Do You Know How To Write An eBook?
As many of my reader may know, I have an eBook in the works. I wanted to have the book published and available for download by now, but I have to admit, writing an eBook is difficult. It is much different than blogging and I am having a lot of difficulty with it.
The problem I have is the fact that I have never written a book before. Secondly, I want my finished product to be something that my buyers will be satisfied with. For me, I know my business… I know how to make money online. But how do I effectively teach that to someone else?
In my eBook I have to assume that there are going to be buyers who don’t know much about WordPress, search engine optimization and search engine marketing, etc.. I also have to assume that there are going to be buyers that don’t know what a permalink structure is or how to even install a WordPress theme. Yet, a huge chunk of why I am so successful with making money online is because of things like this.
The problem I am facing is that in order to teach people how and what I do to make money online, I have to offer a crash course in topics as mentioned above. The result so far is now I am faced with writing a novel sized eBook. The whole objective here is just to teach people how to make money online, but unfortunately, in order to accurately teach that, I feel like I have to make sure that everyone completely understand what I understand. In other words, I don’t see how anyone can make money online the way I do without knowing exactly what I know. So, in the process of writing this eBook, I feel like I have to spill the beans on everything I know… and that is difficult.
It is not that I want to hide anything, the problem is how do I expel everything I know into a small sized eBook. I don’t want to create a long and lengthy book that will take months to read. However, I have over two years worth of experience that I feel is very vital and worth sharing.
I have two very well trusted friends who have both volunteered to accept draft copies of my eBook for editorial review. My friend Mark Sierra has a degree in Journalism and also is a project manager and is a perfect partner for helping me with this project. Christine Senter is a very creative and talented writer with over 20 years of professional writing and publishing experience. Both Christine and Mark immediately came to me and told me that they would be happy to help me with the eBook. I value their offers a lot but I don’t want to burden them with my issues. They are both great friends and I feel like I am almost dumping huge problems on their desk if I were to forward draft copies of my work. Trust is not an issue… I trust them both and would feel very comfortable sending them draft copies. However, again… this is a lot of work and I feel like because I have never written a book before, that I would be putting a lot on their plate. I am not one who likes to make my problems become other people’s problems.
So, the question still remains and maybe you can help me out: How Do I Write An eBook? How can I balance my content to cater to an audience of all levels of experience? I have two very qualified volunteers who are standing by and ready to help me, what can I do to make this worth their while? I would love to read your feedback and invite you to drop me a comment with your thoughts on this.
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25 comments
You can just send it to me and allow me to fulfull my end of the deal. I said I would help you, but if you don’t send me what you’ve done so far, I can’t do much, now can I?
You asked.
Writing an eBook or sleep…hmmmm, sleep it is
I’m way to lazy to even write something…LOL
-Mike
LOL!!! You are awesome…
I have got a lot of notes taken on napkins, scratch paper, etc… LOL!! Will that be ok?
Garry have you thought about breaking up the one big e-book into many small e-books?
For example, you say you have to teach people about Wordpress, so write one e-book that covers that, then another one about search engine optimization and marketing, with the third one how to monetize it all.
Just a suggestion.
You know what… that might not be a bad idea. Thanks so much for that suggestion.
You asked, “How can I balance my content to cater to an audience of all levels of experience?”
If I may suggest, you need to draw the line somewhere, otherwise, you’re going to drive yourself crazy with constant “Oh, I need to include this or that” scenarios.
Having a picture in your mind of the type of your reader you’re trying to reach, then it should make things a little easier for you.
If you want to describe the “how-tos” of installing WordPress, okay. If that’s too far back and you want to tell your readers before purchasing the book that they need to have at least some level of knowledge about installing it or whatever the case may be, then that’s okay, too.
But the trap you don’t want to fall into is writing a book that turns about being one meant for an audience made up of “Garry’s”. Naturally, that’s not your goal, but that’s where Christine and I can help by providing objectivity among other things.
For example, I’ve seen many instructions written by programmers who write in “geek-speak” for things like WordPress plugins. That kind of writing really narrows the audience when the intent is really meant for a much broader one. The result? I’m less likely to use that plugin and the value of all the work they put into making it dwindles.
So while “X” may be perfectly understandable to you, it helps to have a second or third set of eyes look it over to see if it makes sense to them.
I also like Cary’s suggestion about breaking it up. Maybe a beginner and an advanced edition are the ticket.
My humble opinion is that you just want be able to put all your knowledge into a ebook written for dummies. That’s a to big goal. You have also to keep in mind that you continue learning every day. On this path you want never be finished and satisfied with your ebook.
