13 Steps to Creating Your First Kindle Ebook

How do you get started creating a Kindle ebook? It's a question I frequently am asked.

This week I had interviews with two favorite colleagues and both conversations ended up being about how bloggers and business owners can save time by leveraging their exisiting content and get more visibility, in order words, repurposing their content.

There are many, many ways to repurpose your blog content and I've addressed that in previous posts. However, most bloggers and business owners rarely take action and do the steps necessary that will increase their exposure, drive more traffic and generate more leads for their business. After talking with Phil Hollows (CEO of Feedblitz) about how I advise clients to create Kindle ebooks from their blog content, he remarked that it seemed like a lot of work and wondered if most people will make the effort.

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Interesting question. No, most people will not do the work. And, the people who do the work, are the ones who see results and are successful.

The thing is, it's not hard to create, publish and promote a Kindle ebook. It does take a little time and effort though.

The example I use with Phil is how bloggers can use "low hanging fruit" to quickly create an ebook.

13 Steps to Your First Published Kindle Ebook

I'll assume you're already blogging for your business and have a body of work to draw on. Congratulations! The hardest part is already done! Here's how to proceed with my formula:

1. Review your blog categories and select one with 10-20 posts focused on one topic

2. Select 5-10 posts that naturally relate to each other.

3. Compile the posts into a word document and arrange them in a logical order.

4. Add an introduction to the topic.

5. Add a Table of Contents to each section.

6. Add appropriate transition content between each section.

7. Edit and update the content as necessary. Blog posts are often written in a casual style and you may want to clean that up.

8. Add a strong Call to Action at the beginning and/or end of the ebook inviting the reader to get more free information from you. Send them to a landing page to get the info.

9. Add your bio.

10. Create a cover for your ebook. You can use royalty free images to create an attractive, eye-catching cover.

11. Follow the guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing site for formating your ebook for their platform (this is the part that gets a little tricky. My team and I can help you with this.)

12. Upload your ebook.

13. Promote your ebook to your email list, on your blog and on social networking sites. Kathleen Gage has an excellent program for helping you create a Kindle bestseller.

See? Not difficult, but does take some time and effort. You could make it more complicated and create a stylish, fancy ebook, but this is my "down and dirty" formula for getting your first Kindle ebook published. After that, you can hone your skills or outsource to design experts. However, I know the first book is where most people get bogged down and I don't want that to happen to you. Get it done and then move on to the next. Your sense of accomplishment will make a big difference in motivating you to build a Kindle ebook empire.

To further help you out, here's a list of some resources I use when I develop digital products like Kindle ebooks.

If you want mentoring and help getting your first Kindle ebook published, check out my Kindle Ebook Jumpstart program.

Creative Commons License photo credit: amsfrank

Build Your Kindle eBook Empire to Build Your Business

At the beginning of January I saw a lot of resolutions and intentions about getting an ebook published on Kindle this year. Is that goal on your list for 2012?

In the last few weeks, it seems like there's been a frenzy of articles about ebook publishing and the mind-boggling number of sales of ebook readers in December. Take a look at some of these articles and astounding numbers:

Top 10 Self-Published Writers Make 449% More Money Through Amazon Lending Library

Why e-books will be much bigger than you can imagine

Apple's War on Amazon Starts Thursday

If you truly want to get your first Kindle ebook published and need some mentoring and “do it for you” help, I have a new program designed just for you…

Kindle Ebook Jumpstart 

Take note:

  • 5 million Kindle readers were sold in December alone (that doesn't include iPads and Nook readers that were sold too!)
  • 295,000 ebooks were loaned to Amazon Prime Members in December generating $500,000 in royalty payments to authors

This is an exciting time for you to begin self-publishing. While I'm not going to promise you'll get rich, you can build a solid stream of revenue, build your list and increase your visibility when you publish your content beyond your blog. You don't need to write The Great American Novel. You can compile content you've already written into ebooks that target your ideal client or customer. It's a great way to give new prospects a taste of your expertise and get paid! Take a look at the ebooks I'm selling on Amazon to get an idea of what you can do.

