How To Structure and Format an E-book
E-books let Freelance Writers Sell Their Writing Direct to Readers
Jan 10, 2009
Many Freelance writers have a wealth of material that they are not making use of…
- Old articles
- Research material that never made it into an article
- Material that was written but never used
- Knowledge
- Experience
Other writers may already have books which they have written, but which they have been unable to place with a publisher. An E-book can be a way to start making use of that material, reaching readers direct, and receiving 100% of the payment for little or no outlay.
E-books Are Ideal for Niche Markets
Perhaps your book has a limited appeal for the general public, but a great appeal for a couple of thousand people. A publisher probably wouldn’t think it was worthwhile printing 2,000 books, but if a writer could reach just half of those potential readers – just 1.000 people -- through the internet, and sell their E-book direct to them, that writer could make between 10,000 and 15,000 dollars - much more than any advance they could hope for from a publisher.
Choose an Effective Title
Selling your book direct through the internet means that the most important thing about your book will be its title.
- Don’t use word play
- Don’t be oblique
- Hit the nail on the head first time
It’s important that the words you choose for your title will be the words that someone using search engines would use if they wanted to find the information that you have to give them.
Structuring an E-book
Structure is dependent on your subject matter. Remember that you are responsible for the layout as well as the text. Always create a Table of Contents and a good Index.
A collection of recipes will require that you…
- Select a rigid format for presenting a recipe
- Make sure that you replicate it each time.
Most ‘How To’ books or ‘Self-help’ books will follow a pattern that takes the reader through a process from beginning to end.
- List the steps in the process.
- Keep the steps small and logical.
- Give the steps titles and make these the chapters in the book.
- Expand the material in each chapter, taking care to avoid the temptation to pad it out.
A short E-book, realistically priced and packed full of useful information will be better for your credibility and reputation in the long run.
Approach the writing of each chapter as you would an online article.
- Keep paragraphs short and snappy.
- Break up the text by using headlines.
- Make use of bullet points and numbered lists to keep the text easy to read on a screen
Formatting An E-book
Use a word-processing program such as MS Word or Pages which will allow you to save your file as a pdf.
- Format the pages to 6 x 9 inches, like a large sized paperback.
- Make – or comission someone to make - a simple cover design.
Layout and numbering should be as follows
- Cover Page – no page number
- Title Page – no page number
- Copyright Page – no page number
- Dedications – numbered with roman numerals
- Table of Contents – numbered with roman numerals
- Introduction – start regular numbers
- Main body of book – regular numbers continue to end of book
- Index
- About the Author
Selling and Marketing
Selling your book online can be done direct through your website - an essential for every freelance writer - using an online payment facility such as Paypal.com and delivering the pdf of your book by E-mail to the buyer.
Marketing your book can be done through social networking sites, your own blog, and through article writing.
Copyright and Reproduction Issues
The copyright in your form of words exists by establishing your copyright at the beginning of the book. It is possible to create a secure pdf file, but in reality it’s probably not worth it. Hard copy books are passed from one person to another, or sold second hand with no extra payment to the author. It is possible that people might pass your pdf book from one person to another. It is probably best to be philosophical about this and hope that it will create good publicity for you, and make a name for you in the long run.
Always make sure that your E-book contains your website address prominently displayed!
More information about creating and selling E-books can be found here
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