The deed – get to it.

First step (assuming you have decided on the topic)

Consider the royal title itself.

1. This will help you keep the point of the content (stay focused)
2. Make sure the main keyword is in the title.
For example, if it’s about growing roses, then don’t use a title like “Flowers in your front garden”, it doesn’t mention roses, so a title could be “Growing roses in your front garden”.
3. Capitalize your words in your title.
4. Use the title in your text, at least twice, bold once and italic once (good for SEO)

Second step (break it down into manageable tasks)

Write a statement of intent. This is a sentence or two stating exactly what topic or problem the eBook is addressing and how the information it provides will help solve it. All chapters will then come from this statement. Remember: all chapters must support your opening statement. One way to do this is to extract the main points you will address from your opening statement and make them your chapter titles.

For example

If the e-book is about “Growing Roses in Your Front Garden”, the topics to be covered would be as follows:

• Evaluate front yard design
• Where to place the roses
• What types and variety of roses to choose
• Soil preparation
• rose care

Get the picture: the opening statement will have told the reader that this is what you will provide more detail about. That’s what your chapters will do.

Resume– This may only be a brief summary of the above and may include references to other sources or resources (eg your website, a product you promote)

last steps

Provide a content page: Initially leave a blank page in your page order (usually after the title page and the foreword, if there is one). Complete when you have finished writing the chapters; this will help keep the page numbers correct. Include a bibliography if relevant (for example, if you have cited from other sources). You don’t have to be pedantic with your grammar, but it should still be good. Be careful how you use punctuation (commas, semicolons, etc.).

Use your spell check! Don’t have too long sentences or paragraphs: this is where you can break grammar rules. Keep paragraphs 3-4 lines long. Usually, people just scan the content of e-books…at least at first to see if it’s worth reading properly. Use subheadings – this helps with scanning, SEO, and organization. Don’t overuse a lot of font or fancy variations as script.

Font size – at least New Roman 12 or Verdana 11 – remember that not everyone has good eyesight.

Images

Use images to illustrate and provide visual examples. These also serve to break up the text and make it more readable. When I first learned how to write an eBook, I researched a few options, but then I found Open Office to compile my PDFs – it’s free and easy to use. Just write the e-book in Word document format and then upload it to Open Office and convert it – simple!