Sunday, September 7, 2008

7 Easy Steps to Your Very First Profitable Ebook

By: Audrey Lynn
If you want to build your own internet business instead of someone else's, you need to have your own product. Period. Informational products, whether they are in written form, audio or video, are very popular as they are easy to create without high cost. Ebooks are the easiest to create. For someone who are new to writing, the whole process of creating an ebook can be daunting. Contrary to popular belief, the hardest part of writing an ebook is actually sit down and start to write.

From my personal experience, I think the first chapter of an ebook is the most difficult. I have done the research and reading up on my topic, but the thought of actually writing it is intimidating. What happened next, I let procrastination takes over, wasting precious time instead of writing. Does this happen to you? I bet it happens to most new writers. What we should avoid is thinking of the end product of producing a book. The thought of completing the whole ebook seems like an impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into smaller manageable tasks. Here's a simple 7-step procedure to start writing your ebook and finish it!

Step 1: Niche It

Choose a topic which appeals to you and which you can see yourself spending time researching and writing it in the next couple of days. The trick here is choose a niche. Do not write a book which appeals to everyone. Focus on a specific area and you are on your way to success. Why? Because when you target a niche market, you already have a pre-qualified market ready to buy your products.

Step 2 : Research It

After choosing a specific area of interest as the topic of your ebook, the next step is to spend a reasonable amount of time to research on that topic. How much time, you ask? It really depends on how much you already know about the topic. What is important here is you want to be an expert in your chosen niche. At this stage, it is easy to get lost among the huge bank of information on the internet. So it is very important to get organized. I find this method extremely helpful, that is getting a 3-ring binder with a set of divider tabs. File your research files and notes in the relevant tabs as you go along. When you start writing your book, you won't have to research everywhere for your notes. This is a great time saver.

Step 3: Table It

Now that you have a good idea of what you are going to write, the next important step is to write a detailed outline of your ebook. This is the single most important step in the whole ebook writing process. To get your ebook well written and finish it on time, you need to spend ome time to think of your ebook outline. The outline serves as the backbone of your ebook. It represents your ideas and flow of houghts. Write the outline as detail as possible.

Step 4: Write It

Ok, finally, we get down to writing the ebook itself. Before you start writing, you have to have a good picture of your readers, the people who are going to read your ebook. Picture your perfect audience for your ebook and write to him/her! Write to your reader, not for your reader. Write as if you are talking to the person. Use the language as you would talking to your friend. Forget about having the proper grammar and linguistic structures for your paragraphs. Just get your thoughts and ideas down! If you are stuck in a particular chapter, move on to the next. Don't force yourself to write that chapter and slow down the whole writing process. It is easier to come back and try writing that chapter again. You may have new thoughts and ideas which can help you to proceed. An important point to remember here is DO NOT EDIT! Turn off your self-editing machine and just focus on writing.

Step 5: Edit It

Now this is the time to for content edit. Does you ebook look too thin? If so, go out and get more relevant information. If you can't find any, you may want to insert an article on the topic area you have difficulty finding information. This is one way successful writers add more 'meat' to their ebook. The other thing to edit is excessive and repetitive words. Remember, simplicity is the key. Forget about jargons and technicalities. Use common and simple language. You won't want your reader go looking up dictionary while reading your book.

Step 6: Polish It

Now you have done editing your ebook, it is time to polish it. Polishing here means adding extra features to make your ebook presentable. For example, adding additional pages, adding your copyright page, changing your title, adding borders, adding header and footer, adding the table of contents. Take a look at any good ebooks already in the market and learn from them.

Step 7: Publish It

Now finally, you have your completed ebook in front of you. How do you feel? Do you feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride? I know I did. Words just can't express how I felt. It is worth all the hard work put into it. Now at this stage, you have to make sure you have a great title for your ebook. Great titles sells, not your content. Period. Get yourself a professional sales copy and ebookcover, and you are on your way to first ebook riches!
To conclude, anyone, including yourself, can write an ebook. It does not need to be difficult. All you need is to follow the 7-step plan above. Do not let the fear of writing and procrastination stop you from building a profitable internet business with your very own product.

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Getting started in Online Niche Marketing? Still not sure where to star

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Ebook

By: Roberto Sedycias
As with any newly available technological product, the ebook is causing waves of excitement around the globe. Previously used for academia due to its search features and clear format, the ebook is now widely available to the general public in a variety of guises. It has many advantages and disadvantages in comparison to the printed book, and as a result, the ebook already has excited followers and stern disbelievers. Yet love it or hate it; the ebook is here to stay, with sales predicted to rocket in the near future.

One of the main advantages of the ebook is that it is low in cost. There are no printing costs, storage fees or postal prices involved. Therefore, the prices can remain low which is always an attractive proposition for the consumer and publisher alike. The ebook is also less cumbersome, which makes it storage efficient. A standard ebook without picture files takes up little memory and so a CD can store an average of approximately 500 ebooks. This means there can be a wealth of information and entertainment stored in an economical way. Also, the text can be made suitable for all readers. Adobe versions have zoom features which can easily enlarge images and texts for clearer viewing, but these often have page sizing that does not fit the more portable screens and are difficult to adjust.

The small memory space also makes the ebook compatible with modern mobile living. ebooks are portable and can be used on iPods, some mobile phones and also notebook computers. They can be read in low lighting with a backlight feature which makes the ebooks fantastic for travelling and night time reading. However, compatible software is required as the formatting options are quite vast. Therefore, make sure you understand the requirements before purchase as some of the equipment can be expensive to buy as additional extras. Also, battery life is a factor when using portable electronic devices to read an ebook.

Many ebooks are packaged in bundles for efficiency, and as soon as payment is received ebooks are received electronically in an instant. This saves costs and is both time efficient and convenient. An advantage worth noting is that ebooks can be written in Unicode which means that any ebook of this format can be changed into various languages using simple commands. This has made them popular as prizes for online competitions. However, as ebooks are subject to copyright, they can not be as easily shared as printed books. Some versions can only be downloaded to a specific destination. Once downloaded, they are permanent but not transferable. Check this before purchase.

Ebooks offer many great features. Firstly they offer a comprehensive content search so you can find information immediately, making the ebook very time efficient. ebooks can produce multimedia effects such as audio and visual clips, which enhance the experience. Some can even provide what is known as `scripting opportunities` so that the reader can have a say in the outcome of the story. ebooks create interest for any reader, but can be a particularly good way to attract disaffected child readers to this necessary skill. For people who already enjoy reading, however, the ebook may prove less aesthetic to read.

Another advantage that is worth noting is the effects on the environment. Without the use of ink and paper printing, mistakes can easily be corrected without any further damage to the environment. Although the ebook can be printed if required, this is a matter of personal choice. The ebook proves to be environmentally and economically sound.

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This article can also be accessed in portuguese language from the Article section of page www.polomercantil.com.br/ebook.php
Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for www.PoloMercantil.com.br