"Your first project to me is to write an ebook. Are you in?"
"Let me think about it."
At the back of your mind, "how should I do it?"
To write something new is a hard thing, right? You don't know anything since it's your first time. You're hesitant to do it in the first place because of fears - fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of rejection, and many more fears. However, you've come to a point in life where whatever the difficulties ahead, still you do it.
Now, I'll be sharing how I did the ebook creation and writing. If you want to pursue writing an ebook despite it being your first time, keep on reading!
What is an Ebook?
As you know (or it's your first time hearing about it), an ebook is a digital file that is designed to be read on a computer or other portable electronic device. Moreover, e-books can be purchased online, downloaded, and read on the device or computer with which they are purchased. They are usually protected with paid access codes or passwords.
But, how to create an ebook? You might ask. Besides, it's the purpose of writing this article. And how to write a lead magnet ebook? So, for you to know, keep reading. Discover an ebook writing process from my first-time experience that could help you realize your ebook writing dream.
1. Understand the Goal of an Ebook.
What's the goal of an ebook? Having this question enables you to be clear with what are you writing and to whom are you writing. For instance, the goal is to have an ebook as a lead magnet to blogs. Therefore, your ebook will serve as a lead magnet for your website visitors to read your blogs and eventually those visitors become blog subscribers.
Based on experience, understanding the goal is the first step in the ebook creation process. It will help you on track on writing the content of the ebook since you're guided with a goal. Additionally, a goal helps you to be motivated on reaching the endpoint of the process.
2. Make an Outline.
Are you writing without making an outline first? Well, not the case for me and maybe for you too. An outline serves as a guide on what content you'll be writing. It breaks down what the first paragraph is all about or even the first heading itself.
In the above, understanding the goal of an ebook is the first step in the ebook creation process. What comes next is to outline your ebook.
An outline includes the following:
a. Title - what an ebook is all about
b. Introduction - short overview of an ebook, you might add acknowledgment on this part
c. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and so on - the content itself
d. Sub-chapters 1, 2, 3, and so on as long as applicable - sub content if necessary
e.Conclusion - to sum up the whole ebook, you might add some promotions here like if you have a book or a youtube channel
To simplify, your outline could be your ebook's table of contents.
3. Research and research.
Of course, after you have prepared your outline, research the topic you're writing about. Research doesn't limit to typing a keyword on your google search or any search engine and that's it. It includes asking for pieces of information, tips, or suggestions from someone who already did the ebook writing. Also, researching involves doing a general interview and survey of your target markets.
For my first time experience, I was able to post a question in a certain FB group on how could I start creating and writing a lead magnet ebook. From some answers, I was able to get the idea of writing an ebook.
4. Start Writing the Draft and Continue Writing.
The next step is to begin writing. It's where the first draft comes, the second, the third, and so on as long applicable for you just continue writing the draft of your ebook. Writing the draft can be done in a notebook or paper or online tools like google docs. But I would recommend writing the draft in google docs as preparation for the final output of an ebook which is in a pdf format. As mentioned earlier, an ebook is a digital file. So, to avoid wasting your time and effort, better to write the draft in google docs. Writing in a notebook or paper could only be applicable to making your outline.
5. Prepare Images and some Powerful Quotes.
Once the ebook content is done, you can now prepare images and some enticing quotes related to each chapter of your ebook. According to one of the top bloggers in the Philippines, more images will catch the attention of readers since most people won't read an ebook without pictures. Would you agree? I bet you too. Therefore, you need to include a lot of images in your ebook and highlight some eye-catchy quotes or phrases that will make the ebook readable.
6. Edit and Proofread.
After everything is written and put in place in your ebook, editing and proofreading is the next thing to do. This part is important because it allows you to be more cautious about the right words you want to convey to your readers and holistic approach to them as well. In addition, editing and proofreading help the effectiveness of your writing style in terms of readability, quality, and clarity.
7. Finalize and Ready to Publish.
Finalizing your ebook involves the second or the third opinion. Asking someone to run through the whole ebook keeps you from small errors like punctuation marks, proper placement of images, and spaces to look readable. Also, you can get some pre-approval for your target markets. Once finalized, your ebook is ready to publish on your blog or website. Then, you can start promoting it on your social media accounts.
Takeaway
This ebook project boosts my writing confidence. The fact that a prospect trusted you with a certain thing is already a motivational factor in doing it. Moreover, I learned to consider the client's current needs and through this, I was able to get the idea of rather than delivering what I can do, I will be delivering what my client needs. It's not always about what you can offer to a prospect without realizing what a prospect is seeking for you to do. Last but not least take away from this ebook writing project is that I can do more than what I'm currently doing.
For you who is reading this, it might not be an ebook project, but know that you can do more. There's more to what you're doing right now. Being in a comfortable place isn't the place of growth. Would you go out there even if it's your first time and take the risk but be able to learn?
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