There was a time when publishing a book was no less than summiting Everest. However, today, things are quite different because we have various other mediums that we can use to fulfill this very dream. Take e-books, for instance, it’s one of the most powerful platforms, and many people prefer e-books to hardcovers. Well, we don’t want to sound cliché, but it’s nothing like hardcover books, and millennials like us might take some time to absorb the fact that we have become old.
Anyhow, let’s not talk about that and stick to the right topic. And that is what steps do you need to follow to write your very first ebook and publish it? In this article, you are about to find out all those important tips and tricks that will help you throughout the process. Thus, stay with us to find out the rest because it is no will-o’-the-wisp that you can’t chase!
Seven simple steps to publish your first ebook!
Before you give this piece of writing a read, you must know exactly the point where most newbies mess up. It’s when they don’t bother exploring the topic they have chosen to write a book about. This might sound absurd, but writers make these rookie mistakes, which is why you must avoid doing it. Here are the seven tips you should follow to write and publish your e-book.
What’s your topic?
If you are following too many ebook writing services then it would be hard for you to decide. However, if you are thinking of going with trends, we must warn you right there! You might ask why, well, first of all, people have already read about certain trending topics, and hence, they might not be interested in reading anymore. Secondly, you need to find your niche! Just because something is gravitating does not mean you must write about that. What if you couldn’t do justice to that and ended up being demotivated? Therefore, you must select your topic carefully after reading thoroughly about it.
Understand your expertise
Remember that identifying your expertise is not enough; you have to understand it. The reason for bringing this up is to let you know that you aren’t supposed to be the jack of all trades if you can’t be a master of any. If you are doing ten things at a time, you are required to be good at least one of them. Thus, instead of involving yourself in various things in the interim, pay attention to the thing you are good at. Some writers are good at fiction; some are great with factual knowledge. You need to discover your niche and then understand it as well so that whatever you produce hits the chart in no time. Because, of course, you have to deal with lots of things to publish it as well.
Who is your audience?
Now that you are well aware of your subject and expertise, as well as being among ebook writers, you must get to know your audience as well. If you already have an existing audience, then the good thing is, that you won’t have to try harder to attract others. For those of you who are into blogs or email newsletters, well, you have a built-in following. However, if you are new to this game, you can do two things.
- You can either conduct a survey. All you gotta do is to come up with several reader-engaging e-book titles and ask the people what they would prefer!
- Or check out the comments and emails stating the same problem frequently and see if you can find a solution for that. How? Well, by writing an e-book about that!
The right amount of time for research
No, we aren’t asking you to take a month just to spend your time researching the topic, nor a week. By the right amount of time, we meant a moderate amount of period you invest in researching. Here’s why we want you to do this. If you spend too much time on it, you will most likely get confused about so many things. And when you allot a specific time, you don’t get distracted often. Hence, spending moderate time is a wise idea than getting distracted by a gazillion articles and blogs about a single topic.
Research is not enough!
The time you’ll spend exploring the subject, split it so that you can get some time for reading books about that as well. We know, since most of you belong to the generation who is not too much into reading. But, here’s the simple deal. You can’t be a good writer if you don’t prefer reading. So basically, research is never enough; you gotta find facts to support your arguments, no?
The outline is the key
Book writing services often avoid telling you the most basic thing. There is one common rule while writing anything; you are supposed to create an outline first! And if you are not doing that, you might be wasting too much time. Just think about how much time you can save by creating an outline. And utilize that in publishing your e-book, which leads us to the next and last step of this article!
Time for your book to go live!
When you are done with the outline and writing your book, the next step you’ll face is publishing on different platforms. If you publish it for free, you won’t have to deal with many complications. All you have to do is to copy the URL and share the pdf file of your e-book on different social media channels.
However, if it’s another way around, you may have to put some time into it. You need to figure out the best way possible way so that your audience can purchase it. The simplest way to publish your ebook is with the help of Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon KDP helps you to self-publish your ebook, hardcover, paperbacks, and all that free of cost. Plus, you can easily reach a million readers through this without any book marketing. Although, bear in mind that you need to convert your e-book to Amazon’s proprietary file types before you publish them.
Takeaway!
In a world full of hardcover books, make a change and publish your very first electronic book. However, it does not mean that you are allowed to disregard those who still prefer hardcover books. Because everyone has a choice, and some of us do want to leave in the past when it comes to books!