The Fine Art Of Writing A Successful Ebook
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Some of you may already know I love to read and learn new things, and although I really love to read “real” books, I also enjoy ebooks, and lately 2 bloggers writers/authors/entrepreneurs I know and respect very much, published their own ebooks, and I thought it would be a good idea to talk a little about those ebooks, and share my thoughts, and also ask you guyz and galz what you think of them, if you read them, and if you haven’t yet, well lemme ask you why? :)
(* bonus question at the end of the post!)
Zoomstart - Branding Ebook
I’ve been hooked on Zoomstart since day one, Shane writes in depth and interesting articles on his blog, and his ebook exceeded my expectations, by far! Under-promise, over-deliver! Shane said before that he can’t write 100-200 pages! Well he doesn’t have to! I can safely say that this 15 pages ebook is one of the most fun to read, interesting, relevant, informative, and eye-appealing ebook I’ve read on branding since a long time! I especially liked the “Designing Your Brand” part, where Shane writes:
A good name has a pleasing sound. It’s not a tongue twister
Yeah baby!
Download “Zoomstart - Branding” Ebook Here
Yaro Starak - Blog Profits Blueprint
Being a blogger writer/author myself, when I heard Yaro released an ebook, I rushed over to his blog and downloaded it! Yaro already gives away a truck load of free infos on his blog, and his ebook is a great read just as his blog is! Exploring many topics such as monetization, leverage, and using communication channels to attract massive traffic to your blog. I really like the metaphors he uses in his ebook, makes it easy to read and understand. Yaro points out how important it is to stay focused and avoid distractions such as TV or magazines (I don’t watch TV, and Yaro definitely reinforced my decision). Of course the most important thing, as Yaro mentionned in his ebook, something a lot of blogs are lacking, is “Pillar Articles“, the kind of post that will attract natural traffic, links, comments, visitors, rss subscribers, and will definitely help be recognized as an expert in a particular field and get you more exposure.
Download “Blog Profits Blueprint” Ebook Here (e-mail address required)
So Why Am I Writing About This?
Well, simple reason, I’m in the process of writing my own ebook on conversational blogging, social networking, community sites, which I hope to release soon! I’ve never published an ebook and the best way to learn something is to study other people’s work and learn from successful people, so that’s what I’m doing! :)
So, here’s a little survey! How would you like to read an ebook on conversational blogging and social networking? Is it something you would download, print, read, share? How many pages would be best? 10? 100? I’m asking you guyz, ’cause your answers will help me tremendously in writing my own ebook! Your advices, ideas and tips ‘n tricks are very very welcome! Please share your thoughts!
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14 Responses to “The Fine Art Of Writing A Successful Ebook”
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I would absolutely download/read that! As far as pages… whatever it takes to get the message across! I find that I have a tendency to enjoy shorter e-books and longer books in print. Great question - I’m looking forward to some great reading!
Hi Christine, thanx a lot for your input! I’m like you, I really enjoy reading shorter but complete and interesting ebooks, and longer books in print, I love ebooks, but printing the thing and carrying a binder around, ya! My ebook will probably be around 40 pages, working on it :)
Hey Jon,
Glad you liked “Branding”! I had a lot of fun writing it.
I also read Yaro’s eBook this weekend and I highly recommend it. He doesn’t put any get-rich-quick schemes on the table. Just good solid business sense from an experienced blogger who makes a good living from it.
Can’t wait to read your eBook. I’d say keep it under 40 -50 pages of action-packed content. And I like the topics you’re suggesting a lot.
Hey Shane! Yeah I really enjoyed “Branding”, really well put together! Good job man!
Yaro’s ebook is a must read also, he has lots of experience, and it shows in his ebook and on his blog!
Mine will most probably be around 35–45 pages, there’s a lot of stuff I wanna cover, I can’t write 100 pages a day either hehe :)
I’ve seen johnchow write an ebook too but it was actually just a ‘collection’ of his past posts before.
IMO, 50-100 pages is good enough.
Hi Robinson Go! I’ve read John’s ebook, and it’s really well-done, but I liked “Branding” and “Blog Profits Blueprint” ebooks way more, I liked the profesionnal “feel” of those 2 ebooks. John’s ebook is great though, he’s really good at what he does, but I don’t want to replicate what he does and walk the same path. So I had a lot more fun reading Shane and Yaro’s ebooks ;)
I’m thinking between 35-45 pages, but it may be more than that, I’ll see how it evolves, maybe I’ll “need” to break it into sections more, and depending on what graphics I put in there, it may be a little more than 45 pages. Thanx for your input!
Very interesting…I have found it hard to get into reading on the net…but, you make it sound very interesting. Maybe I will give it another try!
Hi Moondanzer, fellow blogcatalogger! :)
Well I sometimes feel the same way as you, and I just print ‘em out and read them like “real” books, just a suggestion hehe
I say go for it Jon, just make sure you ask yourself one important question before you invest too much time -
“What exactly do you want out of it?”
If it’s just the experience of writing a book and being read, then no worries, get something out there.
If you want to build traffic back to your blog you better make sure there is some congruency between your book and your blog so readers find both relevant.
Answer that question and things will be clear for you.
Yaro
Hi Yaro, well you ask the right question, what do I want out of it? Of course, since I’ve never wrote an ebook before, the experience and having people read it is already, for me, a big thing.
I really want to write that ebook on “social networking” and “conversational blogging”, but I think that relates more to who I am, myself, than the actual topic(s) of my blog, though I mention a lot the importance of conversations and engaging discussions and adding value to posts and all that, so a lot of my readers would probably see this ebook like “what the guy behind smartwealthyrich.com think is that blogging is all about conversations, and social networking is important to the success of a blog”, so in a way it would be congruent.
Yaro I value your input a lot! I’m happy you took the time to reply to my post and give me your input, it is greatly appreciated! ;)
Sounds a good idea, I would read it. Is it going to be purely factual or are you going to include your own personal stories, experiences in it?
Hi Mike, well I will definitely include my own stories and experiences, but will of course make it so that it’s not only stories, but also factual infos to complement.
I’ve downloaded Yaro’s eBook, but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. I’ve read Shane’s, and think it’s very well done……would recommend it to anyone.
Jonathan - I think you picked probably one of the best topics for you……social networking. When I visit MyBlogLog, or Blog Catelog, or any social site for that matter……dude you are everywhere. I see your photo on tons of blogs I visit that have the badge in the sidebar as well. I would definitely assume you’re an expert!
Hey Anthony, thanx a lot! Yeah I think social networking is a good idea, and also “conversational blogging”.
Am I everywhere “that much”? hehe