{"id":2662,"date":"2011-05-23T07:31:18","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T11:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/?p=2662"},"modified":"2023-10-03T06:06:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T10:06:10","slug":"writing-an-ebook-10-things-i-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/executivecareerbrand.com\/writing-an-ebook-10-things-i-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing An Ebook: 10 Things I Learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

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All in all, I think I did okay and weathered things well throughout my first foray into self-publishing. I certainly learned a lot for the next time. The following 10 things are at the top of my list:<\/p>\n

1. Create a solid outline and table of contents,\u00a0and get the book written . . .\u00a0then worry about the title.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I slowed the process by fretting about the title from the beginning, spending hours and days toying with variations. Meanwhile, I wasn\u2019t writing any content. I knew what I wanted to cover in the ebook. That was enough to map out the outline.<\/p>\n

After wasting too much time, I finally got down to it and allotted time each day to writing the content.\u00a0 In doing so, the table of contents came together and\u00a0the title fell into place, just like that. Then it was just a matter of filling in some gaps and finishing up.<\/p>\n

2. Prioritization and time management skills are critical.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It took me a while to figure it out, but I learned that I had to go straight to writing at the beginning of each work day, and put in a solid 2-3 hours (or more, if possible), before letting emails,\u00a0social networks, or anything else distract me. I wrote a post about this, Say NO to Social Media . . . Sometimes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Don’t dwell on making it perfect, at the expense of launching sooner.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When everything was done \u2013 the writing, formatting, cover \u2013 I procrastinated by continually editing, as I found new things to add, and wanting to get everything just right. I had some anxiety about letting it go and putting it out there. Finally, I realized that I could either continue tweaking, knowing it didn\u2019t really need it, or I could take the leap and publish it.<\/p>\n

4. Plenty of pre-launch promotion is needed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Well before launching, I should have sent out a draft of the ebook to get endorsements and build buzz. The 2 pre-launch blog posts I wrote weren’t\u00a0enough. I should have done more before launch to establish an online footprint for the ebook.<\/p>\n

5. There are tons of great, free resources out there to walk you through creating an ebook. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Here are 2 that cover a lot of ground and really helped me:<\/p>\n