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HOW TO LAUNCH A CAREER AS A FREELANCE E-BOOK WRITER
by Brian Konradt
Along with
blogging and SEO writing, writing e-books is one of the newest forms of
freelance writing. E-books involve a wide variety of subject matter and lets
you stretch your writing abilities, rather than being confined to low word
counts or narrow subjects. Because of this -- and because of the decent pay
rate and almost zero overhead -- writing e-books is both creatively satisfying,
and a lucrative one.
STRUCTURING YOUR E-BOOK
Writing
an e-book is different in both content and structure than writing an article or
a series of articles. An average magazine article of 2,000 words gives you time
to introduce a topic, develop it, discuss some of its implications, and
conclude neatly within the allotted word count. Shorter articles--maybe 400
words--give you a sentence or two of introduction, maybe three brisk
paragraphs, and a hint of conclusion. E-books, at a bare minimum, give you
eight single-spaced pages of material, or about 4,000 words. An e-book is going
to reach the thirty, fifty, even hundred-plus page range and contain many more
topics and sub-topics.
The vast length of an e-book precludes the
simple “introduction-development-conclusion” model that applies to
article writing. Instead, you have to develop sophisticated ways to lead your
reader through all topics in your e-book. This doesn't have to be a chore: in
fact, it's one of the most enjoyable, creative parts of writing an e-book.
For example, if you're writing about DIY home building, you can start your
first chapter with the topic “Materials and Planning,” then lead your
readers to the next chapter on “Building the Foundation,” and then to
chapters on wiring, walls, and roof.
If you're writing about the
history of soda, you may decide a different approach, moving chronologically
and focusing on a single "era-defining" soda brand per chapter.
The
structure of your book isn't just a "necessary evil": it determines the overall
flow of your argument, and should be well nailed-down before you start writing.
Once you start writing, you'll thank yourself for setting out a structure
beforehand: it's easy to lose your creative flow in a complicated topic, and
developing a good structure can keep you on the right path from start to
finish.
WRITING YOUR E-BOOK
In the actual writing,
avoid the temptation to pad; your audience can tell. If a chapter seems too
slight to you -- or if you just want the book to be longer -- add additional
information from your research and write a subsection or add another chapter.
There's no topic so narrow that you can’t expand it or use as a
starting point for another topic altogether. As long as you're not exceeding
your original chapter structure (or going off on tangents that don’t
relate to your topics), there's no reason not to include as much supplementary
material as possible. If it's all well-integrated with your topic,
supplementary material makes your book more comprehensive, more interesting to
a wider audience, and a better product.
If you're writing an e-book
for another individual, such as a corporation, or some other entity, you won't
have to deal with marketing the e-book. Just make sure the client is paying you
at or above your hourly rate.
MARKETING YOUR E-BOOK
If
you're writing an e-book for yourself, you'll need to do some work to market
your product. At the very least, your e-book should have its own home page,
preferably with some free content or even a sample chapter from the book.
Link exchanges are another good promotional tool. Find someone with a
web page that deals with the same topic, email the site admin, and ask whether
they'd be willing to participate in a link exchange. A link exchange means your
e-book's home site puts up a link to the related site's content and vice versa.
Many people will say yes to a link exchange, and it's a good way to connect
with a wider pool of online traffic (some of whom will hopefully buy the book).
If you have a number of different e-books, you can cross-promote them
in one another. If you have a blog, you have a ready-made audience of people
interested in your writing who might buy the book.
Finally, "portal"
sites full of e-books (similar to Amazon.com for traditional books) are the
closest approximation e-books have to a traditional bookstore, and a good way
to make your book known to the e-book audience.
THE GLORY OF E-BOOK
WRITING
E-book writing is a much larger undertaking than other
freelance writing projects. It involves the ability to develop a good chapter
structure, to stick to it, and to keep the quality of writing consistent (i.e.
never "padded") throughout the entire length of the e-book.
Once
you're finished, you have a substantial piece of work behind you, and one that
can earn you profits almost immediately and continuously through the e-book's
lifespan. If you can write clearly and effectively on a broad and interesting
topic, and if you can promote your work vigorously, e-book writing is one of
the best ways to launch a career in writing.
© B.
Konradt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Konradt has been
a professional freelance writer for over a decade. Visit his website at
BusyEntrepreneur.com (
http://www.busyentrepreneur.com ). Read more of Mr.
Konradt's articles at BookCatcher.com (http://www.bookcatcher.com) and
WritingCareer.com (
http://www.WritingCareer.com ).
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You may reprint
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