IMHO opinion you have to make a choise, below some things you have to cut, you have to point out that such topics has to be learned elsewhere (for example BMB, WP codex etc).
You have to bring YOUR unique knowledge and that’s how to make money with blogs. How to activate permalinks isn’t unique to you. Sure it would be nice to have all infos in one place, but i assume that if a person is really willed to make money with a blog, he has also the will to find out on other means on how to activate permalinks.
As i stated in the past and as also Cary pointed out, if you feel something wasn’t clear or that something is missing you can do follow up ebooks you can choose to charge them or even to give them away for free to previous customers.
If you need an opinion about:
- comprehension of a non english native reader
- which basic blogging instructions should be included and which not (you know that i’m not a WP expert so maybe i can evaluate what i’ll be able to solve elsewhere)
- anything else
don’t hesitate to contact me. You have done up to now so much for me that i’ll be glad to give you back a favor.
ciao
alex
I like Cary’s idea of breaking up into several themed e-books.
I agree with the idea to break it down. An ebook that is too long will probably not sell as well as shorter books. Instead of one $50 ebook you might have 5 or 6 $20 ebooks.
May be you can borrow from bloggers who have already written about certain topics. For example, someone above mentioned about teaching how to install WordPress. Well simply link to an article written by someone else on how to do this.
I guess this is a variant on the “break it up into smaller books” plan. There are some excellent ebooks about Wordpress that cover it from the most basic “what is a blog” type questions. Maybe you could strike a deal to include a suitable wordpress installation primer and a basic seo book with your ebook and then you could concentrate on your message.
All I can say is Garry, just get to the point and don’t story tell every idea. Make it as informative as you can as fast as you can. People should feel there getting there money’s worth with in the first page.
Hi Garry,
My suggestion is to write at least two ebooks rather than try to cover all of the many bases in one.
For example write the first ebook to cover all of the technical issues as to how you set up Wordpress to make money online. Hey, I’m sure that a detailed blow by blow account of all that you do behind the scenes will fill up one ebook nicely.
Then write a second ebook that shows how to take that optimized Wordpress platform and monetize it. This could include identifying good niche markets to go after, Adsense, affiliate programs, selling ads, selecting a domain name and hosting account, importance of key words and blog titles, etc.
To me this would simplify things a bit and add to your income stream too. I bet 99% of those who buy the first ebook would buy the second one.
Hey hon
I have to agree with Cary about looking into breaking your categories down into smaller ebooks. And David is correct in that most people who buy ebooks don’t want a book filled with lots of different things, they want something they can read through rather quickly, in language they can understand (Thanks Mark), and for a price that they can afford.
Anyway, with all the knowledge you’ve got running through your brain, it would be pretty easy for you to write a whole series of ebooks. Garry Conn’s “How-To” series. Pick one subject whether it’s worpress plugins or installation, or whatever, but pick one subject and start with that.
Then, when you get a pretty good outline done, let Mark and I know and we can look through it for you. Mark and I will both be more than happy to point and laugh when you try to use big fancy words. LOL Joking!!!
@Christine
Oh we wouldn’t laugh…much. LOL
Well, not very loud anyway. LOLOLOL
Hi Garry,
I have to agree with a lot of the commenters here. Don’t try to fit everything into one book. I have written one ebook so far, and I stuck to one topic – how to get traffic to your blog. I did put in some things that newbies could do right away, and some things that more seasoned people may not have thought of. But I think it’s best to stick to a narrow topic for each book. That way, you can sell more books too! And everyone can choose which book they want to purchase, based on their needs.
I wrote down a list of everything I could think of about getting traffic to a blog. Then I organized those notes into chapters. After that, the book itself was very easy to write. I just wrote what I knew about each thing I had in my notes. Then I went over it and edited it, etc.
I think if you stick to one smaller topic, you will have an easier time of it. You will also learn a lot, which you can use when you write your next book.
Let me know if you have any questions, since I’ve been through it already – I would be glad to help (just send me an email).
Pat
Dear Garry,
I can definitely agree with keeping the topic narrow, e.g. How I make Money on the Internet.
People who are advanced won’t want to read about how to do the basics, they’ll get frustrated. People who don’t know how to do the basics may get overwhelmed if they have to learn all the ‘nitty gritty’ before they can understand your concept.
I would recommend that you tell your over-all money making ideas in the book, then direct newbies to sites on the Internet where they can learn how to do what they need to do to set-up.
Most of the successful e-books I’ve read do it that way. They include URLs in the PDF.
