[Closed] writing an eBook - anyone done it?

an ex colleague left where I work to write a book a few years ago and said after the whole affair that it wasn't something you do for the money.

He always wanted to be a writer, and now a few years later he does it in his spare time having gone back to full time employment.

Another friend has had two books on the kindle store, 1st one was given away free (she got lots of mates to download it and write positive reviews, sometimes actually downloading and reviewing 10 or 20 copies a day herself using different username\computer etc) and the second she put up for 50p. Theory being that people will download the first and might like it, thus giving more chance for the second to sell. I don't know how this strategy works compared to just selling the first book to be honest, but again she wasn't really doing it for the money.

Not sure how this relates to eBooks, I guess it depends on why you're wanting to do it. If you love writing then go for it

[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Bent-Links-ebook/dp/B004QS995E ]Linky[/url] to samuri off here's book.

If he doesn't see this thread, drop him a mail.

Kok & Tvatt, Neil Gander who I think comes on here or did from time to time may be worth checking the archives

Yes, this is my book [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shaman-Snow-White-Consciousness-ebook/dp/B004YF1DUI/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 ]on kindle[/url] and [url= http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/the-shaman-and-snow-white-ayahuasca-san-pedro-shamanic-states-of-consciousness-and-certificate-18-healing/15581336 ]on ePub[/url].

I went down a professional route and had a company called Booknook do the actual creation after I gave them my manuscript. - http://www.booknook.biz

Other people seem to be able to produce their own books no problems, but mine has been produced to professional standards and I felt that I just did not have the coding skills to get it right. I also have contents, a index, and when I did try it myself the book ended up looking terrible.

They have very reasonable rates, especially for my book which was non fiction.

The other thing you will need to do is your own publicity. I have both [url= http://simonralli.wordpress.com/ ]a blog[/url] and [url= https://www.facebook.com/theshamanandsnowwhite ]a facebook page [/url](currently 284 members) and word-of-mouth is now beginning to build up, after having had one or two reviews in various places.

Any questions feel free to ask. I have also published the paperback myself on www.lulu.com - this is very cheap and they organise the distribution on Amazon.

If anyone wants to read a review there is one here:

http://psypressuk.com/2011/05/19/literary-review-the-shaman-and-snow-white-by-simon-ralli-robinson/

and there are a couple on the Amazon page now.

I totally agree about the motivation and the need to write for a love of writing, or in my case a love for my subject matter. Being an author though can certainly open doors, for example you get invited to speak at events and lecture etc.

My final piece of advance is to look at blogging. This helps get you into the writing experience and will help you form your thoughts. It will also help you build up a following and will help you to become respected in your field and will help you to market your book.

My blog The Transition of Consciousness - www.transitionconsciousness.org - has been building slowly but surely, and I am now able to attract guest writers as well as having my own articles there.

Text in word.

Save as HTML

Import in Calibre (Opensource, free eBook software that allows you to add the cover image and create the table of contents)

Export as .mobi file for Kindle store and .epub for essentially everything else.

Self publishing on Amazon is really easy once you have your account setup. Upload it to your self publishing account... set the price... wait 48 hours for approval and you are published!

if you need a tool try inDesign 5+
Also check out Seth Godin - made a lot of money on eBooks and this one is free. I think he has also written a guide to self publishing.

http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/free_stuff.asp

Thanks all really helpful. I've seen a gap in a good sized market and don't believe that marketing the book will be an insurmountable task. I've published in paper before and don't see a need to give big % to a publisher - now I just need to write the bugger.

especially for my book which was non fiction

Now we could debate that Simon 😉

Heh - Castaneda may have been a fraud but I'm certainly not! I know you obviously think you know what the book is about, but on a certain level it is something very different 😀

And my bibliography says it's non-fiction!

http://simonralli.wordpress.com/bibliography/

The publishing bit is easier than you think - just follow the instructions on Amazon's site (all of the software is free). The difficult bit is researching and writing it. But the really difficult bit is choosing the font.
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dividing-the-Great-ebook/dp/B005U0OHTA/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_2 ]Dividing the Great[/url]

Just had my first proper magazine review in Resurgence Magazine! * gulp *

It's funny to see what people pick up on in a review when you think they may have focussed on other aspects of the book.

http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article3578-a-shamanic-quest.html

But it is also of course great to get feedback for the next writing projects too.

Apple to the rescue?

http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/17/do-we-need-a-garageband-for-books/