With outsourcing all the rage, here’s the smelly elephant in the room question:

Is it really possible to hire a ghost writer for a reasonable price and get a quality ebook written for you in the process?

Well the “gurus” make it sound like a cakewalk, but I think it’s more of a minefield if you don’t understand the hazards! I expect this FREE Mini-Report I just published will pull back the curtain for you! You can check it out for free here!

http://www.brandedfreereports.com/jump/r

Free Mini-Report:
“How do I hire someone to write my ebook for me?”
(How to hire a ghostwriter)

http://www.brandedfreereports.com/jump/r

Have a Happy New Year!

Jim

PS – let me know what you think of this Mini-Report format and if you’d like to see more

Join the discussion on our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/thenetreporter

Once you’ve picked a topic to write your ebook about, the next hurdle is what to write. In other words, what words and what perspective do you use to create the content in your word processor that will turn into an ebook you can sell, use as an opt-in bribe, or give away as a bonus.

The following 3 positions will help you understand the various perspectives you can take in creating your ebook so, no matter what your experience level, you can create an ebook worth buying and reading.

Ebook Author / Writer Position #1 – Be the Expert

If you know more than the average person about any topic, you can be an expert compared to them. The easiest way to create an ebook based on your expertise is to simply answer questions and compile them into an ebook. Go out and look on the forums for popular questions people ask. Look through your help desk or customer service emails to find questions people need to know the answers. Look at the questions other experts in your niche answer on their blogs, emails, and articles. Go look at ezinearticles.com to see the most popular articles in your niche and see what questions they answer. Being the expert is easy once you have a basic level of experience that is higher than your audience.

Ebook Author / Writer Position #2 – Be the Reporter

When I started out writing my newspaper column, I purposely named it “The Net Reporter” so I could write about anything. The name of the column gave me permission to report on anything on the Internet, whether I previously knew anything about it or not. Over the course of reporting on things, I learned and increased my knowledge… which enabled me not only to report, but comment and give my insights on what I saw and what it meant. If you take the position of the reporter, you don’t have to be the expert. Since you don’t have to be the expert, you can release your fears about not knowing everything and keep your ego out of the way. This is probably the easiest position for a new ebook author to take.

Ebook Author / Writer Position #3 – Be the Student

You can always write about what you see as you take action in a certain area. If you are doing something or embarking on a journey of discovery, it’s fine to document what happens and then publish it. You should be careful, however, of not treading on the toes of people you learn from. If you learn a technique in a book or class that is obviously proprietary to the person you learned from, then you need to give credit where credit is due… without divulging proprietary methods (and running the risk of alienating the person who taught you). The better way to approach this is to write simple about what you DO. A killer tip here is to keep a daily journal or blog as you go through something and then use those daily entries as the content for your ebook.

If, like most people, you choose a topic you know some things about, but not everything, then do a combination of all three. Write as the expert in your ebook for the things you know all the details. Report on the things you see going on related to the topic of your ebook. And, for the things you’re learning, let people know what you’re figuring out as you go along. This balanced perspective actually makes for some of the most exciting, engaging, and entertaining ebooks for both you and your audience. The number one thing to remember: no matter what your skill level, you CAN write an effective ebook with plenty of content once you decide which ebook author position(s) you’ll take!

If you want more detailed info about how to write and publish your own ebooks, check out this meaty Free Report entitled “5 Keys To Creating Money-Making Ebooks Fast!” – Claim Your Copy Here – Free! http://7dayebook.com/free-report/

We received this question about ebooks in our help desk not too long ago, and it struck me how the definition of “ebook” that we take for granted may not be the definition anymore for a lot of people!

“I’m finding the term ‘ebook’ kind of confusing! The main usage seems to be for books on Kindle, including full length works of established authors of conventional books – e.g. Stephen King. The other usage of the term is for works sold through Clickbank, etc. which are intended to be downloaded and printed out on a printer attached to a PC. Maybe this dual usage of the term is something Jim might think of covering in his blog or in an email?”

It’s ironic, because when I started in this business the term “ebook” was a new term for everyone. A lot of people have laid claim to coining the term, but it really doesn’t matter who thought it up. What does matter is that people’s definition or understanding of what an “ebook” is has had a direct correlation to their willingness to buy them or not.

Back in 1997, when I published my first ebook, I actually sold people the Word document (.doc) of the file. I didn’t know any other way to publish the ebook and so, that’s how I sold it. A customer emailed me and told me people could rip me off that way and I should try using a PDF file (portable document format) for use with Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.

At the same time, others were developing software to allow you to compile HTML pages into an executable (EXE) file that worked like a portable web browser on your PC. These “ebooks” were popular for some commercial ebooks because you could control access to the documents and lock them against unauthorized sharing. You could also add video, but since most people didn’t have high-speed internet access, that feature was of limited use. The downside of EXE ebooks is they don’t work on MAC computers.

So, for a number of years, that was the definition of an ebook for the majority of people: a PDF document OR a compilation of HTML pages in an EXE file that was either sold or given away.

Then in 2006 Sony introduced the PRS-500 (PRS standing for Portable Reader System and in 2007 Amazon introduced the Kindle. Both devices introduced the mainstream public to the ability to take “ebooks” with you on a portable device. What was previously the domain of geeks and tech savvy computer users was now literally in the hands of the masses.

Though it took another 3 years, the introduction of the Apple iPad, the explosion of smart phones, and the demise of the Sony product (still too geeky for the masses), the ebook had been forever transformed in the minds of the masses into an electronic book you can take with you on virtually any portable device you own.

Despite the history lesson, the question remains: what exactly is an ebook?

The answer: it depends on who you’re asking!

