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Introduction
I’ve written,
published, set up, and sold several ebooks now, and these days it’s
all second nature.
When I first set
out to write and publish my first ebook, it was an arduous and
tedious task – because I had no idea whatsoever how to go about it.
The entire project was trial and error; more error than trial, if
you want the truth.
The thing I
really love about ebooks is the ‘set and forget’ process that’s
involved. I adore the fact I can whiz off to other states, to
conferences, and more, and my books sell – all hands free!
By selling
ebooks I have an additional stream of income, one that requires
little maintenance once the initial hard yakka is done. At the time
of writing I have sixteen books published. Those that are in print
take much more effort to sell, and of course, there’s much less
return. With ebooks the initial monetary outlay is minimal as well.
I’m not going to
say that you’ll end up a millionaire from creating ebooks, (I’m sure
you’re sick and tired of all the hype and c**p, because I sure am!)
but you will certainly enjoy a nice stream of passive income from
each and every one of your books. Best of all, the overheads
are minimal, and you get to keep 100% of the profits.
And with each
book you create comes an additional stream of income. My very first
book, released mid-2003 and updated a few years later, still sells
regularly, and I absolutely adore the extra income it brings me for
doing absolutely nothing!
I own several
websites – most of them geared around my main niche of writing – and
had an initial outlay of less than $100 for each of them. If I were
to set up a similar offline business, the outlay would definitely be
much greater.
This book is a
complete how-to, so I’ll cover as much information as humanly
possible. That said, I am not going into absolute Internet basics in
this book. If you’ve purchased the book, downloaded and saved it to
your computer and are now reading it, you’ve got the skills I had
when I published my first ebook. In fact, you’ve got more. I
couldn’t even do a basic internet search.
I kid you not!
Having been down
that horrendous track of wanting to create ‘info-products’ and not
knowing how to, I couldn’t – in all conscious – send anyone else
there.
So… grab your
favorite beverage, sit back and relax, and enjoy the ride!
Before we get
into the nitty-gritty’s of creating ebooks, I’d like to point out
the benefits, and there are heaps of them. I’ve listed just a few
of them below:
Choose when
you work
I run my
business – well – like a business!
Mine is a busy
household with hubby and me, plus our son and his three kiddies (all
ten and under). So just about anything goes here.
That can
sometimes make life a bit difficult. Actually, it can make it a lot
difficult!
I’m a working
writer - that is, I make my sole income from my writing business -
so my backside is planted firmly in my office chair from early in
the morning. I tend to work for at least thirty minutes
before getting the children ready for school.
Once the
children are off to school, my workday really starts. My entire
business is based around book writing, editing, proofreading, report
and article writing, website management, and so on. All
writing-related tasks. Working from home - using the internet - is
ideal for me, and I can work around the needs of my family –
including the grandchildren.
You’ve heard
time and time again about working in your pajamas?
Forget it! Load
of codswallop! If you want to run a business, then act like a
business person. Get up, shower and dress etc, just like you would
if you went out to a day job. Believe me, this IS your day job now.
Be Your Own
Boss
Yes, you can be
your own boss, but you also need to be organized. If you’re not,
then you won’t last long simply because you won’t make money -
because you can’t output enough.
Plan your day.
In fact, plan your week or month. My writing-life evolves around
deadlines. Deadlines and release dates. If I don’t meet my
deadline, my publishers can’t release my books on time. When that
happens, the publisher loses money and so do I.
When I plan to
release ebooks myself, (and I do that several times a year), I work
out a time-frame that I believe will work, then allow at least
another few weeks. If something can go wrong, it generally does. Oh
yeah, Murphy’s Law is well and truly alive!
About one month
before release date, I start to market. But I’m getting ahead of
myself; we’ll discuss that later in the book.
So… set up a
planner, and a ‘to do’ list that’s easily accessible. That will
help with your organization. (Need help with this?
Check out this book.)
And I’m sorry,
but I don’t adhere to the ‘work two hours a day’ rubbish. If you
want to make lots of money, you have to work reasonable hours. So
slacking off is not an option.
