Fresh from another bout of Tweeting during one of the endless sessions of distraction that dominate my life, I was inspired by one of my more inspired peers in authorship, mumpreneur magnate and Strawberry Communications’ Johanna Baker Dowdell (who has an English husband, Harvey, which makes her doubly ace) to write a bit about writing a book.
We might yet get a separate mini blog off the ground about writing an eBook but since this topic has been hammered to death, we probably won’t. It sounds like a great idea and conversely another temporarily pleasing but ultimately crushing diversion from the job in hand of actually writing the blessed tome.
Writing a book is bloody hard work.
That’s the number one fact about writing a book out the way. I didn’t approach Sharing Superheroes from the conventional angle of mindmapping themes and topics, putting a rough content outline together, and then bashing the keyboard for a few months.
I originally thought about putting it up using Mediawiki so I could crowdsource amends before publishing it in print and eInk form. But then I realised I was using that as a weapon of distraction, and that the best way forward would be to actually write it, unhindered by technological ‘advantages’ (time-sappers/shiny things).
So the chapters are slowly coming together. I say ‘chapters’, but then denotes organised thought. As I mentioned to a pal earlier today, right now the book is more a set of useful stories unassisted by seamless segue or connections.
There’s clearly immense value in Sharing Superheroes.
Enough rambling
I want now to transition this article from narcissistic navel-gazer to informative and inspirational post. Something packed with useful resources for folks who are interested in writing their own eBook.
First thing first, the same rules apply to eBooks as any other method of content concierge for Sharing Superheroes. The work must ooze personality; it takes planning, your prowess, passion, and the other couple of Ps I omit to recollect momentarily that comprise your finest superhero.
Secondly, the book is your bible – once written, it provides an almost infinite number of inspirational ideas to share individually in every form, from podcasts to Slideshare presentations.
Thirdly, spend some quality time at the following URLs:
Advice
- How To Format Your E-Book (the Non Migraine-Inducing Way), by Catherine Ryan Howard.
- What is the real price of free? by Julien Smith, author of Flinch and Trust Agents. Julien’s #1 piece of advice – do it now.
- Organise your writing, J.K. Rowling style at Unclutterer.
- The Ultimate Book Marketing Guide at Firepole Marketing.
Resources
- Pressbooks and what Pressbooks is in Slideshare form (Slideshare – using that yet to demo your expertise? Do it!)
- Scrivener. Many say this could be the best $40 you ever spend. Scrivener is a ‘complete writing studio’, helping you to structure, revise, review and research your book. Having done it ‘a different way’ I’m inclined to agree…
- NEW: OmmWriter. If you, like me, need every help you can muster to focus, focus, focus, then one way is to block everything else out but the job in hand. Not only does OmmWriter take over your screen – it plays some soothing music to obviate distraction cold turkey. And it’s free, although a souped-up version is available.
Publishing tools
- Kindle Direct Publishing
- Smashwords.com
- Lulu.com
- Self publishing a book: 20 companies that will get it published at webification.com.
And finally, thanks to the awesome @jackiebarrie, this:
What tips and advice can you give to Sharing Superheroes thinking about publishing their own eBook?
About Dave Thackeray
