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How To Write And Sell Your Own Craft Ebook by Xandra Veal
A copy of this article is available as a free PDF at www.craftbooksnow.com. You may download it and distribute it from your own site if you wish, subject to the terms of the copyright.
Introduction
This is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of the different ways in which you can produce and sell an ebook on line. There are far too many different combinations for me to give adequate coverage to each. If you search Google for "self-publishing" or "ebook publishing" you'll probably find millions of pages on the subject.
What I can show you is a system that I know works. It's relatively cheap to set up and hundreds of people are using it to make sums from a few dollars a week to hundreds. That's not to say that other methods don't work - some may even be better - it's just that I know this one has consistently produced results over several years.
This is not a get rich quick scheme and I make no guarantee of earnings whatsoever. You may spend months and months working on your ebook and not make a single red cent. Even if it's successful you will almost certainly not make a fortune.
Having said that, I know of one lady who made over $100,000 from her ebook so it is possible. It's uncommon, but it is possible.
But the chances are you're not entirely in it for the money anyway. In my experience craft book writers usually start off with a desire to share what they know. They're not out to get rich by it and that's a very healthy attitude to adopt.
I don't mean to put anybody off trying. There's a huge sense of pride, achievement and satisfaction in creating your own book and pretty much anybody can do it. I just want to be honest with you right from the start. It's not easy. It can be hard work and sometimes frustrating when the words just won't come.
The flip side is that when it all comes together, it's great!
Creating Your Craft Ebook
Well first, I suppose you're going to need something to put it all together. Something to type all those words into. Most word processors will do the trick and I guess Microsoft Word is going to be the one most people already have on their computer. If you use something else it's not a problem so long as it will perform two functions in addition to the actual typing.
(1) It you must be able to add pictures and/or drawings. Some very basic word processors can't do this but mostly they can. If yours can't, you need to look at getting something else. I suppose it's possible to produce an ebook that is words only, but I would suggest that's not going to look so attractive to your potential readers.
(2) You must be able to create a PDF from your finished file. PDF is the format created by Adobe Acrobat and the majority of people have the PDF reader on their PC already. Unfortunately the PDF reader can't actually create PDFs. To do this you need to invest in a copy of the full software, available at adobe.com, but it isn't cheap.
Another alternative is to use an online PDF creator or other software you can download. If you do a search using Google, MSN or Yahoo for "PDF maker" you'll find loads - a lot of them free. I can't recommend one because I haven't tried them all but as most offer at least a free trial, spend some time trying a few until you find the one that works for you.
Why PDF?
Every book on the CraftBooksNow.com site is available in PDF format. It's by far the most common ebook format and it can be read by any computer. In fact virtually every new computer in the world has the reader software installed as standard. There are other book-creating software packages but typically they can only be read by a restricted number of programs - and why would you want to restrict your potential readers? Don't make life any more difficult for yourself than you have to - trust me, PDF is the way to go.
Now what about the actual writing?
Lots of people tell me they can't write - but it's just not true. If you can talk, you can write. Think about some of your favorite craft books. They're not dry, dusty old things, they're probably quite chatty - they're written as if the person is actually talking to you.
So that's the way you should do it. You have to be careful not to sound patronizing, or childish, but if you picture trying to explain what you're doing to a good friend that should help you with the "tone" to adopt.
Then there's the amount of detail you need to put in. This will depend on your target audience. Have a think about that for a minute. Who is your craft book aimed at? Is it a beginner's guide or is it for for people who you'd already expect to have a certain level of skill in your chosen craft? If you're writing for beginners you probably need to go into some depth about tools and materials but if you're writing for more experienced craftspeople you perhaps don't need to mention that.
This is arguably the most important part of the creative process and it requires a good deal of thought. There are few successful craft books which appeal to everyone. "A Beginner's Guide" is not going to appeal to someone with years of experience and, conversely, "Advanced Tips and Techniques" is probably not going to appeal to beginners.
So decide who your target audience is and be focussed about who you are writing for. If you've got information for both you can always write two books!
What separates the great books from the not-so-great?
The writing is important of course, but never underestimate presentation. If you flick through a book in your local bookstore which appeals more, the one that's technically accurate but the pages are all packed with closely spaced type, or the one with ample photos of the projects at different stages, useful illustrations explaining techniques, attractive photos of finished items?
So get out your camera! Take the best pictures you can. If necessary, create some drawings or get someone to do them for you. They don't have to be works of art so long as they clearly explain what you need to get across. Always ask yourself if you think your target audience would understand it. Show it to a family member or friend to see if they understand it, and be prepared to take constructive criticism. It's not easy having someone tell you that what you've spent hours on doesn't make sense - I'm the world's worst - but bite your lip and listen to what other people have to say.
Then leave it alone for a day or two and come back to it fresh, with a clear head, and examine what people have said without getting too personal about it. It's often difficult to do because it's your creation, your "baby", but people are almost invariably trying to help so see if you can look at things from their point of view.
At the end of the day, if you still disagree with their comments, go your own way - you're the boss!
