How To Write And Sell Your Own Craft Ebook

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Introduction

This is not an exhaustive exploration of the ways you can produce and sell an ebook on line. There are far too many combinations to give adequate coverage to each.

What I can show you is a system that I know works. It's relatively cheap to set up and hundreds of people use it. That's not to say that other methods don't work, it's just that I know this one has consistently produced results over several years.

This is not a get rich quick scheme and I make no guarantee of earnings whatsoever. You may spend months working on your ebook and not make a cent. Even if it's successful you will almost certainly not make a fortune.

Having said that, I know of one lady who made over $100,000 from her ebook so it is possible. It's uncommon, but it is possible.

But the chances are you're not entirely in it for the money anyway. Craft book writers usually start off with a desire to share what they know. They're not out to get rich and that's a very healthy attitude to adopt.

I don't mean to put anybody off trying. There's a huge sense of pride, achievement and satisfaction in creating your own book and pretty much anybody can do it. I just want to be honest with you right from the start. It's not easy.

The flip side is that when it all comes together, it's great!

Creating Your Craft Ebook

Well first, I suppose you're going to need something to put it together. Most word processors will do the trick and I guess Microsoft Word is going to be the one most people already have. If you use something else it's not a problem so long as it will perform two functions in addition to typing.

(1) It you must be able to add pictures and/or drawings. Some very basic word processors can't do this. If yours can't, you need to look at getting something else. I suppose it's possible to produce an ebook that is words only, but I would suggest that's not going to look so attractive to your potential readers.

(2) You must be able to create a PDF file. PDF is the format created by Adobe Acrobat and the majority of people have the PDF reader on their PC. Unfortunately the PDF reader can't actually create PDFs. You need to invest in a copy of the full software, available at adobe.com, but it isn't cheap.

Another alternative is to use an online PDF. If you do a search you'll find loads - a lot of them free. I can't recommend one because I haven't tried them all but most offer a free trial, so spend some time trying a few until you find the one that works for you.

Why PDF?

Every book on the CraftBooksNow.com site is available in PDF format. It's by far the most common ebook format and it can be read by any computer. In fact virtually every new computer in the world has the reader software as standard. There are other book-creating software packages but typically they can only be read by a restricted number of programs. Why make life more difficult for yourself - trust me, PDF is the way to go.

Now what about the actual writing?

Many people tell me they can't write - but it's just not true. If you can talk, you can write. Think about some of your favorite craft books. They're not dry and dusty, they're probably written as if the person is actually talking to you.

So that's the way to go. You have to be careful not to sound patronizing, or childish, but if you picture trying to explain what you're doing to a good friend that should help with the "tone" to adopt.

Then there's the amount of detail you. This will depend on your audience. Have a think about that for a minute. Who is your craft book aimed at? Is it a beginner's guide or is it for for people who you'd already expect to have a certain level of? If you're writing for beginners you probably need to go into some depth about tools and materials but if you're writing for more experienced craftspeople you perhaps don't need that.

This is arguably the most important part of the creative process and requires a good deal of thought. There are few successful craft books which appeal to everyone. "A Beginner's Guide" is not going to appeal to someone with years of experience and "Advanced Tips and Techniques" is probably not going to appeal to beginners.

So decide who your target audience is. If you've got information for both you can always write two books!

What separates the great books from the not-so-great?

The writing is important of course, but never underestimate presentation. If you flick through a book in your local bookstore which appeals more, one that's technically accurate but the pages of closely spaced type, or the one with ample photos of projects at different stages, useful illustrations, attractive photos of finished items?

So get out your camera! Take the best pictures you can. Create some drawings or get someone to do them for you. They don't have to be works of art so long as they're clear. Always ask yourself if you think your audience would understand. Show it to a friend to see if they understand, and be prepared to take constructive criticism. It's not easy having someone tell you that what you've spent hours on doesn't make sense but bite your lip and listen.

Then leave it alone for a day or two and come back to it fresh and examine what people have said without getting too personal. It's often difficult because it's your "baby", but people are almost invariably trying to help so try to see their point of view.

At the end of the day, if you still disagree go your own way - you're the boss!

