Tag: writing
How to Write a User-Friendly eBook
Right now, someone, somewhere will be embarking on the writing of an eBook. Why? Some do it to make some money; itís one of the easiest ways to start an online business.
Others do it to share information they may have for those in similar financial, social or medical situations; maybe you want to share how you beat cancer or how you got out of debt.
Whatever your reason, there are some basic rules to consider that will make the final product more professional and. So, let look at some of them.
Anyone that embarks on writing an eBook will undoubtedly have read many as well. You will know from this that you must write in an appealing way that maintains the readerís attention. After all, you want them to read ALL your eBook donít you? Plus, youíll want them to come back for more if you are building an online business.
There are many tricks you can use to keep your readersí attention.
Anecdotes give practical examples of what you are trying to explain. These give readers confidence that what you are saying really does work. They are also a great way of explaining complicated topics.
Images are also a powerful tool. They can make topics clearer and they will stick in a readerís mind longer than 5000 words of text. They also break the eBook up and give the reader ìmarkersî to parts that interest them.
Note-boxes or sidebars are also good for summarizing a point or providing additional information. Like images, they break the text up and make the reading experience more enjoyable.
Write in a conversational style so the reader feels that you are talking just to them. This way they feel that they are the only one benefiting from your information and that makes it more valuable to them.
Donít write long sentences or paragraphs. They become difficult to read and detract from the experience. Your eBook is more likely to be put down and not picked up again.
You should also change the length of your paragraphs and sentences so you donít send your readers to sleep. Blocks of text that are all the same length will lose the readerís attention and youíll be lucky of they are awake by Page 10!
We mentioned earlier the use of images as a way of breaking up text. It may be that you canít use images to any great extent; but there are other tricks.
A very powerful one is the use of numbered and bulleted lists. Even with the most basic of word-processing programs you can include different types of bullets and even use custom pictures as bullet icons. These make your topic easier for the reader to absorb and also to give them a mental break from blocks of text.
Finally, think about the design of your eBook. Select a font that’s easy to read, and stick to it. You may be tempted to change fonts as a way of trying to make it more interesting. Donít. All it does is confuse your readers and they will switch-off.
I recommend either one and a half or double line spacing. Spacing the lines too far apart make it difficult for the reader to track where they are. Too close makes it dull.
Also, choose a font size that is in proportion to the line spacing you are using. You can get away with a larger font (say 14 point) with 1.5 line spacing but 8 point will look weird. Experiment with different combinations to find one that suits you but remember – what looks OK on the screen may look dreadful in print. Think about how your readers are probably going to read the final eBook (most print PDF eBooks ñ the idea of the paperless world is myth!).
Lastly, add page numbers and a header to each page with the title of your eBook. Iíve lost count of the number of times I have been infuriated by the number of eBooks that donít have page numbers. Also, adding a title in the header is a good way of reminding the reader what they are reading and who wrote it. Donít overcrowd headers and footers but use them wisely to give branding to the eBook (your company name or web address if you sell online).
Most importantly, don’t forget to do a proper spelling and grammar check. You can even go to somewhere like elance.com and get someone to proof read it for you (for a fee). Itís worth it to end up with a credible eBook.
Like it or not, you and your topic will be judged by the standard of spelling and punctuation. Donít shortcut on quality for fear of some criticism. Itís better to find out before it is published.
That’s it! By following the simple steps above you have just written your eBook. All that is left for you to do is publish it online and get visitors to your website so they can read it. But those topics are a whole new ball-game and best left for another day.
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Ebooks Are Raking It In
Have you always wanted an unlimited income that you didn’t have to leave the comfort of your own home for? Have you ever thought about becoming a writer, and publishing books? Well, many people have become well-known authors, and have made quite a bit of money writing books, but it seems that even more are making a lot more money writing ebooks.
Ebooks can be a very valuable asset. Let me just list a few of the reasons why they have become so popular. First of all, paper books take what seems an eternity to get published, not to mention that it costs quite a bit of money in printing, and postage, and handling, and stuff. Ebooks do not have a publishing cost, plus ebooks are digital. They can be emailed to your client directly, or they can download the ebook from your website, giving them instant gratification, which everyone loves. They are also digitally stored, so you don’t have all kinds of books cluttering up your house.
Ebooks also stay there, on the internet, indefinately, if you will, making money for you, while you sit back, on the beach, contemplating what you will be writing your next ebook about. That’s right, you can just relax while your ebook sits on your website, making you money. Many people are just raking in the dough from ebooks today. But, you will need to use some tools (there are links on my website to access these tools) to make sure that there is enough traffic being directed to your site.
There are all sorts of ways to bring traffic to your site, like writing articles, (like the one written here), using autoresponders, and buying mailing lists. My mentors, whom I have links to on my website, offer many tools and tips for driving traffic to your site. One tip is to build the customers trust, by offering plenty of free stuff. Free PDF files are a hot item to offer for free, because people can pass them around freely, appealing to more of a mass market. And any computer with Adobe Reader, (which can be downloaded for free), can read these types of files.