Finally in this section, make sure you're not just regurgitating old material. You'll never be successful by just copying someone else's ideas. If you've got an original twist on an old idea, that's fine - that's creating something new and people will be interested to see it. If you're creating from scratch, so much the better.
So it's finally finished.
Some people write very quickly once they get the ideas together, some are slower. I know an author who took 18 months to put his first ebook together.
However long it's taken you, it doesn't matter. It's not a race. The important thing is quality, OK?
So you've finally got it all together, nice photos, explanatory drawings where necessary, you've spell checked it (twice) and you're ready to create your final PDF. Before you do there's one important final task. A cover.
If you have some design flair - and many craftspeople do - then you can probably create your own. If in doubt, get it done professionally. Again, you can search the internet. Try "ebook cover" and you'll find a number of people who can help you.
The point here is that like it or not the first impression you give is of huge importance. The content may be superb but if the cover is dull then your book will frequently get bypassed. There's a lot of competition and you want to be out there in front. If you're not sure what I mean, have a look through the CraftBooksNow.com website and look at the all the different covers there. Which one's attract your eye?
Don't forget to give some thought to the title. Which sounds more interesting "50 Knitting Patterns" or "Haute-Couture Secrets - 50 stylish new knitting designs"? Get a bit creative, add a bit of excitement or exclusivity!
Done? Great - give yourself a pat on the back. Have a glass of something to celebrate. You probably feel very pleased with yourself - and you should. A lot of people talk about it but never put the hard work in. You've actually gone ahead and done it.
Trouble is, at this point only you and maybe a coupe of friends know about it and while getting rich probably wasn't your motivation it would be nice to get some reward for effort, wouldn't it! So now we've got to get onto the selling bit.
Selling your ebook online
Now you can call it "promotion" or "marketing" or whatever you like, but you want someone to part with money in exchange for your ebook so as far as I'm concerned, that's selling.
And it's not anything anyone should be afraid of. Chances are that many of you attend craft fairs and shows where you sell your work anyway, so you'll be used to selling at "the sharp end" - customer-facing sales is the most difficult of all - but if you believe in what you're selling it's much easier, isn't it?
The good news with selling your ebook is that it's much easier. You have the ability to sell to people all over the world, at any time of the day or night, and have your ebook automatically delivered. All you have to do is check your account in the morning to see how much money you made!
OK - maybe you won't make a fortune, but one of our ebook authors consistently averages $30.00 to $50.00 per week. Not a huge amount, but that is every week. Having put in the necessary work at the start he now does nothing to maintain it - but the sales keep coming in. It's not a fortune, but it is an extra holiday each year and he's now working on another book so who knows where it might lead?
So what about the detail?
Well you need a website and you need a domain name. There are hundreds of places to go to get these, we use and are happy to recommend Hostgator. Don't go for free webspace, it's just unprofessional. You need a name like www.greatestknittingbookever.com (or whatever is appropriate to your ebook) not www.myfreespace.somewhere.com/freespace/great you've got your webspace sorted you have to write your site - with just as much care as you wrote your ebook. This is your shop window on the world and you only have one chance to make a first impression!
There's no need to re-invent the wheel though. You should never copy someone else's site, but get on over to www.clickbank.com and search their Marketplace for ideas. Don't just look for craft books but look at different subjects and see the way the sites have been put together. There are quite a few basic similarities - a catchy headline, some explanation of the features and benefits and then the offer.
So many sites look quite similar because they work! Add your own personality, of course, but look carefully at what other people are doing. There are too many things to go into here but think about the advantages of maybe giving a bonus, or a free sample. Study the sites in detail and see if you can work out what makes one more attractive than another.
Finally, still at clickbank.com, set yourself up with an account. Whilst there are dozens of ways to sell online, this is, in my opinion, the easiest and most cost effective. Follow Clickbank's instructions, which are fairly straight-forward, and they'll deal with all the credit card processing for your customers and simply send you a check. Have a good read of the site to make sure you understand their service and don't forget to check out the "affiliates" offering - you can even get other people to sell your ebook for you!
I'm really only able to cover the very briefest detail here of selling online, but if you read and understand the Clickbank site it really is all you need to do to get started. It may not be the cheapest system but it's easy and it takes away all the hassle, leaving you to get on with your craft - or your next craft book.
Selling a paperback or hard cover version.
It's tempting to wonder about selling a "real" copy of your book, and at some point you're almost certain to be asked if you have one available. Producing them is beyond the scope of this article except to say that once again I'd put something like "print on demand" into a search engine. Be warned though, you're looking at considerable expense.
One system I do know of - although I've never used - is available at cafepress.com. They offer a number of formats but only black and white contents, not color.
Personally, I'm sticking with ebooks - much less hassle (and much higher profit margins).
If any of this is a bit beyond you and you'd like professional help, CraftBooksNow.com offers cost-effective consultancy for all aspects of ebook creation and selling, from editorial to webmaster services. For an informal chat, without obligation, please use the contact form on our website.
About the Author
Xandra Veal runs http://craftbooksnow.com a website which reviews over 70 craft e-books covering needle-crafts, kids crafts, jewelry, beading, scrap-booking, soaps, fragrances, candles, flowers, leather, wood and more.
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