1. What's in it for
me? Define the purpose of your e-book
for you and your motivation for writing it. What is your reason for writing it?
What are your goals? (ex: you feel strongly about an issue and need to get it
off your chest.)
2. What's in it for
the reader? Define the purpose of
your e-book for your reader and what will motivate the reader to read it. What
are you trying to say? What do you want the reader to come away with? (ex: you
learned a valuable lesson from a mistake and want to advise readers what to do
and what not to do. You hope they can learn from your mistakes.)
3. Who is your reader? Define the age, gender, location, educational and
vocational status and as many other details as you can. Then when you write,
imagine one of your readers sitting in your office and write to him/her.
4. What is the theme of your e-book? Can you write one sentence that sums
up your e-book? Consider writing the e-book promotional material first. This will crystallize your ideas and focus you in on what's most important.
5. What do you hope to gain by writing this e-book? Fame? Passive income? Do you
want to give it away for free and make a profit? Do you want it to be the start of a whole info-product line?
6. How do you plan to use this e-book? Will you sell it to the general
public through your website and online bookstores? Will you seek out specialty markets? Are you
planning to use it as a promotional giveaway? Do you have a
website with other products where you can sell this e-book?
7. What is the tone and format of this e-book? Do you have a model of how
you want your e-book to look? Do you know how mamy pages it will be
and if you want illustrations or graphis? Will you write in a conversational or more
formal tone? Will you involve the reader by asking questions or having
action steps?
8. Will you write and edit alone? Do you plan to have a collaborator, a
ghostwriter, or an authority to collaborate with? Will you have the
e-book professionally edited or proofread? Do you need ongoing support from
a coach or writing partner?
9. How much time do you have? Have you carved out a few hours every day
for writing? Can you delegate obligations and chores? Do you have an idea how
long it will take to complete the e-book? Do you think you can stick with it? Have
you built in a way to stay on track when distractions drag you away?
10. Have you checked the competition? Do you know if your subject matter
is popular or is it obscure? Are there too many e-books on the subject or does
yours have a unique angle? Are you filling a need or a special niche?
Andrea
Susan Glass, ghostwriter and copyeditor is owner of WritersWay (www.WritersWay.com). She helps service
professionals turn their expertise into info-products and e-books. To learn how
to transform your ideas into a book or e-book to create passive profits, sign
up NOW for her free webinars atwww.WebIntensives.com.
