How To Write A Book or Ebook In Weeks Not Months
Posted by Dexter Nelson: Tuesday, December 7, 2010 (5:07 PM)

How To Write A Book or Ebook In Weeks Not Months
 - Professional Tips For Faster, More Efficient Writing

 As someone who's published three books (and working on my fourth), writing can be a pain, however I finish writing my books in just a week or two, and not months. Here are a few tips that will help speed up the process.

First, don't do any writing until you have all of your research.

Many people will sit and try to write and figure out as they go. Very few have an outline, but no "meat" yet. The hardest part of writing any book isn't the writing - it's the development.

Always have an outline of what you want to write about from start to finish BEFORE you write.

Secondly, rehearse your content so that you get the feel of the book and how it will flow. I employ the use of a recording device and speak out what I want to say as I go down through my outline. As you do so, you'll find that you get ideas for new information, or remember points that you want to make - definitely write those down on your outline.

Thirdly, Pre-write. After you're done and you know how your book is going to flow, you have your notes, your research, and all of your details together, you pre-write your book.

This is where you simply write out the content for your book. Don't worry about page numbers, spelling and punctuation, format, or anything like that. The goal is to get out a readable draft.

After that is done, you proof read, correct and organize your book all at the same time. This last part is usually a few days for me because I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

As you go through, write down the page numbers of each section. This will eventually become your table of contents.
Once you're satisfied that the core of the book is done, have it proof read by a few people and get their feedback. A fresh pair of eyes is essential to writing good quality material.

Finally, while all of the information is still fresh, whip out your recorder and start creating your audio book, by simply reading back the book aloud.

As you do, you'll probably find a few things that you want to change or improve, however, unless it's a major problem, your goal is to get your book recorded with as little mistakes as possible. Every step takes me only a few days now that I'm used to the process, with exception to research. For me I can take two to three weeks, depending on how deep I want to go.

Some books, because of interviews, travelling, etc. can take months, however for most books, (like information products), it only takes a week or two. With that said, the research phase is often the longest, and it should be, because the more research you do, the better your book content will be. Don't skimp on the research!

I suggest using Microsoft Word when writing because it has automatic numbering features, page breaks, and really good tools for authoring.

How to make it an ebook?

I've been using a program called PrimoPDF (http://www.primopdf.com/) for years. After it's installed, from your word document you can select print. When the options for a printer comes up, select Primo PDF as your printer and click print. You will get a pop up that converts your Word doc to PDF format.

How Do I Publish My Book?

If you would like to publish your book, instead of spending thousands of dollars on a publishing company, I suggest Lulu.com and self-publish your book. I would also suggest that for maximum exposure, that you purchase a distribution package that will get your book listed in major stores online and offline, such as Barnes & Nobles.

What about getting sales?

 Getting sales is usually easiest if you already have a list of your own, or if you have a business with a solid customer base. If you don't, there are a few things you can do.

First, find others who are in the same profession or field as the topic of your book and form a JV (Joint Venture) with them. I usually offer 50% of profits of the sales they generate.

You can try creating a listing on Craigslist and Ebay, linking back to the publisher's store front where your book is listed.

If you are a member of any blogs, forums, or any community-based and social media sites, definitely update your profiles, tweet, Digg, and share your book information across those profiles. Also add your book information to your email signatures.

Another very good option is to create a website about your book content and do some SEO, (search engine optimization).

At the same time you can write articles, (all of that research and you should be as close to an expert as anyone else), and publish those for free across the web, and they should all point back to the url where readers can buy your book.

Last but not least on the list of free things you can do, go old school and write a press release to send to your local news. Authoring a book is a great accomplishment, and many local news venues such as newspapers and even television stations will publish your information as part of community news.

For help with search engine optimization, we have a Free Marketing Analysis and Search Engine Optimization service where you can better target your book and get higher search engine rankings.

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