BECOME AN EBOOK AUTHOR

Dear Friends,

I hope you had a renewing holiday season with time to reflect on what you want more—and less—of in 2001. At the end of every year I spend time thinking, writing, and meditating on what matters most. I encourage you to do the same.

This year I'm going to be writing more and teaching less. Therefore the *last chance* you'll have to take either one of my Learning Annex classes in 2001 will be in this February. (See the end of this email for details).

Those of you who have attended my classes, and each of you who I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting, have played an integral part in the development of this newsletter and my career. I thank you all for that. Please click on this link for your New Year's card.

In my personal life one of the things that I have been pondering is how to spend more time with the people I care about, but don't seem to see as much as I'd like. In my professional life I'm considering how to reach more people without diluting my message and information-keeping the content and personal touch balanced. I mention both because they are interconnected and I consider them as a whole when I make any decision.

By way of example: As I was relaxing with a cup of tea in a toasty sun spot, I read an article in Friday's San Francisco Examiner about Barnesandnoble.com starting it's own electronic publishing division "offering an original work from suspense writer Dean Koontz among its first titles." To start, B&N will focus on already established writers, classics, and out-of- print books. They will pay 35% royalties on e-books. You know that if B&N is willing to invest in such a venture that they imagine it will be profitable. Though they aren't yet accepting unpublished authors into their stable of e-book writers, you can become an e-book author in just a few weeks.

All of you have three things to offer others by authoring an e-book:

1. Your unique knowledge.
2. Your personal experience.
3. Your special communication style.

If you can tap into all three of these things to reach your audience-those people who want what you have, you'll have a market for your product.

In this issue I'll share with you some of the best websites for selling your e-books.

Warmly,

Susan

What is an e-book?
It's just like a paper book except for a few differences. You write your book in a word program like Microsoft Word. In it you can include links to websites for additional information so a reader can click on a URL to access the desired information whenever they like.

How does it work?
Once you finish your book you'll convert it to a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat (it's a free download) so it can't be modified. The font type-face of your e-book is large so it can be easily read on a computer screen.

Where can you sell it? Once you've written your e-book and want to sell it you can market it through websites that specialize in selling them. You don't even have to have a shopping cart or e-commerce interface on your website. So everyone of you can get started writing your e-book right away, today.

What sells best? Some of the best-selling e-books deal with how to make money on the web. The least well-selling e-books are poetry.

What if you're not a writer? Even if you're not much of a writer you can do two things. Talk your book into a tape recorder and transcribe it. Or hire a freelance writer to write or edit your book.

Should you limit the number of sites you sell to? No. Get your book set-up on as many sites as you can so you'll have a steady stream of royalties, reach a wide audience, and get your name out into the public eye.

How can you find the best publishing sites? In deciding who will sell your information, the one thing to check for first is to make sure that any e-book publisher does not require exclusive rights. This is VERY important. You want to make sure that your retain the rights to sell your material wherever you like to whomever you choose and to receive royalties for it. All of the following sites are non- exclusive. Royalties vary widely. Good luck!

NOTE: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS. For those of you who have already had success in publishing and publicizing your e-book please send me any tips or websites that could help others. I'll publish them in the next newsletter and give you credit along with listing your e-book link!

http://www.booklocker.com - Pays the most and helps you set up your e-book in PDF format for free. To be considered an e-book your information must be 300-600 pages to get the 70% royalty rate. Under 100 pages is considered an e-booklet and you'll be paid 50% on an average price of $5.95.

http://www.1stbooks.com - You will receive 100 percent of the first $300 of sales and 40 percent thereafter. See their FAQ for details.

http://www.iuniverse.com - iuniverse publishes print-on-demand books and e-books.

http://www.special-report-network.net - This Special Report Network will connect you to 1000's of other sites to promote your e-book. The one thing you need is a free report linked to your website.

http://www.sellyourbrainfood.com/places.htm - Master marketer Monique Harris makes a small fortune on the net. Her websites are information rich. Don't be put off by her slightly hard-sell approach, there's plenty of information for free. Unplug those phones. This one link will keep you busy for about a week.