How to Produce a 45 Page E-Book in Under 2 Weeks

You want to create an e-book but you don't know where to start. This post will walk you through the process of creating a 45-page e-book in under 2 weeks! You'll learn about establishing goals, researching content and interviewing experts, drafting copy (including the title), incorporating feedback from stakeholders, working with designers to put approved copy into layout, working with proofers to review the approved copy in layout, incorporating changes made by proofers and, finally, publishing your e-book so that it is ready for distribution.

Day 1: Dawn of the E-Book

First things first: establish the goals of your e-book. Who's your audience? What do you want readers to get out of this e-book? What kind of action do you want readers to take after they've read this e-book? How are you going to promote it? What's your design style? Do you like an academic style with text-heavy pages? Or do you like an infographic style with lots of icons, page breaks, and branded sprites? Before you even start writing, all of these questions need to be asked. Not all of them need to be answered, but asking them will help inform the style, content, and end-goal(s) of your e-book.

Day 2: Research Montage

Next, do your research. Whether it's drawing from your own professional expertise, interviewing subject matter experts, or combing the web for original sources, you need to make sure you come across as a thought leader, and not a thought borrower (or worse). I recommend brainstorming a list of potential e-book topics, and then doing some research to see if each topic is well covered. Look at the e-books your competitors have written or are writing. What about them stands out? Can you apply any lessons learned from their e-books in yours?

Day 3-6: The Write Stuff

Once you're done with research, it's time to write. Personally, I like to start with a stake-holder approved outline and fill in the gaps with transition sentences, supporting points, and conclusions. This helps me get the e-book copyedited faster and ensures that I don't miss anything too important. Once the first draft is complete, I route it through the stakeholder approvals process, making any necessary editorial changes. Unfortunately, there's no shortcut to writing original copy that's engaging, informative, and all in the voice and tone of your brand. Don't skimp on a good writer!

Day 7-10: Seeing is Beliebering

Once the core content has been approved, it's time to see what it's going to look like in layout. In my latest e-book, Building Connected Experiences with Salesforce, my client had a fairly simple design style in mind: just text, icons, and modest page breaks. So that's what we started with! The first step is to work with your designer to put approved copy into layout using the preapproved assets you've already selected (if any). Some e-books are easier than others when it comes to layout, so your mileage may vary on whether you need the expertise of a highly-skilled designer or not. My two cents: e-book design is crucial to the flow of your text and could be the difference between reader abandonment and landing a new customer. Don't skimp on a good designer!

Day 11: Proof of Intelligent Life

After the layout has been reviewed and approved, it's time to get this puppy proofed. One of the misconceptions of e-book production is that your copywriter should also be the proofer. Do not make this mistake. Even if your copywriter also happens to be the world's best proofer, the editorial and analytical parts of their brain will create blind spots that cause them to miss key mistakes. It's very difficult to scrutinize your own words with the cold, surgical precision of a proofreader. There's a reason that world-renowned authors work with world-renowned editors. Writing and proofing are two different skill sets. Don't skimp on a good proofer!

Day 12-13: Ship It Good

With the proofer's edits incorporated, it's time to do a final review of the e-book, as well as getting ready for publishing. If you haven't already, you should produce landing page copy that will ask readers to provide their contact info in order to download the e-book (good thing you didn't skimp on the writer and designer, because a good cover design and description gets more clicks!). Also, before you publish, you should have a clear understanding of your lead nurture strategy. Who is monitoring downloads? Who is responsible for lead follow-up? If you are sending a thank you for downloading e-mail (you should), how will readers know where to direct questions or sales inquiries? Finally, what is your promotion strategy beyond your website? Should stakeholders promote the e-book on their own social channels? Any upcoming seminars or webinars where the e-book can be promoted to a live or virtual audience?

Congratulations! You've just published a 45-page e-book in less than 2 weeks. In the process, you've learned about the competitive landscape, gotten a better grasp of your own team's expertise, positioned your brand as a thought leader, and created an original piece of content that will generate highly qualified leads for your business. But really, the best part of producing your e-book?

The friends you made along the way.

Speaking of which, if you would like to produce an e-book for your brand, hit me up!