How to Create an Ebook: Tips, Strategies, and Free Tools

By Kaleigh Moore October 26, 2023

Ebooks have been round for the reason that daybreak of the digital age. 

However that doesn’t make them a relic of the previous.

If something, ebooks are getting hotter. Since 2011, e-book readers have risen to their highest ranges: 30% report studying one previously 12 months. And that’s greater than the speed of audiobook listeners (23%).

The biggest class of readers? Those that learn each bodily and digital books.

And why not? Ebooks are handy; you may learn them wherever. You may simply distribute them for all types of causes, together with:

• Direct gross sales (providing an e-book for a reduced worth in comparison with a tough copy ebook)
• Lead magnets (utilizing an e-book as a free reward for signing up for a e-newsletter)
• Establishing thought management
• Fulfilling your dream of turning into an writer

However no matter your motive for creating an e-book, you gained’t get off the bottom till you recognize the whole lot there may be to learn about ebooks. Particularly if you understand how to create an e-book at no cost.

The excellent news: you don’t should be an skilled author.

You simply want a step-by-step method for brainstorming, drafting, and modifying your e-book till you’ve polished it to a effective sheen.

On this publish, let’s deal with the whole lot from the summary (how do you give you matters?) to the nuts and bolts of constructing an e-book that appears nice on any trendy system. Right here’s what you’ll must learn about the best way to create an e-book.

Writing the e-book: concepts, brainstorming, and drafting

All of it begins with an thought.

In Eric R. Asher’s case, he was a gifted suspense and concrete fantasy writer. He’d even discovered illustration with a literary agent.

However Asher had one downside. His most up-to-date work was, in response to his agent, “unpublishable.”

At the present time, the phrase “unpublishable” has by no means been so subjective. Asher knew that. So Asher turned to Amazon and the world of self-publishing.

Utilizing e-mail advertising with AWeber, Asher created an e-mail listing, providing a free ebook obtain for brand new subscribers.

Subsequent emails (despatched robotically by means of AWeber) additional introduce his readers to his different works.

It labored so effectively, Asher began working all types of his ebook promotions by means of AWeber.

The important thing all comes again to the thought behind it. Asher had a pre-vetted match between his established viewers and the contents of his newest e-book.

And not using a related match, you may’t make sure that your e-book will resonate with your viewers. So earlier than you place the pen to the pad—or, on this case, the keyboard to the desk—you want a great match between what your viewers needs to listen to and what you’re saying.

Producing concepts to your e-book

The first step: discover your area of interest

Your area of interest is the precise subject or viewers you wish to work with. For Asher, it was a literary area of interest: suspenseful city fantasy. 

That’s a distinct segment with particular attraction to a neighborhood of readers. If Asher had offered his ebook as generically “thrilling,” there’d be no telling who the meant viewers was. 

However for those who don’t have a longtime viewers, you’ll want some methods to establish your finest area of interest.

Right here are some things to bear in mind as you choose the precise e-book viewers you wish to work with:

• Keep away from a generalized viewers. “Health,” for instance, is extra of a market than a area of interest. You need to discover your particular attraction throughout the health world to face out. For AWeber buyer Alycia from Zumba with Alycia, which means particular notes on making probably the most out of Zumba lessons.
• Particular, however not obscure. What if Alycia had niched her viewers down even additional? “Zumba for ladies aged 25-34, who earn between $50,000 and $100,000 per 12 months, and stay within the northeast” is perhaps particular—however unnecessarily so. In case you begin shooing away potential e-book readers, you is perhaps getting too obscure.
• Discover the issue you wish to clear up. Take the instance of Paula Rizzo. She was struggling to search out objects to fill her condo, so she determined to get proactive in organizing her priorities. The outcome was Listful Considering, a useful ebook for individuals who have an excessive amount of on their plate.

Step two: brainstorm niche-relevant concepts

Brainstorming could be greater than sitting in a chair and considering. Ideally, it will likely be excess of that.

There at the moment are AI and search engine optimisation instruments to hurry your brainstorming classes alongside, together with:

• ChatGPT: you fill in a easy immediate and ask for concepts, and it spits a listing proper again at you. Even for those who dismiss many of the concepts, there’s an opportunity one or two will mild a spark.
• Ahrefs: Use key phrase and search engine optimisation instruments like Ahrefs to establish the highest traits in your area of interest, providing you with concepts for ebooks your viewers is already trying to find.

