EBook Writing and Marketing Secrets

Not having enough time is the number one reason people give for not completing their eBook. I have talked about time management before on this blog, and even gave some suggestions for getting more articles and your eBook written on this post from the beginning of the year. Is time the reason your eBook is not finished?

There are several alternatives to writing your eBook if you truly do not have the time. Here are some that may make sense for your particular situation.

• Hire a ghostwriter by going to Elance, Rentacoder, or Guru.com. Be specific about what you want to have written and sign an agreement for a work for hire business arrangement.
• Use work already written that is in the public domain. This work is no longer copyrighted if it was written before a certain year. Contact me for good sources of public domain material.
• Look for materials written where the copyright has expired and use this as content for your eBook.
• Ask your audience their most burning question on your topic and hold a teleseminar to answer their questions. You can then have the teleseminar transcribed and repurposed into an eBook.

Think about these solutions to the problem of time management for writers, and see if any of them will work for you.

Time management continues to be an issue for writers. Back in November of 2007 I wrote about time management for writers. Once you see where your time is going and how you can make the most of the time you have, you will accomplish more in all areas of your life.

Keep a written journal of how you spend your time for a period of three or four days. Include at least one weekend day and a day that is filled with unexpected interruptions as two of the days you track. Take a look at what you could have done differently - delegated some activities to others, postponed something, etc. - and see what changes you need to make in your life. If you work from home, as most writers do, set goals and make a schedule for when you will be writing each day.

Making time for your writing today will pay off handsomely tomorrow. Your writing becomes the body of work that will bring you profits and opportunities for years to come.

I am now in the beginning stages of writing my latest eBook on dogs and diabetes. At this point I am doing some research every day and putting together my outline. This outline will list the important points I want to cover in the eBook and break them down into about 7 or 8 chapters.

I have written one article already to get a better idea of how many people are truly interested in this topic. My initial reasearch over at Wordtracker shows that there are enough people to make this eBook worth writing, but I will continue to write more articles to get the big picture on interest in caring for a dog with diabetes. These articles will end up being incorporated into my final product. I will keep posting about my progress with this new eBook so that you can see exactly how it is done.

This summer I will be offering an eBook Writing Mastermind course for the first time. I will limit the group to 25 participants and work with everyone to get their eBook completed during the time the course is going. Contact me anytime to see if this eBook writing mastermind would be of interest to you. I will keep the cost as low as possible so as not to exclude anyone. My mentees are automatically included, but there will be room for new students as well.

It’s Monday morning. Have you scheduled time to work on writing your ebook this week? Most of you will say no to this question. Our writing doesn’t get done without us making it a priority. Remember that ordinary things done consistently will produce extraordinary results. I have seen this happen in my own life as well as the lives of others. When you make writing a priority, it gets done.

I am just back from an event I attended this past week here in Los Angeles. It was on marketing and building your business and the speakers were fantastic. One thing I was not expecting to hear them speak about was the importance of writing articles and ebooks to promote yourself and your business. Each speaker told how they take the time each week to write and distribute articles on the internet to position themselves as experts in their fields. Many of them have been doing this regularly for years.

Be sure to sign up for my weekly teleseminars so you can learn how to easily get your writing done and increase your business.

Procrastination can be the enemy of the article and eBook writer. Putting off your writing until later may mean that it never gets done at all. I encourage you to set a schedule and stick to it. During the time you have designated as writing time, do not allow yourself to do anything else. If that means staring at a blank paper or computer screen, just sit there until the time is up. Try writing down tips or ideas about what you would write and it may begin to flow.

Writer’s block is similar to this but much more invasive. Determine if you are blocked or just procrastinating. Write about what you love and you look forward to the opportunity to write each day. Take these steps to discourage procrastination:

• Write down the reasons you want or need to write.
• Make a list of your goals - to increase your income, build a list of prospects, write an eBoook, etc.
• Write down your ideas you wish to write about.

Figure out what time of day is best for you to write - and then do it!

This morning I received a birthday greeting from Christopher Knight. He runs Ezine Articles, the article directory where I submit the majority of my articles. It is not my actual birthday today, but it was one year ago today that I submitted my first article over at Ezine Articles. Please allow me to share with you what has happened during this year.

I had become interested in having an online business during 2005. I read and studied everything I could find and finally started blogging and selling affiliate products during 2006. I never made more than a thousand dollars in a month. It seemed like hard work and I thought that it was just other people who were making a good living online. I then joined Tom Antion’s mentor program and became even more confused. There was so much to learn! He had hundreds of students and I got lost in the shuffle. I kept reading and learning and began taking classes with Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff from The Blog Squad, and also with Jeff Herring. When I started writing articles along with blogging everything began to change.

