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How to Writing a GREAT book or E-book
Many
information marketers tend to skip doing a book in their field. It’s
MUCH easier to do an audio program. A LOT less work. BUT, not doing a
book will hurt you in the long run. Trust me, I did this the WRONG way
when I started. It hurt me. Don’t make the same mistake.
How and why did I get hurt?
First off, there is nothing better than a book for gaining
credibility in your field. An ebook is fine, but I’ll also be
recommending that you produce a PHYSICAL book as well. More about that
later.
To write a good book you MUST START with a good outline. This is a
mandatory step. You can’t write a good book without a good outline.
Here is my LOW TECH suggestion on how to do one right. Go get a set
of 250 3X5 index cards. Open up the package and start writing down any
and everything you think your book should contain. Don’t screen
yourself, just start CRANKING out index cards. Also, don’t worry about
duplicating a topic, you can clear that up later.
Depending on how broad your topic, you may need MORE than 250 cards. A BIG topic may require 500.
Now that you’ve written down EVERY possible idea for your book, find a
large open area on your floor or carpet in a room where you won’t be
disturbed for a couple of hours. Look through each index card and start
putting them into piles based on topics.
When I wrote my book “Publishing for Maximum Profit” which you can get at Free Information Marketing Books page, I used this exact system.
I wrote out all of my index cards. I then sat on the floor in my
living room. I then started sorting the cards into piles. Eventually,
different CHAPTERS emerged. With the book on Publishing, it was clear
that there needed to be a chapter on Printing. So every index card that
had ANYTHING to do with printing went into that pile. I did the same
with every other MAJOR topic that came up.
When all was said and done, I had about 12 chapters and thus 12 piles
of index cards. I then went pile by pile through the sets of index
cards. I looked through them and decided what order they should go in to
best explain the topic. When I finished with one pile, I moved on to
the next. When I was done I had 12 stacks of cards, each pile in the
correct order.
By looking at each pile if was obvious what the chapter title would
be. All of the cards in that pile were about a specific topic. I then
came up with a “sexy” name to title the chapter.
My next step was to take each card and write an article about it. I
didn’t decide in advance how long that article would be. I just wrote
until I had exhausted the topic. I tried to make sure NOT to cover
anything BUT what that individual card was about. I knew that other
topics would be covered on other cards.
I didn’t write in any specific order. I found that doing it this way
gave me the flexibility and control to write based on what I was in the
MOOD to write. It took me about 4 weeks and I was done. This is a
relatively short book. When you read it, you’ll understand.
This article is all about the WRITING process. If you want more
information about other elements of writing a book, download the
Publishing book at the page I gave you earlier.
To write a book, you have to start with the outline like I’ve
recommended. Without it, you’ll spend a lot more time than is necessary.
You’ll also find that some days, the writing comes easier. That’s
natural. The one thing I suggest you do is that you MAKE yourself sit
down and start writing every day for a given block of time. Writing is
an act of creativity AND discipline. I make myself write a certain
number of words per day, whether it’s a book or article or blog post.
If you’re finding it difficult to write, I suspect it’s because you
don’t have a strong interest in your topic. That to me would indicate
that you need to look around for something that you feel more passionate
about. When I’m writing about a topic that I really enjoy, the words
seem to flow onto the page.
If I were writing fiction, maybe it would be different, but for us as information marketers, that is NOT the case.
At the beginning of the article I spoke about it being a MISTAKE that I didn’t start with books. Here is why.
Creating audio programs in mass quantity, which I did, helped me to
make money, but not build a reputation. Sadly, reputations PRIMARILY are
created through writing and publishing books. To follow up on this
fact, my other mistake was to ONLY self publish. If I had it to do over I
would have clawed tooth and nail to get at least one of my books done
with a major publisher.
Again, status and reputation, as well as distribution will accrue
faster when you publish with a major publishing house. That being said,
get started writing your book NOW, worry about who will publish it
later!
Your comments are welcome!
