Tips For Writing Your Ebook

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been following my posts at my main website, you know that my latest writing project is a new ebook, The Hands Of A Woman: Everyday Women In Everyday Battles.

The ebook is ready now, and now all that’s left to do is finishing the new website for the ebook.I have bought the new domain name, and have two women helping me with creating the pages for the site. It will be unveiled soon, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Working on this ebook certainly feels like a long pregnancy, just waiting on that baby to come. But if you’re a woman who’s had a baby, you know the baby comes when the baby is ready!

If you’re just starting to write an ebook, here’s some tips to get you started:

  • Jot down your ideas in an idea notebook, your Dayplanner, or Post-it sticky notes. Don’t edit these ideas, just write them down. You’ll be amazed how you can use them and how they tie together. These ideas also will form the skeleton of your ebook’s outline.
  • Include in your idea notebook various quotes from other writers, your family, friends, peers, etc. I use The Quote Garden a lot for quotes in ebooks, on my blog, in my ezine, and on  Twitter and Facebook. Your favorite books are also wonderful sources for quotes. The Bible is the greatest quote book of all! 🙂
  • Your chapters don’t have to be written in order. Did you know that Margaret Mitchell wrote the last chapter of Gone With the Wind first and the other chapters in no particular order? She stuffed the chapters into manilla envelopes and hid it under a towel when visitors came to keep it a secret! While I don’t propose going that far while you work on your book, you can relax from any feelings of pressure to write it “in order.” I wasn’t able to write my chapters for this new ebook in chronological order because I had multiple contributor writers for it, and received their stories for the chapters at different times – so I worked with what I had at the moment.
  • You can use the free tool Open Office to work on your ebook. Open Office has an option to instantly create your document into a pdf that your customers can download. Pdfs  make your ebook portable, so that readers can take it with them on their pc laptop or Iphone wherever they go.
  • Proof/Edit. Yes, PLEASE use a Spellchecker in your document, and go over your finished copy numerous times yourself to catch any mistakes – spelling and grammar mistakes, typos, etc.  – so you don’t look dumb and have damaged credibility. (I need to proof this blog post again before I publish it!) Also, have a family member, friend, and/or an editor edit your copy before publishing it on the web because two pairs of eyes – and usually more – are better than one. But keep in mind that even with multiple edits, there will probably be at least a few mistakes because no one is perfect. Stop aiming for perfect, and aim for excellence – your best job – instead. Only Jesus is perfect! I love what The Barefoot Executive, Carrie Wilkerson, says: “Not perfect – just DONE!” This will help to set you free from the trap of perfectionism.
  • Remember to enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Do you love to write? Don’t let the technical details of creating an ebook ever take that love away from you. Just write!
  • Don’t wait until the day your ebook is completed to shout it from the rooftops. Begin marketing and promoting it when it’s still floating around in your head.  Start telling people now: “I’m writing a new book about the habits of sea lions!” Tell them what it’s about. They may either laugh or give you great ideas to add to it. They can encourage and support you, and pray for you as you’re writing it. You need a prayer cover over you as a writer and speaker, anyway! For the nay-sayers who criticize you with things like, “Writing a book? Why don’t you get a real job?” or as I was told in my youth, “You’ll starve to death as a writer!”, just ignore it and go on with the vision God has given you in your heart. Begin sharing about your ebook NOW on your blog, in your ezine, on Facebook and Twitter, at your friend’s 30th birthday party, at church, at the post office, to the policeman telling you to slow down (just kidding) – wherever you go. Word of mouth is still the best advertising!
  • Finally, and certainly not least, pray. God is the greatest writer of all time. 🙂  Ask for God to inspire you and to help you write with the pen of a ready writer. “My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the king, and I will use my words as a writer with pen and ink.”
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A hair of a different color

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

You’ve probably heard the expression, “A horse of a different color,” thus the play on words in the title.  I forgot to tell you the good news. I finally got my hair fixed. Just in case you’re wondering why my hair is a different color now, I recently had a hair disaster. I went to the salon asking for a dark auburn color, and when my hairdresser applied the color, it immediately began turning black!  I had to wait several weeks to get it professionally fixed, and this past week I was finally able to do it.

My hair is now much closer to its natural brown color (although it has some red tint to it) with the blonde highlights, the way I’ve had it the last several years.

I feel so relieved! Yes, as Christian we’re to focus primarily on beautifying our hearts. But it’s amazing how a woman’s hair (or any part of her appearance) can affect the way she actually feels about herself. The Bible says a woman’s hair is her glory. (1 Corinthians 11:15)

Do you have any hair disaster stories? Feel free to share in the comments below.

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My new ebook is ready for those on my update list!

~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been working on my new ebook, The Hands Of A Woman: Everyday Women In Everyday Battles. It took longer than I anticipated, but the actual writing part is done. I am so excited about this!

The ebook is now available to those who are on my update list at my main website, www.bethjones.net, before its official launch the third or fourth week in May – AND those who buy it now receive a special 25% discount off the regular price of $20. So you only pay $15!

When you buy it, you also receive complimentary bonus gifts of my study guide that covers each of the ten chapters of the book and Cindy Rushton’s incredible Castles Under Fire audio bundle set. (Cindy is my writing/business coach. She is amazing!)

As Christians we are in a war every day with our enemy, Satan. This ebook shares about the everyday battles that women face today – and how we can have victory through faith in Christ.

This ebook is 120 pages long, has solid Biblical content, and has an application section following each story. It contains eight women’s stories that are heart-wrenching and powerful. You will be encouraged and inspired.

To get your copy today at the special 25% discount (a limited time sale!), go to www.bethjones.net and sign up with your name and email on my update list. It’s on the right sidebar under the little red pencil (it’s NOT the ezine, but the opt-in form underneath that). This ebook will bless and encourage you!

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