How to Write Your Own E-book?

Writing an e-book is a powerful way to share knowledge, tell a story, or build your brand. Whether you're an expert in a specific field, an educator, a blogger, or simply love to write, an e-book allows you to reach a worldwide audience. The motivation for writing an e-book can also serve as a substitute for the motivation to write a traditional book, potentially even stemming from a time before e-books existed. This is largely an individual matter. If you were to ask Manuel Radovanović what motivated him to write the e-book How to Become a Programmer and Never Give Up!Clean Code by Manuel Radovanović, it dates back to the late 1990s. He based his programming education and his own programming code on books written by the greatest programming experts.

Buying a programming book at a bookstore and completing all the programming exercises from it has become more of a tradition today. The reason is AI – Artificial Intelligence – which has changed how we learn and apply coding. But some habits never change. You might think that the mentioned e-book isn't a tutorial on how to learn a specific programming language, but it's much more than that. Download completely free of charge and read the book here. While it's increasingly easy to learn programming languages today, the key question is what to do with that knowledge. A second question is what would serve as your motivation to write an e-book. What story or knowledge do you wish to share with the world? And perhaps you'd also ponder, why an e-book, specifically.

A girl is writing an e-book on a tablet

Unlike printed books, you can create an e-book yourself without a publishing house, not to mention the financial costs. You need almost no material resources to write an e-book, provided you have a computer and an internet connection. You can use free tools for writing, designing, and distributing your e-book online. Unlike printed books, you don't pay for a publisher, printing, or delivery, which is also limited, especially if you consider print runs. Your e-book has no print run and can reach millions of readers, depending on how many people you interest in downloading it from the internet. Readers from any country can download the book instantly. There's no waiting for printing or delivery. With a good idea and motivation, you can write an e-book in just a few days.

Similarly, thanks to advanced technology and AI – Artificial Intelligence – you can now write your e-book in a foreign language without needing to hire translators. Your authorial control is much greater than when writing a printed book, as you decide on the content, design, price, and promotion method. Nothing depends on a publisher, editorial policy, or print run. You can also sell your e-book or offer it to websites that sell e-books. You can simply upload your e-book to platforms like Amazon or Gumroad, and it can generate income for months or years without additional work. However, you can also use it as a lead magnet, a gift for email subscribers, or part of a course. With your e-book, you simply increase your authority in the specific field you're writing about. It's all up to you.

What Are the First Steps in Writing an E-Book?

Let's assume you're using Microsoft Word as your text editor, although there are other options available, especially if you're on Linux. You can also use Microsoft Word templates, which are excellent for starting your e-book. What you must pay most attention to is ensuring your e-book displays well on other devices and various screens, especially on mobile phones. Therefore, your mobile phone will be the first device you use to test your e-book. We encountered terrible complications with many devices that failed testing until we turned to Microsoft Word and its templates, which look excellent. First, launch Microsoft Word, but instead of choosing a Blank document, simply select a specific template you like. To write an e-book, you need to know some basic Microsoft Word usage or simply be ready to learn it. You can find a detailed Microsoft Word tutorial on this blog here; or search for exactly what you're interested in doing on YouTube.

Writing an e-book can be demanding, like Manuel Radovanović's e-book, requiring a lot of images, code, or perhaps tables. Microsoft Office is ideal for everything you need to include in your e-book. As for images, even if you don't have extensive Adobe Photoshop knowledge, AI – artificial intelligence – can create images for you. See how to create image here. Note that due to copyright, you can only use your own images and images created using artificial intelligence for your e-book. The advantage of writing an e-book is that you can also include links within it. Once you're motivated, know what your e-book will be called, and start modifying and adapting the template to your needs, it's essential to organize yourself by first creating a table of contents for your e-book. Of course, you can change or add chapters and other headings during the writing process, but it's necessary to have an initial outline and understanding of what you're writing about.

Creating a table of contents for an e-book

When you're motivated and organized, with a clear vision of your content—knowing exactly what to write and how to integrate images, tables, or code, it's time to begin. Start with your title page, then consider the blank pages and page numbering. After the title page, those initial blank pages are perfect for an About the Author or About the Book section, followed by your table of contents and an illustration for your first chapter. Only when you start writing the first chapter and its initial subheading can you truly say you've begun your e-book. Expect to spend days in deep contemplation about what you want to convey. It's also likely you'll revise and rework previously written sections. Everyone wants their e-book to be the best it can be, but this doesn't mean you should rush. The key is to be consistent and avoid prolonged breaks from writing. Focus on small sections of your story, writing these almost daily until your e-book is complete.

Not everyone's writing journey is the same. Some individuals maintain motivation throughout the entire process, while others experience it periodically. Some have ample time, privacy, and peace for writing, whereas others juggle numerous responsibilities, fatigue, stress, or personal issues unrelated to their e-book. In some instances, writing can offer a much-needed escape, providing a few hours of respite from daily thoughts and worries. You can set a rough timeframe for your e-book's length and completion, perhaps a month, but it's often best to disregard deadlines and simply surrender to a rhythm that suits you.

Completing an e-book requires a bit more effort to ensure it's polished and perhaps even surpasses your initial expectations. We were absolutely thrilled with how Manuel Radovanovic's e-book turned out, and we're equally delighted with every AI-generated image we created. Once you've finished writing, simply save your e-book as a PDF file. Then, review it on your mobile phone, tablet, and any other devices you own. If everything looks good and you're happy with your e-book, the next steps are entirely up to you.

Don't be discouraged if your e-book isn't immediately embraced by the masses. Building an audience takes time and consistent marketing efforts to increase its visibility and encourage downloads. Instead, be proud of yourself and your creativity, because you've written an e-book – that's a good deed and your valuable contribution to humanity.