One of the best things you can do for inexperienced, non-technical people is to inform them that there are FREE resources for learning what they need on the internet. I can’t tell you HOW MUCH MONEY I SPENT on ebooks that only told me stuff I could have gotten on the internet for FREE!
Even with doing Adsense, Google has a step-by-step instruction plan that ALMOST anyone can follow. Amazon.com is the same way.
Experienced internet users already know this and will be bored if they have to drudge through that stuff, but LOTS of newbies have heard of Adsense yet have no idea how to get started.
What I believe people would want to know from your book is “HOW TO MAKE MONEY with the GARRY CONN METHOD”. You already know all these links and resources so well that just directing people where to go to find help is a BIG BONUS that the best ebooks include.
JMHO,
Brennan
Hi Garry,
some more food for thoughts.
Which is your goal ?
I assume that it is to share how you are making money online thru blogging and to earn money for this. That said, your unique knowledge on how to make money by blogging is the message (the content) which you want to share whith your customers (at this point you should also define who are your customers, which grade of knowledge they should have, but this brings me back to what i covered in my previous comment: which arguments to cut off).
The ebook is just a medium thru which you spread your message.
An ebook has the following CONS:
1) You are NOT FAMILIAR with it. You told us about it.
2) it is STATIC. Once you’ve written and distributed your ebook, you cannot change or correct it.
3) NO INTERACTION. Readers cannot make questions, you cannot provide answers or in depth details on the topics which got the highest attention and the lowest comprehension by your customers.
4) ebooks have a bad REPUTATION. That’s not always true, but unfortunately many people think that ebooks are just scams.
So why don’t think about another medium for your content ?
Thinking about you, the first which pops up in my mind is a… BLOG !
Seriously, why don’t create a blog whith membership access ?
A membership blog has the following PROS:
1) You turn to do what YOU ARE GOOD AT: blogging
2) it is DYNAMIC. As you learn new things on the way and have new success stories (like for example your experience with comments, i’m sure today you know more about it compared to two weeks ago) you can add them on the fly. You can correct errors or add topics you forgot.
3) INTERACTION. Your customers can ask for details of the topics which aren’t enough clear or not treated whith the necessary depth. You can focus only on the topics which interest your customers (and not on these you THINK that would interest your customers, that’s a big difference… ).
4) MULTIMEDIALITY. You can add videos ! I guess I haven’t to explain you that it’s much easier for you and far more effective for the knowledgetransfer to use a video, rather than write thousand words.
That’s only an alternative medium with which I came up, maybe somebody else understood my way of thinking and comes up with a even better medium.
ciao
alex
Hi, Garry! You should talk to John Motson sometime. In his book, he started with the very basics – such questions as “What is a domain name?” The reader had to understand those basic items in order to move on. John did a fabulous job with his book. I’m sure you will too! Good luck!
Btw, I like Alexander’s idea.
Instead of an eBook, why don’t you consider making a DVD?
I’ve bought several ebooks and I’ve only been satisfied with one. Of its qualities:
Very detailed (long), but on-topic throughout.
Links to author’s own video tutorials.
Links to outside official (in its niche) sources, but only to beginners stuff.
Marketed as “This is not a Get Rich Quick scam. It took X years and thousands of hours of hard work and trial and error to get where I am today” as opposed to “so easy anyone can do it.”
No winded personal stories.
Relevant charts/graphics.
Personal support.
Proof of earnings and no b.s. on sales page.
As chronological as possible.
Personal experience of what works and what doesn’t.
Other good idea:
Easy navigation within ebook (clickable chapters)
$100-$200 for one complete ebook is much better than a $50 or less tutorial (which most seem to be). Good luck with it!
Before I posted I read through the messages and must agree with all the reader comments. It sounds like you could seriously have a series on your hands here Garry.
Think hard about what it is you really want to tell everyone, I know you are full of information but you could sell more this way.
GarryConn’s Wordpress Guide
GarryConn’s, “How I made $1500 in 1 Day”
GarryConn’s Adsense Guide
GarryConn’s …….
You get the idea. Above all, make sure to do small groups of items instead of everything at once. Write down your chapters and the ideas you want for each, this should help you figure out what you want in the book. I’m always around if ya need to brainstorm.
I agree. brake them up into smaller books so you can really focus on that particlular way of making money. This way you’ll be able to get your ebooks out more quickly and you’ll be able to cross promote your older ebooks in your newer book via a link.
Another advantage that is you could do is create a nice backend sale by creating a OTO (one time offer) just by using your older ebooks when selling your latest release. So if you was selling your latest ebook for say around $20 and if you’ve written 3 before it. You could offer them all for discount price
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