Finally in this section, make sure you're not just regurgitating old material. You'll never be successful just copying someone else. If you've got an original twist on an old idea, that's fine - that's creating something new. If you're creating from scratch, so much the better.

So it's finally finished.

Some people write very quickly once they get the ideas together, some are slower.

However long it's taken you, it doesn't matter. It's not a race. The important thing is quality.

So you've finally got it all together, nice photos, explanatory drawings where necessary, you've spell checked it (twice) and you're ready to create your final PDF. There's one important final task however, a cover.

If you have some design flair - many craftspeople do - then you can create your own. If in doubt, get it done professionally. Searching the internet for "ebook cover" should produce people.

The point here is that like it or not the first impression is of huge importance. The content may be superb but if the cover is dull then your book will get bypassed. you're not sure what I mean, have a look through CraftBooksNow.com and look at the all the different covers there. Which attract your eye?

Don't forget to give some thought to the title. Which sounds more interesting "50 Knitting Patterns" or "Haute-Couture Secrets - 50 stylish new knitting designs"? Get creative, add excitement or exclusivity!

Done? Great - give yourself a pat on the back. You probably feel very pleased with yourself - and you should. Lots of people talk about it but never put the hard work in. You've actually done it.

Trouble is, at this point only you and maybe a coupe of friends know about it and while getting rich probably wasn't your motivation it would be nice to get some reward for effort, wouldn't it! So now we've got to get onto the selling bit.

Selling your ebook online

You can call it "promotion" or "marketing" or whatever, but you want someone to part with money in exchange for your ebook so that's selling.

And it's nothing to be afraid of. Many of you attend craft fairs where you sell your work anyway, so you'll be used to selling at "the sharp end" - customer-facing sales is the most difficult of all.

The good news with selling your ebook is that it's much easier. You can sell to people all over the world, any time of the day or night, and have your ebook automatically delivered. All you have to do is check your account in the morning to see how much money you made!

OK - maybe you won't make a fortune, but one of our ebook authors averages $30.00 to $50.00 per week. Not huge, but that is every week. Having put in the work at the start he now does nothing to maintain it - but the sales keep coming in. It's not a fortune, but it is an extra holiday each year and he's now working on another book so who knows where it might lead?

So what about the detail?

Well you need a website and domain name. We use and are happy to recommend Hostgator. Don't go for free webspace, it's just unprofessional. You need a name like www.greatestknittingbookever.com (or whatever is appropriate to your ebook) not www.myfreespace.somewhere.com/freespace/greatestknittingbookever.html

Once you've got your webspace you have to write your site - with just as much care as you wrote your ebook. This is your shop window on the world and you only have one chance to make a first impression!

There's no need to re-invent the wheel though. Never copy someone else's site, but go to www.clickbank.com and search their Marketplace for ideas. Don't just look for craft books but at different subjects and see the way sites are put together. There many similarities - a catchy headline, some explanation of the features and benefits and then the offer.

Add your own personality, of course, but look carefully at what other people are doing. There are too many things to go into here but study the sites in detail and see if you can work out what makes one more attractive than another.

Finally, still at clickbank.com, set up an account. Whilst there are dozens of ways to sell online, this is, in my opinion, the easiest and most cost effective. Follow Clickbank's instructions and they'll deal with the credit card processing and simply send you a check. Have a read of the site to make sure you understand it and also check out the "affiliates" offering - you can even get other people to sell your ebook for you!

I'm really only able to cover the briefest detail here of selling online, but if you read and understand the Clickbank site it's all you need to get started. It takes away the hassle, leaving you to get on with your craft - or your next book.

Selling a paperback or hard cover version.

It's tempting to wonder about selling a "real" copy of your book, and at some point you're almost certain to be asked for one. Producing them is beyond the scope of this article except to say that once again I'd put something like "print on demand" into a search engine. Be warned though, you're looking at considerable expense.

Personally, I'm sticking with ebooks - much less hassle (and much higher profit margins).

If any of this is a bit beyond you and you'd like professional help, CraftBooksNow.com offers cost-effective consultancy for all aspects of ebook creation and selling, from editorial to webmaster services. For an informal chat, without obligation, please use the contact form on our website.