For some it can be a PDF file of anywhere from 5 to 500 pages (or more) you download, print off, and read that way.

For others it can be a special file you download and read on your Kindle, Nook, iPad or smart phone. That file can be anywhere from 5 to 500 pages (or more).

In the end, it really doesn’t matter what form it takes. An ebook is actually just an idea whose time has come and will NEVER go away (it just took a little longer from when I got started in 1997). An ebook is a way to share and distribute everything from full-length books to 5-page reports faster and wider than ever before in human history. And, since everybody seems to know basically what ebooks are and accepts the idea, it makes good sense that anyone who wants to make money in information marketing better get on the ebook band wagon – FAST!

Oh, before I forget… If you want more detailed info about how to sell your ebooks for HUGE profit margins, check out this meaty Free Report entitled “5 Keys To Creating Money-Making Ebooks Fast!” – Claim Your Copy Here – Free! http://7dayebook.com/free-report/

Everybody wants what they want and they want it NOW. If you want to write an ebook, you don’t want to take a year to do it. A week would be nice — and a day or two would be even better (thank you very much)!

So if you want to write an ebook FAST, you need to understand a key point: you must think in terms of “creating” an ebook VS “writing” an ebook. If you haven’t done it before (or even if you have), writing a “book” is a big, scary task that smacks of pain, suffering, and a lot of WORK!

But, when you think in terms of “creating” an ebook, it opens up a LOT of different avenues for you in your own mind.

The following 4 (four) methods are PROVEN to help you create original ebook content FAST. Choose the one that’s right for you.

1. Write as much as you can in 15-20 minute spurts. Even just 1 session a day will help you write your own, original ebook faster than by virtually any other method.

2. Make an outline of the points you want to cover. Do an hour-long teleseminar or webinar for a group of friends or business associates, record it, and have it transcribed. Use the transcription as your ebook.

3. Gather up the 15 or 20 most important questions your target audience is asking and answer them in an interview style format. Record the interview and have it transcribed.

4. Take those same 15-20 questions and, instead of recording audio, just answer 1 per day (M-F) for about 15-20 minutes in your word processor.

Note about transcriptions: idictate.com is a great way to get transcriptions done without hiring someone or signing contracts, but it’s not the cheapest (but it is the easiest).

BIG SECRET TO SUCCESS: No matter which method you choose, the key is to do a little each day and build momentum, rather than trying to climb the mountain all at once. If you haven’t done it before (or even if you have), writing a “book” is a big, scary task that smacks of pain, suffering, and a lot of WORK! But sitting down and writing a little bit each day is MUCH easier. Also, when you do it this way, your mind has plenty of time to think and plan when you”re not writing. So when you do sit down to write, your words and thoughts will flow much easier because your brain had time to put thoughts in order before writing.

Finally, doing a little bit each day will also help you build up your writing “muscle” — just like walking every day builds up your legs. Even after just a single week of doing it every day (writing or walking) you’ll find it much easier to get started and go longer and stronger as your confidence and competence soars.

Doing a little bit each day rather than trying to do it all at once is probably the most important and useful tip I could share with you if you’re serious about writing your own good, original ebooks quickly!

By the way, if you liked this article, you’ll LOVE this Meaty Free Report I just published on the top 5 questions and challenges every aspiring ebook author faces AND how to overcome them. It’s titled “5 Keys To Creating Money-Making Ebooks Fast!” and you can grab it for FREE here http://7dayebook.com/free-report/

Amazon Kindle’s new “Select” program allows you to get paid by Amazon for lending your book out to people without them actually purchasing it. You get paid out of a fund based on how many times your book gets borrowed compared to everyone else in the program. If your book gets borrowed 100 times and another person’s gets borrowed 1,000 times, they’ll get paid 10 times what you get paid out of the fund – regardless of the price of either book.

Now, to some this may sound like a great deal, but is it really?

Here’s the verbiage straight from Amazon’s website that should make you sit up and take notice.

“During the 90-day period of exclusivity, you cannot distribute your book digitally anywhere else, including on your website, blogs, etc. However, you can continue to distribute your book in physical format, or in any format other than digital.”

Now, if you’re planning to do absolutely NO other marketing, then it may be fine to include yourself in the program. But I personally don’t see an advantage to tying up my rights to sell my ebooks, especially from my own website.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers. Let’s say Amazon has 1 million books on Kindle and they all get borrowed 10 times. That’s 10,000,000 shares of a $500,000 pie each month. That comes out to each borrow “credit” paying a nickel. Now, let’s say you’re 10 times better than the competition and your book gets borrowed 100 times. That means you made a whopping $5.

Combine that with the fact that Amazon doesn’t give you customer information, email, etc. which means you can’t follow up, and the deal isn’t quite as good. So unless you have a darn good way to capture people out of Kindle books or you plan to only offer your ebook exclusively on Kindle and nowhere else (which I do with some of my ebooks), then the Kindle “Select” program may not be that great a deal.

Taking one last pass at the example above, let’s say instead of 100 people borrowing your ebook, you sold 25 of them instead. Which scenario puts you further ahead? Even at 99-cents, you’ll make more money, net more serious customers, and NOT tie up your rights to sell on your own website or anywhere else you darn well please!

Don?t get me wrong. I LOVE Amazon. I LOVE the Amazon Kindle program and I make a LOT of money from it (along with selling my other products on Amazon). But unless you are ONLY selling on Kindle, it may not be worth your while to try to get your piece of what seems like a great big pie, but in reality you’ll only end up with a tiny sliver of what you could have gotten otherwise with some basic marketing effort.

Still have questions? Here’s a link to the FAQ on Amazon Select for more and you can also read the terms of service for the program:

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A6KILDRNSCOBA