Beyond doing an e-book for the potential financial gain and the impending notoriety (I encourage you to aim high!), there are a myriad of other reasons to write and publish an e-book.
A Prudential realtor compiled an e-book to give to clients when they sign a contract with her. The e-book walks them through the buying or selling process so they know what to expect at every stage of the sale. She considers it a perk she gives her clients and has had great feedback from it.
An ophthalmologist in Alberta wrote an e-book answering all the questions about laser eye surgery that people were repeatedly asking her. When demand for the book extended beyond her client list, she decided to offer it for sale. She opted to go through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program and has had steady sales.
A retired oil company executive wanted to share his life and work experiences with his family and friends. He also wanted a tangible keepsake of his life for he feared he would be stricken with Alzheimer’s in his old age. Not a writer himself, the exec hired a ghostwriter to write his life story and he compiled it into an e-book for handy distribution.
Janet M. is a fabulous cook and has three daughters. When her oldest daughter left home, the daughter wanted to take all her mother’s recipes with her. So Janet typed up all the recipes, printed them off, put them in protective sleeves, and put them into a binder for her to take with her. It was a lot of work. When daughter number two left home, Janet compiled all the recipes into an e-book and emailed it to her. When daughter #3 left home, she just hit ‘send’. I found out about Janet’s e-book when I called her to ask for a copy of her Yorkshire pudding recipe. She emailed me the e-book and now I am the beneficiary of all of her amazing recipes.
A family’s three-year-old daughter suffered from a rare and fatal illness. After her death, they compiled an e-book in order to share their daughter’s story with other families going through the same thing. The book also shared a plethora of information that the family learned about the illness and knew would help others going through the same situation.
Tara G,. the owner of a design and consulting business, wrote an e-book to, as she explained, capture her knowledge and advice in a digital format. She uses the e-book to introduce people to her business and has found her client base growing steadily since creating the e-book.
A marriage and relationship therapist published an e-book on saving your marriage in 30 days or less. She sells the book online to increase her income stream and she offers it for free as a perk to her clients. The therapist said she has had nothing but positive feedback on her e-book.
A church-going woman had written several thousand hymns over a 50 year period. She knew her life was coming to the end and she didn’t want the hymns to die with her. She published them all in an e-book and offered them free to churches around the globe as part of her legacy.
As you can see, there are many reasons to write and publish an e-book.
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