Don’t rely on AI or search engine optimisation instruments. However do put them to work. They’ll show you how to flip imprecise hunches about what sort of subject may work finest for you…and switch them into definitive concepts with construction.

What for those who’re nonetheless struggling to give you concepts?

Begin with a giant idea: perhaps you wish to assist folks grasp their funds. You simply don’t have your e-book’s specific “hook” but.

You can too use methods like thoughts mapping to work from a giant subject, after which department off into smaller matters through which you’ve got some experience. 

Or you may run searches in your personal social media posts. On X (formally Twitter), go to search-advanced and have a look at your highest-performing tweets about your favourite topics. 

Now learn by means of the feedback. What are the frequent ache factors persons are citing? Or which matters appear to resonate probably the most together with your social media viewers?

Observe these breadcrumbs. 

There’s likelihood an e-book subject is ready on the finish of them.

Constructing the e-book’s content material

As soon as you recognize what your e-book is about, it’s time to fill it with partaking content material. 

The trick is arising with angles that individuals haven’t heard earlier than.

Your first step? Interview folks. Search for particular tales and case research.

Possibly you already know folks in your area of interest who can provide distinctive insights. However this isn’t a requirement. You can too run social media searches for matters in your area of interest and ask folks for those who can interview them.

Subsequent, assemble your analysis. 

Look by means of the present notes, articles, and books you’ve already drawn inspiration from. Begin bookmarking and highlighting the perfect factors. Save probably the most salient ones right into a bodily folder or a Google Doc.

That is just like the Ryan Vacation note-taking technique.

Vacation, a prolific nonfiction writer, says he did analysis for 3 New York Occasions bestsellers in his “spare time.”

One technique he makes use of is the “frequent place ebook.” It is a ebook of quotes, sentences, tales, and different tidbits he can draw upon for materials.

He organizes these tidbits by themes and concepts. Every time he wants an instance or an perception, he returns to his “frequent place ebook.”

Lastly, you may search for tales. 

In “Atomic Habits,” the bestselling ebook by James Clear, he begins most chapters with a demonstrative instance of the precept he’s about to clarify.

As an illustration, he opens the ebook with an anecdote in regards to the profitable habits of the British biking workforce within the 2000s.

Don’t assume you should be credible as an authority in your area of interest to get your concepts throughout.

Draw upon different sources because the demonstration of your key concepts. Arrange your ideas by these key concepts, then let the storytelling method unveil and unwrap every thought with its personal distinctive taste.

Deciding what your e-book will appear to be

When you’ve began analysis, you’ll begin to get a way of the fabric you’re working with.

Now it’s time to determine what kind that materials will take.

What’s going to your e-book look like? 

• Will it have a number of visuals, together with charts, graphs, and footage? Or do you wish to depend on textual content and storytelling?
• Will you design an e-book primarily based on an e-book template, or will you generate a template as you go?
• Or perhaps you haven’t any thought.

In case your reply was “C) I don’t know,” don’t fear. You may draw upon some current templates to suit the e-book’s construction to the analysis you’re assembling.

Useful resource compilations, for instance, could be enjoyable “listicle”-style ebooks. Possibly you’ll use a easy format like a novel software or tip for every web page. 

• Frequent titles is perhaps “XYZ Greatest Practices for Making Your First Sale” or “5 Ideas for a Newbie Weightlifting Routine.”

Story-rich ebooks, and even fiction, are easy sufficient. Your e-book ought to emphasize fundamental readability for giant swaths of textual content and dialogue.

• Some titles which may work? Symbolic phrases you pull from the ebook can trace at a key occasion within the story. 

How-tos and tutorials ought to function simply accessible, step-by-step guides. These usually come full of illustrations, which makes correct formatting the emphasis right here.

• Frequent titles embody “What You Have to Know About [Niche].” Or you will get artistic, as Mark Manson did along with his ebook “The Delicate Artwork of Not Giving a F***.”

