What It’s Like to Finally Finish My First eBook

It sounds like such a simple thing. A list of 1001 character quirks for writing fiction. This is a tool I use as part of my own character-building process, because having a list of raw ideas makes it much easier to come up with the right idea at the right time.

You might think that coming up with a large list of character ideas might be the challenge in a work like this. But compiling a list of 1001 of my best character quirks was by far the easiest part of the project. Actually, the concept started as a printed booklet, and that sounded simple, too. But there were innumerable little details.

• Since a book like this is far and away most often purchased by beginning writers, it must contain concrete examples and simple advice that the user can take to the bank immediately. My initial draft skimped on the advice, because I was afraid of having too many pages, because I was trying to keep production costs down. Holly Lisle generously advised me to flesh out this part of the book, which I did, adding a complete soup-to-nuts character and numerous concrete examples.

• Users like to print out ebooks, but they don’t have 6×9-inch saddle-stitch binder machines. Actually, the first cut of the book didn’t even have page numbers, because the bulk of it was the 1001 numbered character quirks. Again, Holly advised me to add page numbers, because when users print out the ebook, if they accidentally drop the pages, it’ll be impossible to get them back in the right order… unless there are page numbers. So I added page numbers and reformatted the text so users could print it double-sided on 8.5×11 paper. I also increased the font size to make the ebook easier to read on a computer screen. But the printed version still is formatted as a 6×9 saddle-stitched booklet.

• Finishing the book is only the beginning, though. After the book was done, including the cover art, I still had to come up with an offer and write a sales letter. I finally decided to release the text as an ebook at 20% less than what it was worth. (Raw ideas are a dime a dozen, so 1001 of them would be worth…) I’m also offering a free upgrade to the printed version in exchange for a testimonial I can use in my marketing. This also lets me point out that it’s an introductory offer, and that at some point I’ll get enough testimonials, and I’ll end the discount and and free upgrade offer. That’s important, because it puts a ticking clock on the offer. If you don’t act now, you’ll lose out. And that increases response.

• For the sales letter, I used as a template a known control from my swipe file. I even used some of the same wording, because it worked so well in this offer. Of course, most of the words I wrote myself, but my letter still largely follows the flow of the original. Even using a template, writing the sales letter was not trivial. And it isn’t actually “done” yet, either, because I’ll need to split test changes to it to increase response.

• Even after I had the sales letter written, there were still numerous details I needed to make sure were in the letter, things I had originally forgotten. For example, I forgot to point out that the ebook was an instant download and that it was in PDF format. ClickBank’s site was invaluable in helping me make sure I had mentioned all the little details in my sales letter. Which brings me to…

• Distribution. It’s not “just” a download, because you do need some way to distribute it over the Internet. And it’s not just on a website, because you have to accept electronic payments and then allow downloads only from people who have paid for access. I originally wanted to put up my own online store for this– and I still do. But putting up an online store is not so simple. Or rather, putting it up is easy. Getting it to work just the way you want is hard. So I decided to introduce the ebook via ClickBank. This is a tradeoff: ClickBank is faster to set up, they handle all the ecommerce stuff, and you get access to their online marketplace. But they also charge way more overhead than if you ran your own online store. And they have restrictions on what you can offer. For example, I originally wanted to offer a limited double-your-money-back guarantee, but this conflicts with ClickBank’s terms of service (which apparently do not allow publisher’s guarantees), so I didn’t do that.

• Even using ClickBank, I needed to write a number of pages and scripts for my “Quirks” mini-site. The sales letter I already mentioned. After someone orders the ebook from ClickBank, a script back at “Quirks” confirms the ClickBank proof-of-purchase code and logs the transaction in a file. So that’s a script I needed to write. Then it redirects to the download page, which I also needed to write. The download page has a link to download the PDF file, and the downloading is done via a file-download script, which I also needed to write. Customers also get the opportunity to subscribe to my “Writer’s Tips” e-Newsletter, and I needed to write thank-you and confirmation pages to make that sign-up process work. And don’t forget the privacy policy and links on the mini-site to other pages, such as my home page, all inconspicuously displayed in the page footers. Even if no one ever gets that far, search engines (and Google in particular) like to see links, even on mini-site pages.

• And then of course I needed to put together a series of autoresponder articles for the Writer’s Tips e-Newsletter. Yes, it’s an occasional mailing. But you need to deliver a blast of compelling content to new subscribers immediately, and then less frequent content over the next year or so, to lock your name into their memories, because permission ages rapidly. If you don’t do this, then when you have something you want them to act on, they won’t know who you are.

So, a whole host of details. Not “easy” at all. And now begins the truly hard part, marketing the offer and driving traffic to the mini-site. Yes, I know all the different ways to get traffic to a website and how “easy” it is. You don’t even have to spend cash for ads, right? Whatever. It’s only “easy” compared with canvassing neighborhoods door-to-door. I still need to drive enough qualified traffic to the site to prove that the offer is salable. And then after I get that far, then it can become “easy.” Because I can expand into direct mail and print and newsletter advertising and so forth. Whew!

Even before that happens, I’m already working on my next offer. But it’s a secret what it is…

-TimK