How to Create an eBook: A Complete Guide.

Why make an eBook

If you’re a writer and you want to get published, an eBook is your friend. It’s the fastest way for you to get your story in front of your readers. If you have the right eBook niche and content, writing an eBook expedites your journey toward the bestsellers list.

It is a fact that readership has increased with the coming of eBooks. Other than that, there are many reasons why one should seriously plan to make an eBook. Here are a few points of motivation:

– Expands your audience

Smartphones and tablets are used widely by people. Almost everyone has a smartphone in hand. Because of this, eBooks have become more accessible to everyone at some point in the day. eBooks can be read anywhere, at any time, also be downloaded and stored.

– Easily Accessible

eBooks are easily accessible. It is simple to find a title online these days, and it increases the chances of buying, borrowing, or downloading the eBook to read. You can also easily search for a particular section or phrase in an eBook. It makes the reading experience more engaging and immersive.

– Establish Your Expertise

When you research, compile, and write an eBook, it makes you more confident as a writer. You have first-hand information and knowledge on the chosen topic, which, in turn, establishes your expertise on the subject.

– Simple to Create

The process of making an eBook is rather easy compared to traditional publishing. Now, there are numerous tools and professional services that help you create an eBook. You need to invest your valuable time, and there is enough help you can get to create it easily.

Parts of an eBook

When creating an eBook, it is beneficial to look at its structure. Think about the basic parts of an eBook, and look at the eBooks you’ve read. It is useful to understand the parts of an eBook so you don’t miss anything while entering the process of making one.

The list below has the elements that should be added while making an eBook. The order of certain parts might vary according to the genre of the eBook.

– eBook Cover

It is the first part that anyone notices. The cover art with the title and author’s name is placed at the start of the book. The book cover is the same as the cover of a printed book. A good book cover should be able to entice the reader.

– Front Matter

This part comprises of:

• Title page: the title is displayed on a separate page with the author’s name and subtitles if any.
• Description: it is what a reader will see while going through the eBook store. It is similar to reading the inner flap or back copy of a printed book. A description is the first experience of the reader to your book.
• Copyright page: the copyright page has a copyright notice, publication details, the ISBN, and legal notices. The page also credits covers design, illustration, editing, and other contributing information.
• Ad Card or Other Works: it includes the other works by the author.
• Hyperlinked Table of Contents (TOC): it has hyperlinks to the significant parts of the eBook mentioned here.
• Dedication: it is an optional page that has a personal dedication by the writer. It also mentions the people who have helped make this eBook happen.

– Body of an eBook

This is the real content of the eBook, constituting a majority of the pages. It contains the story, narrative, or information that a writer wants to convey to the readers.

– Back Matter

This part comprises of:

• Acknowledgments: it mentions any other credits by the writer. This is also an optional page. Readers generally skip these parts as it covers sample space.
• About the eBook & Author: it includes the author’s bio and why the author is writing the book. This was usually seen in the back cover of a book.
• Bibliography: it contains sources and citations from other books or authors. It also has a list of references for more reading and information.

Steps to create an eBook

So, you’ve caught the eBook bug and want to know how to create and publish an eBook?

If you’ve done a little bit of research, you‘ve probably read about a girl named Amanda Hocking who just happened to earn a few million dollars because of her eBooks. She did write well-targeted books that resonated with her fans.

The point is that you can have her success too. It would be best if you did a few things right. In a nutshell, you need to write, format an eBook, and get people to buy it for the price you’re selling it for.

It sounds so easy. How hard could that really be? Let’s take a look at the entire process of how to create various eBook formats, and publish an eBook from start to finish. Let’s try to answer all the important questions before diving headfirst into the writing business.

Whether you’re in it to genuinely contribute to the literature, or you’re in it for the money, the eBook is a powerful platform at your disposal.

What Should You Write?

It would help if you answered this before typing your first word. How do you decide on a topic? For many, this right here takes up a great deal of soul searching. Do you have a book in you that’s been there for years and is dying to get out? If so, then this question is going to be easy to answer.

If you’re not quite sure what to write, you first need to go back to your whys. Then, you need to go inside yourself and really reflect on what you know. It’s not easy filling up hundreds of pages with words that people want to read. You need to know a lot about the topic you’re planning on writing about. At the very least, you need to be really interested in doing some solid research.

Think about your personal life. What are your interests? What are the experiences that only you have? What can you do well? Or, you can go about it in a non-personal way and become more audience-centered way. This brings us to the next question.

Who Should You Write For?

If you want to write for your readers, then you first must know who your readers are. Writers are well-known for possessing an acute ability to read people. As a writer, you need to get into your readers’ heads and predict what they want to read next – because that’s the entire chase. If you know that, then you’re golden. Is your target audience comprised of preteens who swoon over cute boys? If so, then it would be good to make the main character, who happens to be a cute boy.