Interviews and case research can embody a mixture of illustrations, graphics, and storytelling. Chances are you’ll even undertake a magazine-like method of together with visuals alongside the examples.

• You should utilize a symbolic phrase right here, or create one which summarizes your method. “Atomic Habits,” for instance, makes use of the “atomic” metaphor to trace at small-but-powerful modifications, because the ebook explains.

Draft the e-book with the format in thoughts

Does it sound like placing the cart earlier than the horse?

That’s okay. Drafting the e-book with the format already in thoughts may prevent lots of pointless complications.

For instance, if you recognize you’ll use a listicle type for a lead magnet e-book, your analysis and drafting ought to mirror that.

It’s far much less environment friendly to draft your e-book first, after which resolve its total form throughout modifying.

To make the drafting course of as easy as potential, stick to those fundamental steps.

Construct a top level view

Utilizing the analysis you’ve performed, it is best to have arrived at a number of themes. Listed below are a number of potential methods to arrange them right into a agency plan:

• What concepts are sturdy sufficient to have their very own sections? Begin categorizing your analysis by these themes. These may very well be particular person chapters, and even whole sections.
• After you have a number of of these, what order is smart? When you have a listicle-style e-book in your fingers, you’ll have to incorporate some suggestions earlier than others for context. Some suggestions could require constructing on others; present the foundational suggestions first.
• If all else fails, begin with probably the most compelling tales and case research. Possibly your e-book is a unfastened assortment of insights. Begin with the insights you imagine will “wow” your readers probably the most.

Write!

An empty web page. A blinking cursor. 

There’s no extra avoiding it: it’s drafting time.

In case you’re studying the best way to create an e-book to promote to your viewers, you’re going to wish unique content material. You’re going to wish an e-book definitely worth the worth of admission.

However drafting doesn’t should be the scariest a part of the method. Listed below are a number of suggestions for getting the writing finished as effectively and painlessly as potential:

• Work on the cloud. Failing that, recurrently again up your progress. Google Docs, for instance, robotically saves for you. Different instruments, like Scrivener or Reedsy ebook editor, could be useful to individuals who battle to remain organized.
• Work in milestones to remain motivated. In case your purpose phrase depend is 25,000, ending a 1,000-word part gained’t be very motivating. Give your self weekly and even each day milestones to maintain up the sensation of regular progress.
• Don’t let perfectionism sluggish you down. As writer Jodi Picault stated: “you may’t edit a clean web page.” Even when one thing strikes you as “off,” merely make a remark to edit it later.

If that also proves overwhelming, you may all the time outsource the drafting.

However perhaps you don’t wish to know the best way to create an e-book at no cost; you simply wish to get it printed.

Rent freelance writers on Upwork or Fiverr to finish some—and even all—of your e-book. Or experiment with instruments like ChatGPT for drafting strategies.

When completed, lean on instruments like Grammarly (AI edits and strategies) or Hemingway (readability check). 

Nonetheless not happy together with your e-book? You can too subcontract an editor to get an additional pair of eyes in your draft.

Publishing your e-book: design, publishing, and advertising

You’ve bought the phrases down. Now you’ve got a strong useful resource able to distribute to the lots. Only one little hiccup:

Nobody’s going to learn it in the event that they by no means hear about it.

And even when your viewers hears about your e-book, issues accessing the file can get in the best way. 

Your e-book must be straightforward to search out, straightforward to digest within the buyer’s most well-liked medium, and straightforward to learn as soon as downloaded.

Let’s be sure you’ve bought all of your bases coated.

How you can get an ideal e-book cowl

Everyone knows we shouldn’t decide a ebook by its cowl. But it’s exactly what readers do.

Your e-book isn’t essentially a tangible ebook your prospects can maintain of their fingers, however cowl will convey professionalism and worth. In case you’re promoting an e-book—and even if you wish to use it as a lead magnet—your cowl ought to mirror the standard content material it comprises.

