How to Write and Publish Your Own eBook

If you want to write and publish your own eBook, it is not too hard to do. eBooks are digital formatted books that can be read on a handheld device or computer. Here are some steps to get you started.

Choosing a Topic

First, you need to choose a topic for your eBook. Start researching topics that could potentially sell well. You can focus on a topic you know about already or try to find topics that are trending and would make good eBooks. One way to choose a topic is to look for SEO keywords, using a tool such as Google Keyword Planner.

Writing

Next, it's time to write your eBook. You can start from scratch. If you have already written pieces, such as blog articles, you can put those together to form your eBook and then just edit it. You can also hire someone to ghostwrite an eBook for you. Use a word document program such as Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. If you want to focus on your writing as you write, you can use an application such as Bean which has a minimalist look that gets rid of distractions. An eBook doesn't have to be long. A short eBook can be just 5 or 10 pages.

Editing

After you write your first draft, you will want to edit and revise to get your eBook just right. It's good to have someone else edit for you once you edit it yourself. One trick is to use Fiverr to get someone to edit your eBook for you. If you don't want to spend money, another idea is to use the Hemingway App, which can check sentence structure and grammar for you. You can also get a friend to read your eBook and tell you what they think.

Photos

Photos add visual appeal. You can find free or paid stock photos to use in your eBook. For example, look on Creative Commons for free images to use. You can also use photos you have taken yourself. I like adding at least one good photo for each chapter or section.

Formatting 

Once you have your final draft, you will want to make sure your word document is formatted correctly. Have a cover page, table of contents and headings for each chapter. I won't go in to detail about how to format eBooks in this article. You can find an article on how to format eBook for Kindle here. If you don't want to format an eBook yourself, use a service such as Fiverr to get someone to format it for you.

Cover

Now, you need to make a good cover. You can hire someone on Fiverr to create you a cover for a good price. Another method is to make the cover yourself. Use photos you have taken and or stock photos that fit with theme of the eBook. 

Final Draft

Edit the eBook one more time and make sure everything is in place. Change writing if it needs to be changed and make sure the formatting is correct.

Publishing

There are many places to publish your eBook. I like publishing on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords. One good things about Smashwords is it will distribute your eBook to most of the world's largest ebook retailers. You can see a longer list here. It is also a good idea to sell your eBook on your own website or blog.

Have you ever written an eBook?