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Do you harbour a dream of becoming a published writer but fear sending anything to a publisher because you know what the odds are? If so, read on because the publishing world has changed. While it still takes patience, practice and several draughts to get to a final manuscript, it’s never been easier to get published. As blogger and publisher Leo Babuata puts it: ‘We are living in the most exciting time in history to be a writer.’ Writers have opportunities like never before.

Ebooks – solve a problem that people want solved

There’s no need to be afraid of publishing online. As Leo Babuata says: ‘Many people are intimidated by publishing an ebook, or put it off for months (or years) because it seems too hard. It’s not.’ He says it can be as simple as gathering your best available information on solving a problem.

You might not have to look any further than your existing blog for inspiration. You could refine what already exists, gather readers’ questions and answer them. ‘I’ve done this and written an ebook in just a few days, by keeping the scope of the problem very limited,’ continues Babuata.

He adds that you could start with a 10 to 15 page ebook and expand this into a series of book or one larger book. Alternatively, you could create a digital package by including video and audio. You can carry on working on your offering and continue to expand even after you’ve put your product out there.

Publishing – keep it simple

Publishing is a simple job once you’ve finalised your content. Babuata explains that you can use a Word program (or Pages if you’re working on a Mac) then publish your ebook as a PDF. You can expand into other formats once you’re up and running.

Don’t worry about things like Kindle, video, audio and epub in the beginning. ‘Publishing an ebook or digital product can be very complicated if you make it so, but it doesn’t have to be,’ adds Babuata. It’s all about keeping it simple and getting your ideas out there.

Marketing – keep it real

The advantage of ebooks is that you don’t have to worry about printing costs, shelf space or rejections slips. But that doesn’t mean you have to put your energies into internet paraphernalia instead. Mailing lists, landing pages and launches aren’t always necessary.

Landing pages ‘can be nothing but a simple list of what you get when you buy the product.’ You don’t need to bombard readers with pop ups, mailing lists, social networking budgets, ads and widgets. ‘Don’t do any of that, and instead, give them what they want and get out of their way,’ adds Babuata.

The aim is not to try and convince people to buy what they don’t want. Babuata believes that it’s all about building trusting relationships. Once people trust what you produce, they’ll want more from you and that doesn’t require much selling.

Tags: writing