E-book Writing

You can actually write an e-book without actually doing the writing. Because of an interesting legal twist, you can hire a writer, and then when the writer is finished, you own the complete copyright to the work. But there's something else that's almost too good to be true: having an e-book written doesn't cost near what it costs to have a hard cover book written. It's actually pretty affordable for someone who plans to recoup their money with e-book sales.

One more almost-too-good-to-be-true fact: e-books often sell for the same price that a traditional, hold-it-in-your-hand, book would sell for! No writing, no problem!

Now, more than ever, the Internet is starting to define business. People are actually paying for and downloading songs for their listening pleasure. People are researching, planning, and booking entire vacations online. People who love information are inhaling the Internet. Information is everywhere.

Of course, that presents a bit of a dilemma. Information overload. Part of the problem with researching the Internet is the information you glean during your surfing is highly if not completely unorganized. You do a Google search. You notice there are thousands of pages relevant to your search terms. So, you narrow your search by adding a word or two. Now you're down to several hundred pages. And you start clicking on them, one after the other.

On to the next problem of up-popping popups. By the time you close all the windows, you may have very well forgotten why you sat down at the computer in the first place. Even on sites without pop ups, you really don't know what exactly you're going to get or whether or not the source is reliable.

What about e-books? You can read Charles Dickens on a computer, but we are talking about e-books that teach, in a non-fiction sort of way.

How to select a great topic: It couldn't be easier to select a topic for an e-book. People are hungry for information, and people are looking to the Internet to feed their hunger.

Observe what's going on around you: Think of what problems you've recently solved, and what kinds of problems others have had and solved. Any problem that has been solved in your world could easily be the subject of your next book. People love to read how other have solved a problem that they currently have.

So, brainstorm a list of problems in your life and in the lives of those around you. While you're at it, start another list of unsolved problems evident in your corner of the world. Write down problems you wish you had solved. How to lose the last ten pounds. The truth about UFOs. The straightest path to becoming a millionaire. These unsolved problems would also be great e-book topics. Remember, you don't have to know the solution, just the topic. You're going to get someone else to do the research and write the book for you. You will not actually be writing one word.

Spend a few minutes Googling: The Internet is a great way to find out what people are looking for at any given moment. You can search for almost anything. Google is a popular search engine you can use, or you can try any of the others like Yahoo! or Bing.

And while you're on the Internet, find out the most popular nonfiction books from the New York Times bestseller list, Amazon, and a Google search for e-books. Your findings will tell you exactly what book subjects’ people are buying right now.

You can create books around the same ideas that are covered in the Amazon best seller list, and turnaround and create an e-book on the exact same subject!

Now, copyright law does protect the way ideas are expressed, so you want to make sure your hired author does not plagiarize or copy book text outright. And you cannot use the title word for word either. But there's nothing stopping you from creating another book or e-book that covers the same subject with a different voice.

Digging a little deeper: There are groups of people who are willing to buy nonfiction e-books: hobbyists. At any given time, these people are looking for ways to spend their money on their hobbies. Their passion is your financial gain.

You may have certain opinions on what exactly certain people should need or should read. But those are not necessarily good topics for immediate e-book profit. Those topics may be areas for you to dabble in at your leisure. However, if you want to make money at this, find out what niche groups want, and hit those groups with your e-book.

Find hobbyists and niche groups by searching the web for "popular hobbies," "enthusiasts," or "what America is buying." Or, you can search specifically for forums and discussion groups for hobbyists. In the forums, people talk with each other to share ideas with one another. Often, they will exchange testimonials for equipment, upcoming events, and books.

One popular site where hobbyists go to talk to one another online is Yahoo! groups. Some of the forums are open to new members, and you can join to read what everyone's discussing. Once in the forum, you can review discussion threads from today, yesterday, or a year ago. Don't go back too far if you want to find out the hottest possible e-book topics. You can participate in discussions if you like. FYI, do not drop into a discussion group just to market an e-book; hobbyists consider this spam and will drop you from the group. 

When you read and/or participate, you'll find out what this group is buying. All you have to do is skim to find out what questions they are asking each other about products or traveling or information. What they are interested in buying is a key piece of information because passionate consumers love to research before they buy. This is an immediate e-book market. Create a book on how to select the best this or that on the market, related to the current wants of the enthusiasts.

There are some hobbies that seem to continually attract enthusiasts, like playing golf, watching football, restoring old cars, and listening to music. These are classics. Then there are some hobbies that seem to come and go in waves, such as Red Hat Societies participation, snowboarding, or line dancing. Pick either a classic hobby or a fluctuating hobby in its peak season for your best odds.

A big market on the Internet is the 20-30 set. Here's what they are doing right now, according to one survey. They're snowboarding, wakeboarding, traveling, camping, listening to music, taking photographs. They're drinking gourmet coffee, rock climbing, playing guitar, camping, dancing, looking for online love, shopping for computers and other electronics, attending sports events, studying the Bible, exercising, trying to find jobs, and watching movies. Any one of these subjects would make a great e-book with a buying market standing by.