The first sentence is the hardest part of writing. When you look at the project as a whole, it seems impossible. That's why you need to break it up into tasks you can handle. Imagine going up a mountain. You are standing at its base and looking up at its peak, which disappears into the clouds. How can you climb such a huge and dangerous mountain?
A mountain can only be climbed in one way. step by step.
Now think about how you'll write your ebook. You have to build it step by step, and one day you'll take the last step and be standing on the top of the mountain with your head in the clouds.
As if you were a real mountain climber, the first thing you need to do is get ready. But instead of climbing gear, you need to get your thoughts in order. Before you start, you should do a few things. After you look over the list below, you will be ready to start writing your ebook.
How to Start Writing an Ebook
First, come up with a working title for your ebook. Write down a few different titles, and you'll eventually find the one you like best. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader's queries. There are subtitles on many nonfiction books as well. Try to make your titles clear, but being clever always helps sell books. as long as it isn't too cute. For example, "Twenty Ways to Count Sheep" is one of the "Remedies for Insomnia" in the book. Or: Get off the couch! Here are fifteen ways to get in shape.
Next, write a statement of your main point. Your thesis is one or two sentences that explain what problem you are trying to solve and how your book will do it. From your thesis statement, all of your chapters will grow. Once you have a strong thesis statement, you have a strong base. Chapter by chapter, your book will grow from that base.
As you write your ebook, your thesis will help you stay on track. Remember that all of your chapters should support your thesis. If they don't, you shouldn't include them in your book. For instance, your thesis statement could be: "We've all had trouble sleeping at some point in our lives, but there are twenty tried-and-true ways to get a good night's sleep again."
Make sure there is a good reason to write your book once you have your thesis and before you start writing. Ask yourself some questions:
- Does your book answer important and important questions?
- Is your book interesting and will it hold the reader's interest?
- Is the information in your book useful, and is it still relevant today?
- Will your book improve the lives of the people who read it?
If you can say yes to all of these questions, you can be sure that your ebook has a lot of potential.
Choosing your target audience is another important step. This is the group of people you will be writing for, and many things about your book, like its style, tone, language, and even length, will be based on this group. Find out how old your readers are, what they are mostly interested in, and even what socioeconomic group they are mostly from. Do they read fashion magazines or reviews of books? Do they write letters by hand or spend a lot of time online every day? The more you know about the people you want to read your book, the easier it will be to write it for them.
Next, write down why you want to write an ebook. Want to get the word out about your business? Do you want to get good people to visit your site? Do you want your reputation to get better?
Then write down what you want to accomplish with publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website or give it away for free to people who take a survey or buy something? Do you want to make an e-course out of the chapters or use your ebook to get affiliates from all over the world? The easier it will be to write, the more you know before you start.
Choose how your chapters will be laid out. In nonfiction, try to keep the format pretty consistent from chapter to chapter. You might want to start your chapter with an introduction and then divide it into four subheads. Or, you could split it into five parts and start each one with a relevant story.
How to make sure your ebook is easy to use.
You need to find ways to keep your writing interesting. Readers are often drawn in by anecdotes, testimonials, short stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips. Sidebars are a good way to give quick, easy-to-find information and to break up the page.
Use a conversational tone when you write instead of a formal tone like a textbook. When you write in a way that makes the reader feel like you're talking to them, they respond. Change the length and structure of your sentences so you don't put your readers to sleep. When you can't sleep, sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to help.
Writing well takes work. It takes a lot of time and effort. Plan to write at least one page every day. Read books and magazines that talk about how to write, and write down any tips that stand out. The art of writing is something you work on for the rest of your life. The more you write and read, the better your writing will get. The better you get at writing, the more you will sell.
When writing an ebook that is read on a screen, remember that the reader's eyes need a break. Using white space is one way to do this. Most of the time, white space is called "negative space" in art classes. Readers' eyes need oases of cool white space on your page to rest. If your page is too full, the person reading it will stop as soon as their eyes start to tear up.
Use lists, both ones with bullet points and ones with numbers. This makes it easy for people to understand what you're saying and gives them a break from having to figure out what each paragraph means.
Lastly, choose a design that is easy to read. Find a font that is easy on the eyes and use that font family throughout. If you use dozens of fonts, your readers will get tired of reading before they get past your introduction. Use at least 1.5 spaces between lines and text that is big enough to be read easily on the screen but small enough to fit on a computer screen. You will have to try different things until you find the right mix.
Of course, don't forget to check for mistakes in spelling and grammar. Correct punctuation is a big part of how you are judged, so don't ruin a great book by throwing semicolons around or stringing sentences together with commas. This is called a "comma splice," by the way.
Last, make an index and a list of sources. All done! You've got a book out! Now, all you have to do is put your ebook online and wait for visitors to your site to ask to download it.