More Time for
Friends and Family
That’s one of the things I love about this business. When my
grandchildren arrive home from school I can spend time with them,
and find out about their day.
I can go
shopping in the middle of the day if I want and no one yells at me.
(Except that voice in my head!)
And if I lose a
couple of hours during the day for whatever reason, I can make the
time up at night or early in the morning if I want.
And of course,
there’s no travelling, so I don’t lose two or more hours per day
travelling, like I did when I had a day job.
The World is
Your Oyster!
Since the
introduction of the internet, the synergy of the world has changed.
We can sit in front of our computers and reach gazillions of
people.
You can reach a
much wider audience than we would ever have dreamed possible, and
can make more money than ever before. More people than ever are
using the Internet and research has shown that older people are now
taking the plunge too. That’s opened up even more opportunity for
sales than before.
If you know how
to go about it, creating ebooks is simple. Write your book, upload
it, sell it!
Okay, so it’s
not as simple as that. But you can fully automate your
business and it becomes almost hands-free. We’ll discuss this in
fine detail further into the book.
Multiple
Sites?
This is certainly possible, and in many cases, necessary. I own
several sites, but mostly keep within my main niche of writing.
That’s because I know more about writing than anything else.
(Besides cooking, cleaning, and looking after kids! ☺)
I own more than
a dozen sites now, and those that are writing-related pull the
greatest amount of income for me. I believe the reason is that
writing is my passion, and I know the subject thoroughly.
Again, in case
you missed it, you need to be incredibly organized to run these
multiple businesses.
Think you can
handle it?
Then let’s get
down to business!
Simply put, niche means a defined subject or
area of interest. Examples of niches are weddings,
parenting, pets, health, crafts, Christmas, real estate, weight
loss, and so on. Each of these niches needs written
materials to sustain them.
I’ve been ‘working’ the internet for several years
now, and have discovered that most writers are leaving money on the
table – simply because they don’t understand, or even know about
niches.
This is an area that can bring you expert status, or
can help fill your wallet, depending on your goal. Usually it will
do both.
As you maybe aware, I am the author of several ebooks
for writers – all of which I self-published. Each of these was
written because of a distinct need in the writing niche. In every
case, I researched before I began, and asked myself several
questions:
Who is my target audience?
Are there any books of this type already available?
If so, how many? (With at least two of my proposed titles/subjects,
I had no competition whatsoever!)
Will my book address anything that isn’t currently
addressed? (Different angle, provide previously unknown
information?)
What makes this book stand out against the others?
(What can I bring to this book that will make it unique?)
Why would people pay money for this book when other
books on this subject exist already? (Your expert status alone could
do this.)
What value can be placed on this book – both monetary
and usefulness?
Would a publisher pick this book up for its
commercial value? (Commercial value = saleability)
Will the resultant sales cover the cost of the time
involved in producing this book/product?
I’ve found that the commercial value of a book is the
last thing on most writer’s minds. And that was true for me also
until I took an online course called “Thinking Like Your Editor”.
The course emphasised that a book needs to be a commercially viable
product for a publisher to pick it up. In the niche
marketing/writing arena, you are the publisher.
The bottom line is this: if a publisher contracts a
book and cannot sell it, they’ve wasted not only their time, but
heaps of money as well. (Time is money.)
So before they decide to contract the book, they’ll
look at its feasibility, as I’ve done above. Just because you’re
going to self-publish an ebook doesn’t mean you can fast-track the
research or disregard the feasibility factors. In the end, you’re
doing it for more than the satisfaction of a job well-done. You’re
doing it for the potential earnings, and if that book makes little
or no money, then you’ve wasted a lot of time and effort. Hence the
reason for research and feasibility studies.
When I wrote my first ebook, there was very little
information around. I struggled for months trying to put it all
together. The help simply wasn’t there.
I don’t want you to struggle, I want you to learn
some of the ‘tricks of the trade’ and make your writing career the
best and most profitable it can be.
To read
the Table of Contents for this book, click here.
To continue reading, click here.
See Some of Cheryl's Books Below...
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