But you don’t should be knowledgeable designer, both. Listed below are a number of methods you will get your e-book’s cowl as much as snuff:

• Outsource it, utilizing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. If you wish to see a number of iterations, 99Designs helps you to publish a challenge and assessment designers’ entries first.
• Defer to AI. Join Midjourney, and AI can provide you a number of iterations of e-book covers for a month-to-month subscription price. You can too select from 4 iterations to assist the AI zero in in your favourite ideas.
• Use templates. Canva’s on-line e-book maker options pre-existing templates. Experiment with fonts, colours, and illustration parts to construct the e-book cowl your self, at no cost.
• Use DIY Ebook Covers, which incorporates e-book templates which are really easy, you merely choose them and edit the textual content to insert your title.

Prepping the e-book for publishing

Utilizing the instruments above, you may craft a stellar e-book cowl with out being knowledgeable designer.

However the within the ebook can get a bit of difficult.

The within of the e-book ought to look clear, skilled, and readable. And that’s not arduous to attain as of late.

What is arduous to attain? An e-book that appears equally lovely and readable it doesn’t matter what e-reader the shopper is utilizing.

Fortuitously, you may defer to those publishing instruments to maintain the type constant:

• Calibre is an open-source e-book publishing software. Use it to transform your Phrase and PDF information into ebook-ready codecs, like EPUB or MOBI. (Notice: e-readers just like the Amazon Kindle work with .mobi information.)
• Sigil is an e-book editor you should use to publish on to the EPUB format. As with Calibre, you may import textual content paperwork to transform to ebooks.
• Reedsy helps you to write throughout the software program, then save on to PDF or EPUB. It additionally features a author and reader neighborhood for distributing your e-book as soon as it’s prepared.

At this level, you’ll additionally want a Desk of Contents (TOC).

If utilizing one of many instruments above, you may create the TOC with hyperlinks immediately in a phrase processor like Phrase or Google Docs. 

To maintain it as straightforward as potential, use constant header types for chapter titles. For instance, in Google Docs, perhaps your chapter titles are “H2.” Then merely publish to the brand new format with these instruments, they usually’ll protect your hyperlinks.

TOCs are particularly helpful for readers with particular ache factors. In the event that they’re downloading your e-book as a lead magnet, they could use the TOC to zoom proper to the part that addresses what they’re going by means of.

How you can create an e-book in Canva

Earlier on, we talked about Canva as a useful resource for constructing your e-book cowl.

But it surely seems you are able to do it all in Canva.

Cowl pages, engaging coloration schemes, deciding on typography, including visible parts—it’s all right here. There’s a whole part in Canva to steer you thru the steps concerned. 

Consider it as e-book design for dummies. 

These templates are helpful as a result of Canva helps you to copy/paste your content material immediately. You can too select from a handful of pre-designed graphics to spruce up every chapter heading.

As you’re employed, Canva will robotically save your progress.

When you’ve discovered the best way to create an e-book in Canva, obtain the file within the applicable format, immediately from the platform. There’s nothing to pay to Canva except you utilize premium parts options. However these are luxuries, not requirements.

Reviewing your e-book and prepping for publishing

Obtain.

When you click on that button, you’ll be excited. You’ll be tempted to share your masterpiece with the world. 

So right here’s the toughest step: sleep on it.

Irrespective of how arduous you edit, there are going to be errors. They usually’ll be tougher to repair after you publish it.

Ship your e-book to some loyal readers, or household and pals. See if they’ll spot any apparent errors. Solicit their suggestions, then make any last-minute modifications to the draft itself.

And when you’ve used instruments like Canva or Calibre to obtain your e-book in a brand new format, give it a look. Studying it in a brand new format gives you a recent perspective.

Any apparent errors? Evident errors? Extra context it’s good to throw in on the final minute?

Now’s your final likelihood.

Create an e-book folks will love

From selecting a distinct segment and thought era to sharpening your final file to a effective, shimmering gleam, constructing your first e-book will sound like coaching for a marathon.

However don’t fret! There are nice free instruments, from ChatGPT to Canva, that will help you alongside the best way. 

And when you’re finished, you’re finished. You’ll have an e-book you should use to drive e-mail signups or promote immediately. 

Plug it into AWeber as your lead magnet and watch as your e-newsletter grows. You’ll by no means should carry one other finger because the e-book—and your e-newsletter software program—does the remainder of the work.

However if you wish to earn money off it, there’s only one extra step. Discover ways to promote your e-book to reap the advantages of what you’ve simply achieved.