Decide on a Specific Topic

Before you decide on a topic, you need to get your answers for the whys, whats, and whos down. Now, as for the specific topic, you need to choose one that is interesting for you. If it does not interest you, then chances are it won’t interest your target market.

Also, if your plan is to write eBooks for money that teach some skill or something similar, then you need to choose a topic that’s not saturated. Don’t choose a topic that has a few popular, well-known authors. If you do, you’re not going to get noticed. Your target reader is probably going to happily spend $14.99 buying a popular author’s book rather than pay $2.99 for someone they don’t know.

Choose your topic wisely. Research topics on KDP and find out trends. Find out what the bestsellers are. Find out who the most popular authors are. If it’s saturated, it’s best not to enter.

Where Can You Get eBook Ideas?

Honestly, everywhere. If you want to be specific, then do your search. Use the most powerful archiving and searching tool on this planet – Google. Search about the topic you plan on writing about and see what has already been written. If you find a niche topic that has a lot of interest but has little content, then maybe that’s the topic for you. Or, if you have already read a few websites, a few books, or heard a few podcasts about the topic you want to write about and still find yourself wanting, then write about that.

Write about the thing that you want to read. Maybe you haven’t found the book you want to read because you haven’t written it. If that’s the case, then you’re probably sitting on a goldmine – a great idea for a topic that needs to be expounded on a bit.

Write your eBook

After choosing the topic, you need to write your book dutifully. You can either use Microsoft Word to write your book or Google Docs to create your eBook. When you write your eBook, then you need to organize your thoughts.

Write down all your ideas. Arrange them into chapters or sections and try filling in the gaps. This is how you create a cohesive thought. If you have facts and figures that you want to present, then do so effectively. Use the right visuals and images for emphasis and effect only as needed. And do so by maintaining the tastes of your target audience.

Your ideas are not the only things that you need to organize. It would help if you got yourself organized too. Think about the outcome first. Keep in mind the desirable length of an eBook depending on the genre you have selected.  Think about the big picture, your goal, your eBook, and then break the main topic down into several sub-topics and continue to break these down into much more specific topics. This makes it easier for you to focus and organize your thoughts.

Edit & Format your eBook

After writing your eBook, make sure you edit the content well. Your eBook should be free of grammatical, spelling, and syntax-related errors. Reread your content, and edit it thoroughly. Formatting is an essential step in the process of making an eBook. Only a properly formatted eBook can ensure a good reading experience. Learn how to format an eBook in Word here.

Choose a Title for your eBook.

Once you’ve decided on a topic, the next step is to write your title. The title is your hook. It needs to capture the eye and the imagination of your reader. It would help if you enticed, to seduce, titillate your reader enough for them to want to give you cash for the privilege of reading your words.

Do your research. Check out how the best do it and try to copy them. Or, you could go the opposite way and do something unpredictable. If it’s crazy enough, it just might work.

Design the Cover

There are many different ways to go about designing the cover. Still, the main idea is for the cover to pique the interest of your target reader. Use a cover design that incorporates the scripting art or the cover art or image that is in line with your target reader’s interests and personality. And, the cover art should at least represent what your book is about. With this said, you can sometimes complete the book cover only after you finish writing.

Choose the eBook Format

After writing and editing your eBook, you also have to decide which format you need to publish your eBook. Research more about the various eBook formats available, the platform you need to publish, and then choose the format you need to publish the eBook. 

Gather Followers

Now that you’re done with the easy part let’s get down and dirty with the hard part – making the sale.

Do you have a following? If you don’t have fans, then you need to make a Facebook page. Create a following by presenting yourself as an authority on a topic. Or, if you’re a novelist, you can gain a following organically by going on the many social media platforms and creating great content based on your stories.

Build Your Web Presence

Build hype! You need to market on social media. Promote your eBook everywhere.

Live and breathe your eBook! Make a website and have an active presence on all social media platforms. Build a Facebook page and create a fan page for you or your title. You can also create a Facebook community that centers on an interest or topic that you’re writing about and cultivate that community. You can then “organically” promote your eBook on the page to your receptive

community members. Just build a following. Use Twitter, IG, YouTube, Facebook, forums, and everywhere else you can find to talk about the topic.

The eBook landscape is a fertile ground that offers the potential for fame and riches. Use it wisely to your advantage. I don’t think that this will be easy. It’s not. Realize the fact that it is going to be one of the hardest things that you’ll ever have to do. But know that it’s worth it if you’re really serious about your goals. Avoid the bad eBook formatting issues so that you can make a professional eBook. 

Could you find out how to do it and do it? If you really have something good to contribute to the conversation, if you have a book in you, then it’s your duty to bring it forth into this world.

We’ve given you the steps of how to create an eBook. Now, good luck!