As of today I have published 514 articles in more than 100 categories. I maintain about a dozen blogs on various subjects. I am able to teach my students how to make money with their online writing by writing short reports and ebooks. I also get to teach them how to use the technology that is necessary to have an online business. I hold at least two teleseminars each week with people from around the world. I can make a five figure income each month from the comfort of my home office. I did this by setting goals, writing every day, and building my list. Each day I did a little bit more. Even when I was tired or didn’t feel like it, I was willing to do a little bit more.  

I recommend people and programs that I believe in. I think Tom Antion’s CLICK book is a must read if you want to make money online. The Blog Squad’s programs and material are a must to get your blog off to a healthy start. And Jeff Herring’s new class will get you started writing articles the right way.

So I encourage you to learn from these people, be persistent, write every day, And, if you really want to be successful with your online writing, be willing to do a little bit more.

Writing an ebook will change the way you are seen by others. It will position you as an expert, or authority, and open new doors for you. I recommend that you spend 100 hours and get your ebook written.

These hours can be spread over a period of time, but make sure you set a schedule for writing and adhere to it strictly. You have probably spent time already thinking about what you will write. Sorry, those hours do not count. Start writing down your ideas and the clock will begin. I give my students an outline to use while they are writing. You can make your own outline or email me and I will send you the one I use.

You will live 100 hours longer no matter what you do, so get started right now and write your ebook. Everything will change for you and you will be able to head in the direction that interests you most once your ebook is completed.

Writing your ebook can be an exercise in persevereance. A good analogy is the story of the tortoise and the hare. Many people race through the process, only to lose steam and give up before they reach the finish line. Others work steadily, day after day, and are rewarded with a completed book in a few weeks or less. Which will you be - the tortoise, making your way towards your goal, or the hare, speedily working but stopping to rest under the shade of a tree?

This all comes down to two things - persistence and procrastination. Anything worth having in life will take some hard work and long hours somewhere along the way. If you find yourself procrastinating, know that it is your mind telling you that you do have the possibility of achieving your goals and allowing some fear to come up. This fear is your mind knowing that what you are doing is possible and trying to hold you back. Push through that fear and get to work right away. Be persistent and keep at it until you have pushed through the finish line!

By setting up categories on your blog, you can save time when writing your ebook. Set up categories according to your main ideas and chapter headings in your ebook outline. Each time you post to your blog, put the post in the appropriate category. When you are ready to put your ebook together, simply pull up the category that corresponds to the chapter or section you are working on and you will have all of the content you have written in that area over a period of time. Categories not only save you time but also help you to organize your thoughts. Do some keyword research to help you choose the categories that your readers will be looking for in the search engines.

I was recently asked by Steve Hill how I am able to write so many articles on a regular basis. The answer is that I set goals for my writing and make a schedule to meet those goals on a daily basis. I also practice good time management so that there is time in my day to do everything that I want to do, which includes writing.

I keep a notebook with me every day to capture my ideas. I may write down a few words or a couple of sentences. For instance, I went to a Superbowl party for about an hour yesterday. I left my house during the second quarter, arrived at the party in time for half-time, and then went home shortly after the third quarter began. While I was at this party several of the people told me (more…)

When the Superbowl starts tomorrow afternoon, where will you be? If you want to finish writing your ebook and get it ready to sell, watching the Superbowl may not be the best use of your time. Here are a few suggestions for getting some work done while still enjoying the big game. It’s all about focusing on your goals and time management.

If you are attending a Superbowl party, bring along your spiral notebook. You can watch the pre-game show and the singing of the national anthem and then excuse yourself until half-time. During this time you can write down your ideas and work on a few pages of your ebook. You may even have some new ideas or be inspired by the festivities surrounding the game. At half-time rejoin your party, watch the show, and see the commercials we will be talking about during the next year. Then retreat back to the privacy of a room away from the noise and write for another hour or so. Have someone come and get you when it is about five minutes into the 4th quarter. Then you can see the big finish and celebrate (or not) with your friends.

This is how you can enjoy the Superbowl and still write for a couple of hours during the game. Believe me, a year from now you will be glad you spent the time on your writing.

What steals your time every day? It may be the television, people who call you on the telephone, or other non-productive activities. Use some time management so that you can make and keeps your writing goals. Your writing will not get done unless you make an effort to set a schedule and stick to it. Promise yourself that you will write a specific number of pages or articles each day.

Write down what you do every hour over a three day period. Look at what you write and see where you can make changes. Be creative and delegate any tasks that can be accomplished without you. You will be surprised at how much time you can save when you give your attention to it.

  As I prepare food for the holidays I am reminded how much a good recipe has in common with a good ebook. Both take just the right amount of this and that or else the final product will not taste as well as it could have. By making sure that you are putting all of the right ingredients into your writing, you can make sure that the final result is delicious and enticing.

• Decide what you are writing about before you begin. Just like with a dish you are preparing, you must know what you are making or it will be a big mess! If you are making pumpkin pie, you won’t need any onions. If you are writing an ebook about how to relate to difficult people, you probably won’t include information on bicycle racing.
• Make an outline so (more…)