If you’re ready to tap into the Kindle goldmine, build your reputation, visibility, and business by becoming a published author on the most trafficked Internet retail destination worldwide, I’m ready to help you.

Click here to get the details and let's get started building your Kindle ebook empire now => http://denisewakeman.com/jump

I look forward to mentoring you!

Got questions about the program? Submit a support ticket and I'll get right back to you.

How to Become a Kindle Bestselling Author in Record Time [webinar replay]

Did you miss the webinar with Kathleen Gage on how to create a Kindle #1 bestseller?

You're in luck. Kathleen gave me permission to share the replay while it's available for the next few days. Kathleen delivers more than an hour of great info on the exact steps she takes to create bestselling Kindle ebooks. She also stayed on the line for nearly an extra hour to answer very specific questions about book marketing.

Watch the webinar replay here.

Kathleen shared her checklist for creating a Kindle launch, pricing strategies, mistakes she made at the outset and what she learned to streamline her efforts. If you want to know what to do after you've got your Kindle book listed on Amazon.com, this is a great introduction. 

NOTE: this is not a class about how to create Kindle ebooks. You can get that information in a webinar I hosted wtih Daniel Hall.

Amazon sold more than 5 million Kindle readers in December. There are millions more who read Kindle ebooks on their PC, Mac, iPads and smartphones.

Make 2012 the year you claim your status as a published author and get your content in front of millions of people who want your expertise. Watch the webinar now!

And, a head's up – if you need help, support and accountability, I'm creating a one on one mentoring program to help you get your Kindle ebook published fast. I'll be sending details in the next few days.

Using Your Kindle Book To Gain Market Reach

This is a guest post by Kathleen Gage of KathleenGage.com.

Kindle Fire

Note from Denise: Amazon has reported that they are selling 1 million Kindles per week. You have an unprecedented opportunity to get your content in front of millions of people in your target audience. Think you're not an author? Think again. You probably have ebooks and reports sitting on your hard drive that can easily be converted to the Kindle format and published in minutes. Check out the ebooks I offer to get an idea of the type of content you can sell for Kindle readers. At the end of this article by Kathleen Gage, there's an invitation to attend a free webinar on how to make your Kindle ebook a bestseller. You don't want to miss this!

Using Your Kindle Book To Gain Market Reach

Looking for a new way to get in front of potential book buyers? Try your hand at publishing a Kindle book. It's one of the easiest ways to get your material published…fast!
 
I couldn't believe how simple the process was from the very first attempt.
 
What's great is you don't need an ISBN to publish your Kindle version book. You can publish just about anything including: 
  • eBooks 
  • Reports
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Books
  • Transcripts
The fact is, if you can write it you can publish in Kindle.

[Read more...]

Kindle Ebooks Free to Borrow for Amazon Prime Members

Amazon has introduced a new program for Kindle publishers and Kindle owners who are Amazon Prime members.

For Amazon Prime/Kindle owners

You get a Kindle book to borrow for free each month from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library

With Prime, Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. 

For Kindle Publishers

Amazon has introduced KDP Select. You agree to distribute your Kindle ebook for free to Prime members and exclusively on Amazon for 90 days and you get a share of a pool of money Amazon has set aside to compensate authors for the free loans to Prime members. 

I've enrolled my new ebook, How to Make Your Blog the Centerpiece of Your Business, in the program. So, if you're an Amazon Prime member, you can borrow it for free. Otherwise, it's a whopping $.99 (99 cents!).

Blog Centerpiece of Your Business Kindle ebook

Amazon has also introduced a promotion tool for ebooks enrolled in KDP Select. You can promote your ebook 5 days out of the 90 days it's exclusive on Amazon. Not sure exactly how this works at the moment. However, as an author, it seems to me it would benefit you to offer at least one ebook in the KDP program and take the opportunity to promote it on Amazon. It can only be good for your visibility and introduce you to new readers.

The program launched today, so I cannot report much other than I enrolled one book and it's available now for free to Amazon Prime members. I'll let you know the results I got when my 90 days is up.

If you've enrolled your ebook(s) in the KDP Select program, feel free to post the links here in the comments.