How do you go about writing an ebook yourself? The first step is to brainstorm. Think about what you know. General information can work, though the more specific your ebook is the more likely it will get read all the way through. Once you get a topic in mind, you will want to consider writing an outline to help assist you in the writing process. Although outlines can be somewhat time-consuming, in the long run you’ll be glad to have them because they let you know what direction you’re going when you start your writing. They don’t have to be elaborate… just stating what you want to talk about in each chapter could be a good enough outline. Keep in mind that the more detailed your outline is, the less likely you’ll get writer’s block once your ebook is started. The outline format that is most popular in academia is shown below:
I. Topic One
A. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
B. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two.
II. Topic Two
A. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
B. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two.
III. Topic Three
A. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
B. Sub-topic One
1) Supporting point one
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
2) Supporting point two
a. sub-point one
b. sub-point two
With this format, remember that you need at least: three main topics, two sub-topics and two supporting points. Sub-points are optional, but if you have one you must have another to keep consistency. If you wish you can use the above outline as a template when creating your own or find out how you can make outlines with your favorite word processing program.
After you create an outline, you are ready to start writing-your ebook. You may want to think about what format you want it to be in. Since many people have Microsoft Word, you can write it in that if you wish, but PDF ebooks are a more common format. You can use an ebook creator, PDF creator or Word Perfect’s ‘Save as PDF’ feature to create PDF ebooks. There are also some ebooks creators which will make your ebook a stand-alone program. This means that a person can read it without needing a word processor or Adobe Acrobat, (the program that is used to read PDF files).
Style-wise, ebooks do not have to be ‘formal’, though they can if you want them to be. It is acceptable to address your reader through ‘you’, and refer to yourself as ‘I’ or ‘me’. Catch phrases and clichés can also be used since the writing can be informal, but only use these if you think it’s going to make a profound impact. The main thing you want to keep in mind is that you want to write as if you were talking to the person directly.
If you refer to any outside source when writing your ebook, make sure you reference it either in the section you use it or at the end of the ebook. If you want to be extra safe you can even say directly that you got whatever piece of information from such-and-such site, while still citing the information. In terms of how you cite, again since an ebook is an informal piece of writing it doesn’t matter, just as long as you include the essentials, including the name of the author and the name of the work you are using.
You can conclude the ebook writing process by editing your work. Make sure that everything is grammatically correct… don’t rely on the grammar checkers that have become popular with many word processing programs. This is because often times they see grammar mistakes in sentences that don’t contain any. Yet, word processing programs are still reliable when it comes to spell-checking, so make sure you run the spell-checker before doing anything else with your ebook. You may also want to have someone else read your ebook. Other people are able to catch mistakes that you might not be able to catch yourself. Check out some of my ebooks at FireballBooks.com by clicking here.
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