An eBook is an ELECTRONIC book - a file containing all the information that a hard book would contain. eBooks are downloaded directly from a secure library online to YOUR computer.
The most common file format for an eBook is a PDF which can be opened in Adobe Reader (a free PDF reader), however, you will be doing the actual "design" of your eBook in a word-processing program like MS Word (a part of MS Office).
If you have a complex design that includes lots of illustrations, you may wish to use a desktop publishing program such as PageMaker or Quark. Also, if you want to add more features to your PDF document, such as hotlinked URLs, forms, or pages imported from other programs, you should purchase the Full Version of Adobe Acrobat. It is well worth the price, particularly if you expect to create more than one eBook. More in Step 6.
Now, the paragraph above is beyond the scope of this eBook guide. Since MS Word is the most commonly used word processing program, this guide will focus on formatting in MS Word.
Now, with all that said, let's get started.
Choosing a Topic
It goes without saying that you should pick a topic you believe other people would be willing to part with their hard earned cash for. It should not be a subject overly done or where there are already vast amounts of useful information already available. Often times, finding a small niche audience willing to pay for your information is better than trying to compete with dozens of other more common subjects.
List all of the Topics in which you are knowledgeable
To help you find a topic, make a list of all the things you could confidently write about. Do you have hobbies or skills that others would be interested in? Do not make the mistake of assuming that because you are knowledgeable about a particular subject, others are too.
Find a Niche
The trick is choosing a niche. Do not write a book which appeals to everyone. Focus on a specific area and you are on your way to success. Why? Because when you target a niche market, you already have a pre-qualified market ready to buy your products.
What information do people want? The answer to these questions, and others, should be your main focus. You need to focus on what they don't have, sometimes you even have to tell them what it is that is missing and why they need it, and when you give it to them, they will reward you financially. Don't be discouraged if the niche is already quite popular, this could be an advantage to you. A popular niche is proof that there is already a market, and money to be made. Just be sure that your product is superior to the competition or has a differing twist.
Research the Chosen Topic
After choosing a specific area of interest as the topic of your eBook, the next step is to spend a reasonable amount of time researching that topic. How much time, you ask? It really depends on how much you already know about the topic. What is important here is you want to be an expert in your chosen niche. At this stage, it is easy to get lost among the huge bank of information on the internet. So it is very important to get organized.
While researching your subject, collect all the information you possibly can, and put it into a specified folder on your computer. Then when you feel you have all the information you need, you can proceed to bring it all together in an organized manner. This will make your eBook much higher quality, fluent, and easy to read.
Go to Wordtracker or Overture and see how many times people a month were looking for what you want to write about. This will give you an idea if it is a viable product. Also do a straight search in Google and Yahoo for your keywords, and see what turns up. Investigate some of the sites, you may be surprised that you have a completely different slant on the information you want to present in the eBook