eBooks have become much more popular than printed books because of their portability and the convenience they provide. If you are planning to publish an eBook, it can be done professionally with the support of a data conversion company. Many businesses have been publishing interesting eBooks that consumers can download and use conveniently.
Today, more and more people are writing eBooks as it helps you to go deeper into the subject and connect with the user. It also helps you to position yourself as a thought leader on the subject that you are writing about.
If you are planning to write an eBook, keep in mind the following mistakes that you need to avoid.
Planning mistakes
- Writing with no purpose: Staring an eBook without having a purpose is a waste of time. Figuring out how your eBook is going to help the readers is important. To get an idea of what problem you want your eBook to resolve, check online to understand what your customers are looking for. You can also check on social media to know the interests of your customer.
- An idea that your readers dislike: Having a good idea of what needs to be in your eBook is essential. However, working on an idea that your readers dislike can bring negative results. To find out what your audience likes, you can conduct a poll on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media platform or send a list of topics to your email list and ask people to show preferences.
- Not providing an outline: Make sure to develop an outline for your eBook, because without an eBook outline you will go nowhere with your eBook. Your outline must have the following:
- Understanding of the question that your audience wants to be answered.
- Jot down the key points that need to be answered
- Once your key points are ready, put them in order.
- Do additional research if required.
- Selecting the wrong format: There are several formats for eBooks and picking the right format is vital. PDF is the most commonly used eBook format but PDFs do not work well with smartphones. So here are some of the popular formats.
- HTML5: suitable for mobile phones
- MOBI: best for Kindle and Kindle apps
- EPUB: ideal for other eBook readers
To know which format people use more to read eBooks, check Google Analytics. Login to your account, go to Audience, click on User Explorer, then Mobile, and Overview. This will help you to see the specific devices that people use.
- Poor time management: Allocating proper time for writing your eBook is important to finish it on time. Find out how much time you need to finish the eBook before the deadline and how much time you have to write in a week or each day. This will help you to manage your time properly.
Writing Mistakes
- Not having a clear idea about the topic: Having a thorough idea about the topic for your eBook and the concepts that you want to discuss in your eBook is important to win more readers. So, choose a topic that you are familiar with or consider hiring a professional to write an eBook that would meet the demands of your readers.
- Providing thin content or too much details: Good eBook content can win the hearts of your readers. But if you content is too thin i.e. unoriginal content, it doesn’t deliver the value that the readers are expecting. To avoid thin content, make sure that you answer all the questions of your readers. Similarly, providing too many details in your eBook is very unappealing. Try to find the right balance between solving one issue for your readers.
- Starting with the introduction: Never write the introduction in the early stage because introduction is the summary of your eBook. So, it is difficult to write the introduction without finishing your eBook.
- Editing as you write: Editing as you write your eBook can delay your eBook writing. You may find some typos and errors while writing but it is always best to finish your eBook and then move on to editing.
- Poor writing: Long sentences, complex words, jargon and phrases can easily make readers losing interest in your eBook. Use simple sentences and words that people can understand quickly.
Design and Editing Mistakes
- Not considering an editor or proofreaders: Once you are done with your eBook, consider verifying your eBook with an editor and proof-reader for any mistakes. An editor checks the structure and contents of an eBook and a proofreader does the final check for mistakes to have a professional-looking eBook.
- Complicating cover design: Having an appealing cover is essential for an eBook because the cover helps a reader decide whether to download the eBook or not. Make sure the that the cover is the right size, choose the right images that reinforces your image, good illustrations play a crucial role in eBook cover. Design an eBook cover that is attractive and simple but not boring.
- Being obsessed with perfection: Making your eBook perfect is every author’s desire. But this can lead to nitpicking over tiny things. This can be a waste of time. Make sure to avoid basic mistakes and if you find simple mistakes later, then feel free to correct them later.
Avoiding all the above-mentioned mistakes will help you come up with an eBook that people would love to read.
Today, people prefer eBooks to printed books when they want speedy access and portability. The growing popularity of e-readers has led to the growth of e-publishing industry. Therefore, many authors are now open to publishing their books in electronic format. This helps the authors to reach out to maximum number of readers easily. It also helps in knowing the initial response to the book. If you wish to convert your book into an eBook, approach a provider of data conversion services that can help you to convert it into the desired format so that it can be read on any eBook reader like Kindle, Sony Reader, or Nook Reader.