A guide to designing, creating, and marketing your own ebook

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Since lots of Peaceful Planet readers are also bloggers and writers, I want to tell you about a fabulous new product that I got just a few days ago.

Last year at this time, I was going crazy. Not the you’d-better-see-a-doctor kind of going crazy.

I was just going crazy trying to figure out how to create an ebook on my own—without hiring a designer or making any major software purchase.

Some of you might remember that time.

I’m handy with just about anything related to layout and design, since I spent a lot of time doing newsletter and brochure layouts on PageMaker years ago. I have an old version of Photoshop, and I know all the basics. I also have Gimp, and I’ve used Illustrator, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and you-name-it.

There was no reason why I couldn’t design and create my own ebook. The writing part certainly wasn’t any issue.

The problem was that I didn’t know where to start or end or how to design and create an ebook—at all.

I spent about two months of my spare time searching the Internet, studying the layout of all the ebooks I owned or could find, and playing around. I finally figured it all out after many, many hours of intense focus and sometimes frustration.

I bought Adobe Acrobat for the PDF file creation, I did the design and layout in MS Word, and I created a simple cover using both Gimp and Photoshop. It turned out OK. Many of you have Everybody’s Guide to Proofreading and, although feedback has been awesome, the design just isn’t as nice as I’d like it to be.

If Kelly Kingman and Pamela Wilson had created the eBook Evolution last summer I would have been in heaven.

But the universe is looking out for me because, as you may have read last week, I’m not only creating a new ebook—The Peaceful Planet Manifesto—but I’m also expanding and redesigning Everybody’s Guide to Proofreading.

And instead of going nuts trying to put together a half-decently designed ebook on Word—which works but it’s very limited— and then importing it to Acrobat to create the PDF file, I’ll be using FREE open source software: OpenOffice. I’ll also use one of the templates from eBook Evolution and select a cover design from one of 20 expert, customizable designs in the eBook Evolution’s Cover Recipe Book.

Life just keeps getting easier. Somehow, when we’re on the right track with our lives and our work, things just snap into place.

The eBook Evolution gives you everything you need to create a beautiful ebook from start to finish with OpenOffice. You can do all your design work, even the cover, right in one of the OpenOffice programs which is a lot like Word but much more robust—and much more stable.

With eBook Evolution you get:

• 41 pages of guidance on choosing a topic and writing your ebook

• 2 OpenOffice templates

• 2 instructional screencasts

• 11-page instructional guide

• 20 cover design recipes

• 68 pages of launch strategies for marketing your ebook

• 2 inspiring interviews

• 2 bonus ebooks on brainstorming and staying productive

You’ll learn everything about creating an ebook like figuring out your goal, generating ideas, organizing your ebook, and all the elements of design including titles and graphics.

The “Quick Start Guide” takes you right to what you need whether you’re completely new to writing, design, and ebooks or already familiar with design and OpenOffice but need help writing and selling your ebook.

You can learn more about it right here and get your own copy.

The “Launch Guide” features 68 pages packed with information and tips for launching and marketing. As a graduate of the A-list Blogging Bootcamps and Chris Guillebeau’s year-long Empire Building Kit (read more here), I’ve been along for the ride on more ebook launches than I can count, and I can say with confidence that this guide wraps it all up and then some.

Plus, Kelly and Pamela know that everyone is different and we all have different approaches:

Perhaps you want to create a huge wave of buzz and momentum to swell your list of prospective buyers. You might have no qualms reminding them every day for a week that your eBook is on sale and the price is going up in a day or two. But it’s OK to be on the mild side, too. Just know that since your techniques are more subtle, it may take a little more time for people to develop an appreciation for your offer. You may reach your sales goal over a longer period, rather than within a short, crazy sprint of a few days.

This comprehensive guide comes with loads of links and resources, too, and no matter what your goals and style are, you get step-by-step instructions from start to finish.

I’m really excited about getting started on The Peaceful Planet Manifesto—I already designed a possible cover with the eBook Evolution’s “Cover Recipe Book,” and I’ve chosen my template and loaded it on OpenOffice—now I just have to pop in the text. The templates are much more than just templates, too. They’re filled with instructions and tips for everything that needs to be done.

And with Kelly and Pamela’s many years of design and writing experience backing me up, I know my upcoming ebooks are going to be fabulous.

You can buy the eBook Evolution for $147, and it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee.

If you’re thinking about writing an ebook—or maybe you’ve already written one but paid a designer to do the layout—you may want to seriously consider getting this guide and doing it yourself.

I wish I had the eBook Evolution last summer. But life happens in strange ways. I truly believe that when you need something and it’s the right time for you, it will be there.

I’m proud to be an affiliate for this product and I’m also a fan of both Pamela and Kelly. I’m thrilled about this fabulous resource they’ve created, and I can’t wait to show you my results.

Comments are always welcome.