So many bloggers, homeschooling moms, stay-at-home/work-at-home moms are persevering every day with their talents and families side by side. Some moms may choose to share their life experiences and gifts in creative outlets such as blogging, or writing something like an e-book! E-books are helpful to many people because they are easily accessible and usually affordable! Writing an e-book can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. My first half of 2015 was spent gearing up for my first e-book launch, so I would love to share a few helpful hints for a mom who wants to write an e-book.
Moms have the awesome ability to multi task, and having kids definitely throws us into a world of new experiences we never thought we would find ourselves in. Maybe you are like me, someone who was a studious college student with big career goals. Maybe you lived in another part of the world, or did a lot of traveling before the little ones were in your life. All of our “pre-mom” years have led us to this new phase called motherhood and we are still learning how to survive this new phase. We have a culmination of knowledge and new experiences that can be shared with the world in the easily-accessible way, and even find a way to make some extra income doing it.
Before you start,
1) Set a deadline
Having a deadline date for your e-book launch is SO helpful! It is the prize you are aiming for, and will give you motivation to finish. Think about your schedule demands, your topic and expected length, being sure to give yourself a realistic date. I gave myself 8 months, but some people choose to write them much more quickly. Set aside an hour a day, or a few hours every weekend if you can. I used a bunch of nap times, and with some help from my husband, I got it done!
2) Make an outline
Have a list of topics you plan on covering, chapter titles, etc. This will help you stay on task, and not go off on random tangents when writing.
3) Before you write, ask yourself “Who is my audience”
Write down the people you are targeting with your e-book. Who will it help? What kind of images and writing do they expect from you?
4) Have an accountability friend
Maybe you have a blogger friend, a spouse, or someone else you can “check-in” with every few weeks. Let them know how you are sticking to your timeline, and they can help along the way!
5) Write a REALLY rough draft
Whenever I write, I like to just purge all of my thoughts, without a ton of worry about indentation, grammar, etc. Just write loosely-formed paragraphs and the rest can be adjusted later. Getting your thoughts out is most of the work! I liked using Microsoft Word!
6) Talk About It Often and Early, Give Sneak Peeks
Your friends, family, audience like to be notified early on. There is a reason movie makers play previews for movies many months in advance. Start a launch countdown, and regularly give updates on the launch. It will be something highly anticipated and helps your customers get eager to purchase it.
7) Templates are AWESOME!
If you are writing an e-book with a lot of images and paragraphs or columns, I highly recommend you find a template that you can use in Photoshop. Dragging and dropping images and text into a template can save a bunch of time. I found a template on ETSY that I loved, but there are many online to choose from.
8) The Question of Images
Will your book have images? Will they be stock images? What will you use for the cover?
Adjust your timeline to make room for photographing things, or finding stock images. I definitely recommend you take your own images if you can, because this book is your own, and your style can be best portrayed in your own work. The cover of your e-book should show your style, grab your audience, and communicate the content. 
9) Have a team of advocates
Think about 4-5 people who will proofread, review, and/or share your e-book when it releases! This will be a big task, and a team who advocates for you can help!. They can also be affiliates and earn a portion of the sales. There are programs that let you upload your PDF e-book, and have affiliate links your affiliates can use and earn money from. Be sure that if you use a team of advocates, make your requests clear. Let them know when they need to review your book, when they should try to post the review on their blog/social media, and how many times you expect them to shout it out. If you don’t tell them your expectations, they won’t know how to help you.
10) Determine the content’s worth and price your e-book accordingly.
There are so many e-books out there, and people will tell you all sorts of opinions on what you should charge. If your e-book is on the simpler “short-story” spectrum, maybe you would like to set your price lower than someone who has a lengthy tutorial- “how to” type of book. It really is up to you!
When your e-book is ready to go, don’t be shy to announce it to the world!