Read more: Writing a GREAT book or E-book
Manyinformation marketers tend to skip doing a book in their field. It’s
MUCH easier to do an audio program. A LOT less work. BUT, not doing a
book will hurt you in the long run. Trust me, I did this the WRONG way
when I started. It hurt me. Don’t make the same mistake.
How and why did I get hurt?
First off, there is nothing better than a book for gaining
credibility in your field. An ebook is fine, but I’ll also be
recommending that you produce a PHYSICAL book as well. More about that
later.
To write a good book you MUST START with a good outline. This is a
mandatory step. You can’t write a good book without a good outline.
Here is my LOW TECH suggestion on how to do one right. Go get a set
of 250 3X5 index cards. Open up the package and start writing down any
and everything you think your book should contain. Don’t screen
yourself, just start CRANKING out index cards. Also, don’t worry about
duplicating a topic, you can clear that up later.
Depending on how broad your topic, you may need MORE than 250 cards. A BIG topic may require 500.
Now that you’ve written down EVERY possible idea for your book, find a
large open area on your floor or carpet in a room where you won’t be
disturbed for a couple of hours. Look through each index card and start
putting them into piles based on topics.
When I wrote my book “Publishing for Maximum Profit” which you can get at Free Information Marketing Books page, I used this exact system.
I wrote out all of my index cards. I then sat on the floor in my
living room. I then started sorting the cards into piles. Eventually,
different CHAPTERS emerged. With the book on Publishing, it was clear
that there needed to be a chapter on Printing. So every index card that
had ANYTHING to do with printing went into that pile. I did the same
with every other MAJOR topic that came up.
When all was said and done, I had about 12 chapters and thus 12 piles
of index cards. I then went pile by pile through the sets of index
cards. I looked through them and decided what order they should go in to
best explain the topic. When I finished with one pile, I moved on to
the next. When I was done I had 12 stacks of cards, each pile in the
correct order.
By looking at each pile if was obvious what the chapter title would
be. All of the cards in that pile were about a specific topic. I then
came up with a “sexy” name to title the chapter.
My next step was to take each card and write an article about it. I
didn’t decide in advance how long that article would be. I just wrote
until I had exhausted the topic. I tried to make sure NOT to cover
anything BUT what that individual card was about. I knew that other
topics would be covered on other cards.
I didn’t write in any specific order. I found that doing it this way
gave me the flexibility and control to write based on what I was in the
MOOD to write. It took me about 4 weeks and I was done. This is a
relatively short book. When you read it, you’ll understand.
This article is all about the WRITING process. If you want more
information about other elements of writing a book, download the
Publishing book at the page I gave you earlier.
To write a book, you have to start with the outline like I’ve
recommended. Without it, you’ll spend a lot more time than is necessary.
You’ll also find that some days, the writing comes easier. That’s
natural. The one thing I suggest you do is that you MAKE yourself sit
down and start writing every day for a given block of time. Writing is
an act of creativity AND discipline. I make myself write a certain
number of words per day, whether it’s a book or article or blog post.
If you’re finding it difficult to write, I suspect it’s because you
don’t have a strong interest in your topic. That to me would indicate
that you need to look around for something that you feel more passionate
about. When I’m writing about a topic that I really enjoy, the words
seem to flow onto the page.
If I were writing fiction, maybe it would be different, but for us as information marketers, that is NOT the case.
At the beginning of the article I spoke about it being a MISTAKE that I didn’t start with books. Here is why.
Creating audio programs in mass quantity, which I did, helped me to
make money, but not build a reputation. Sadly, reputations PRIMARILY are
created through writing and publishing books. To follow up on this
fact, my other mistake was to ONLY self publish. If I had it to do over I
would have clawed tooth and nail to get at least one of my books done
with a major publisher.
Again, status and reputation, as well as distribution will accrue
faster when you publish with a major publishing house. That being said,
get started writing your book NOW, worry about who will publish it
later!
Your comments are welcome!
Read more: Writing a GREAT book or E-book
