A few months ago, I was asked the following question on Facebook:

Here is my response:

Publishing an e-book is actually a really simple process if one doesn’t over-complicate matters.  I’ve seen some clients whip through an e-book in a few hours while others take weeks and even months to produce an e-book.  Let’s first look at what an e-book really is.  An e-book is an electronic book that is generally delivered via e-mail and is usually a PDF file.  An example of a free, simplistic e-book can be found here: http://www.slideshare.net/erinblaskie/delegation-workbook.

Now, the process that we use to publish e-books goes like this:

1. Choose a topic. Choose something that is broad enough in scope but narrow enough in focus that it will attract a niche audience.
2. Lay out the content in a Word document. Most e-books start as Word documents while others start in Publisher or another fancy desktop publishing program.  However, Word works just fine!  Begin writing your content or copying / pasting your content into the order you would like it to appear.
3. Format and proof the content. Once you have your document laid out, it’s now time to proof it and apply first round formatting.  First round formatting includes things like header titles, bold and italics as well as bullets and other content items.  If you do not want to proof it or format it yourself, you can hire a virtual assistant to do this for you.
4. Add images where applicable. This is a good stage to go through your content and choose applicable images.  You can also have a graphic designer create and add custom photos or custom graphics if you need to illustrate something like a process or stats.  Stock photo sites have fantastic images to support the content you are discussing though and can usually be found for free or purchased fairly inexpensively.
5. Add a table of contents. At the beginning of your e-book, add a table of contents that links to the various heading sections located throughout your e-book.  If linked properly, when your document is PDFed, people can click the links inside of the PDF and be taken to those specific areas of content.
6. Add a cover page. Your first page of the e-book should be a cover or title page.  This should be designed by a graphic designer in a good print resolution.  Keep in mind that people will be printing it out so using all black or heavy colors could be intensive to print.
7. Add an about the author page and a call to action to the end. Publish your bio and photo at the end of the e-book and if it makes sense to do so, add a call to action.  This could be, “Contact us to get one-on-one coaching support with the material in this e-book” or, “Purchase additional books on our website at www.yourdomainhere.com.”
8. Proof and review the content one last time. Make sure to have a fresh set of eyes review the document if previously, you did the proofing.  This will ensure that all errors are caught and that the formatting looks pleasing to someone else.
9. PDF the document and save. You can choose whether or not you want to add security to your PDF (which would require people to have a password to open it) but otherwise, simply PDF the document and save it to your local computer.
10. Upload the document to your server in an unlisted directory or use a digital delivery program like 1ShoppingCart to host the e-book. This will allow you to provide download links to your purchasers.
11. Add the product to your e-commerce system. You can use something as simplistic as PayPal or you can go the route of a full e-commerce system like 1ShoppingCart.  You can then generate buy now buttons for your website.
12. Start selling and promoting the e-book! Utilize social media channels, your website and any e-mail marketing lists you have to spread the word about your book.

If you have clarifying questions, please post as a comment and we’d be happy to expand on this post!