PDF files are also considered valuable to search engines, thus making it easier for customers to find your site.
There are many other ways to get traffic to your site, and many other methods of making money online, but writing ebooks is one of the easiest, and most profitable ways. For more information, please go to my website, and check out my links. If you register with my site, I will send you some simply amazing reports, with tons of invaluable information, all for FREE! Go there now! Take the step, learn something new. Learn something proven to make money!
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
How To Write Lightening Fast Ebooks
The quickest way the write you own eBooks is by using the expert interview process. What I mean by this is, approaching some experts in the field your writing the book on and asking them to agree to do an interview.
If you approach these experts correctly, they will provide you with expert responses to all your questions. You will find these experts by checking search engines or related niche forums.
The easiest way to contact these experts, is by email with a list of questions. Before you submit questions or contact your expert, do your research on him/her. You need to approach these experts correctly therefore you need to consider the following points.
Keep your questions short and too the point: You will turn the person off if you are asking long winded questions, long questions lead to long answers and you donít want your expert to spend too much time.
Give a good introduction of yourself at the start of the email. You will have a better chance of reply because the respondent can evaluate you.
Take care of spelling and grammar: One spelling/grammar mistake could destroy your chances of getting the interview.
Have a deadline: You must have a deadline. This will help you plan your writing better and it will force your respondent to reply quicker.
Object of the interview: You must let the respondent know what the interview is for. For example is it for an ebook to resell or a free bonus to give away.
Appreciate the respondent: Let the expert know that you are a fan of his/her business or website etc. This helps get a much more positive response.
Something in return: The responder has to get something in return. He/She is not going to give time to do the interview for nothing. An example of an offer would usually consist of offering to share the profits of the ebook.
So believe me when I say this, if you approach these experts correctly you could get a huge volume of feedback and enough material to combine a best selling eboook
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Old Reference Works Revived
Why are people so interested in outdated and outmoded reference, typically rendered obsolete by subsequent research?
There is no source of reference remotely as authoritative as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. There is no brand as venerable and as veteran as this mammoth labour of knowledge and ideas established in 1768. It numbered the likes of Einstein and Freud among its authors. Dozens of classic articles written by such luminaries are available on the Britannica’s Web Site and included in its CD-ROM and DVD editions.
This is the tip of an iceberg of revival of old reference works.
The full text of the venerable 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica is now available online and is in the public domain. Regrettably, there is no CD-ROM or DVD to be had of this opus magnum written by the best minds at the turn of the 20th century. Nor can one download the Encyclopedia as separate compressed files. Additionally, the transcription is far from perfect with many an article either truncated or mysteriously divided. Still, it is a grand and welcome undertaking.
Another sorely needed contribution is the Jewish Encyclopedia online. The only other project of this scope, the Encyclopedia Judaica on CD-ROM will be withdrawn from the market by January 2006 and is anyhow incompatible with any operating system later than Windows ME.
Exactly like the Britannica, the Jewish Encyclopedia was compiled at the turn of the previous century and, therefore, lacks any coverage of the important events that took place in the life of the Jewish people – from the Holocaust to the State of Israel. But, with 4000 years of history to go on, the Jewish Encyclopedia is still a vast, indispensable, and deeply researched resource. It is also better adapted to the technological constraints of the Web. Still, it, too, offers no way of acquiring the whole work: no CD-ROM or DVD, no downloadable compressed files.
By far the best among the three is the Catholic Encyclopedia. The 1904 edition of this magnificent work of reference is fully and freely available online. The commercial CD-ROM includes all 11,600 articles (which I found to be surprisingly objective and free of religious bias). But both the Web site and the CD contain reams of additional material: from the writings of the Church Fathers to numerous foundational texts in the history of Catholicism.
The Web site itself is rich, easy to navigate, expertly done – but not cluttered or cutesy. The CD is a faithful rendition of the Encyclopedia’s Web presence – yet not a mere mirror. It takes advantage of search and other CD-only features and is user-friendly, not resource-hogging, easy to install and to run even on the Windows 98 SE 1996 laptop I used as a worst-scenario test bench.
Why are people so interested in outdated and outmoded reference, typically rendered obsolete by subsequent research?
Nostalgia is part of the answer. These works of reference are refreshingly direct, politically incorrect, opinionated, and innocently naive. They are reminiscent of another, more promising, age. Curiosity is another reason. What did our forefathers know or thought they knew about heredity, nationalism, the atom, the Jews, and germs? It is startling to discover both how far we have progressed and how much we have forgotten.
Then there is the trivia. Mountains of little-known facts about long-forgotten people, countries, politics, arts, and crafts. It is the closest we can get to time-travel and, so it seems, equally exciting. By exploring our roots, we get to know ourselves and in this narcissistic age and civilization – who can resist such a proposition?
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
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