not only writing, but starting your fast lane projects as well. I must have 15 mind maps in the last 2 days. I just had neck surgery, which has put me off of work for 30 days, talk about a silver lining in the cloud! I read MJ's book the first 2 days and I plan on having a fast lane project in the works by the time my 30 days is up. I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head, that the mind mapping is helping me to stay sane.

 

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[Pinnacle]

Hello there, Primzi. I've self-published many of my own books and have been doing freelance publishing for authors and can speak to your questions about Kindle.

Formatting for and marketing on Kindle involves a few specifics that can make a big difference in the professional look of your book and how readers receive it. First, if your e-book is currently in pdf format, do not upload a pdf to your Kindle account. It will be a mess, especially with embedded formatting and the fact that a pdf is simply an image of your document. If you have images in your book, you'll want to make sure that you are using the "Insert" option in your word processor rather than copying and pasting your images to your book from another source. If you're copying and pasting, Kindle may align your text and graphics incorrectly, or an image designed for a specific page of your book may appear on another. If you indent your paragraphs, you'll want to use the "Indent" function of your word processor instead of doing what I used to do: tabbing and spacing. The same goes for spaces between paragraphs. Avoid tabbing and spacing for Kindle books to make sure your text flows together without any gaps in the middle of sentences or multiple spaces between paragraphs that should only have one. Mark Cuban's book "How to Win At the Sport of Business" had many of these spaces and "gaps" in it. Readers will ignore this because of who he is, but as an unknown you may not have that luxury.

 

[Primzi]

Wow, thank you very much for that information! I do not think that I would have thought of it myself. Luckily, everything is still in a word processing program, and it's in plain text. So hopefully, I can apply your advice while I'll be editing and spell-checking the book.

@RPagel: I use a lot of mind mapping myself (although I do prefer to use a pen + paper or a graphic tablet + a program like smoothdraw), and I really know what you mean. Mind maps and flow charts are very good techniques for planning anything.

 

[kwerner]

Wanted to recommend a site that I found yesterday that helps you create ebook covers and noticed this thread encompasses "everything about ebooks" haha, so I thought I'd share it here.

myecovermaker.com

 

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[SebastianBermud]

Another big mistake, is writing a title that doesn’t give the reader a reason to buy! You MUST 
explain what your ebook is about and what the benefit will be to your readers when they purchase it. 
Otherwise, they won’t! It’s that simple!