International Practice: Articles: How to Create and Sell an Ebook

By Biana Babinsky

Hello from the garden. This past weekend was warm, so I worked on my plants. They are not growing very evenly - the mesclun greens are growing really fast, and are so close together that I already had to thin them out. The result made for a wonderful addition to a salad this weekend. On the other hand, basil is not growing very quickly, and many seeds failed to take. So, I bought a new seed package and planted more basil this weekend.

As you can see, sometimes we need to make adjustments to our strategy after we put a plan in motion. When I planted the seeds I didn't anticipate that I would need to thin them and get extra seeds; however, I re-adjusted my actions as when it became obvious that my plan wasn't quite panning out.

The same thing happens when you create a digital product. If you followed Lesson 1 from the previous newsletter, you now have an outline, a topic, and an idea for the length or scope of your product. Now what? Start creating your product by putting your plan into action:

- Write an introduction. Since you, and not your readers, are the subject matter expert, set the stage and provide an introduction helps to make sure that your readers are on the same page as you are.

Introduce the topic, tell the readers "what's in it for them" - why they should care about what you have written and explain how the product is structured (if appropriate).

- Use your outline to create the rest of the product, but don't be afraid to make changes if required. While your outline represented your vision for the product before you actually started writing, your vision might change as you write. You might find that you wanted to use a wide variety of material, but instead opt for using less information but explore it in depth. Or, you might consider creating a real overview product, and add even more information.

While your outline is a good guideline, don't feel that you have to stick to it. Just like I had to adjust the plants and seeds, you might find that your final product needs more or less information than you wanted to use when you conceived your outline.

- Add some resources at the end - help your reader learn more about you and your business, or suggest follow up products and teleseminars.

- Put the entire product together - create a title page, add an index page and label the chapters/sections clearly.

- Have someone else proofread your work. Too often, we internalize material and read things as the *should* appear, rather than as they do appear, and we miss mistakes and typos.

- Convert the product into the PDF format. PDF is a universal format, and PDF readers are available for almost any imaginable computer system. PDF also has some built-in copy protection features.

Congratulations! You have now created a product that you can sell on your web site, give to your clients with purchase or give away to your newsletter subscribers.

About the Author: Biana Babinsky is the online business coach, consultant, author and entrepreneur. She works with coaches and consultants to help them fill up their practice, gain clients all over the world and create passive income streams. Visit http://internationalpractice.com/free_newsletter.html to subscribe to her newsletter full of tips about promoting your practice online.