How to Write an E-Book for Free

Why spend hundreds of dollars on E Book software or a Virtual Assistant, when you can write an e book for absolutely free? A e book is a great way for any internet marketer, or just a part time story writer to get noticed, so please follow the step-by-step instructions below to complete your e book, for free!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Visit any one of the various free Word Processing applications that are free to use online. There are many to choose from, but the best and easiest to write on are OpenOffice.org, or Google Docs. See resources below.

2. Learn how to use the free online software to write before you dive into your e book. It may be slightly different than what you are used to from work or at home, but most word processors are fairly similar, so just take a moment and go through any free tutorials before you begin.

3. Write your e book content. Don't worry about the exact formatting or what the e book will look like just yet, just get your material into the program.

4. Once you've finished writing the content of your e book in the online word processors, be sure to give it a good proofread. Use the spell check and scrutinize for any grammar errors as well. You can have a friend or family member read it over too, just to get a second set of eyes on it.

5. Format the content of your e book into the way you'd like others to see it. This means taking care of all of the correct fonts, font sizes, spacing, graphics, illustrations, etc., that will make your free e book look like it was done professionally. You can format straight from these free programs.

6. Again, proofread and scan your e book. It's much harder to change it one you've converted it into a PDF, which is what we'll do in the next step. Sometimes by adding graphics and changing spacing and font sizes, the text may be out of alignment elsewhere in your document. Once you think you're finished, go through from the beginning and check for anything that doesn't seem right, and fix it.

7. Finally, we are now able to convert the Word Processing file into a PDF. The PDF, which stands for Portable Document Format, is the most common e book format that can be easily read from most, if not all computers that will be downloading it. Use the free PDF conversion online application below in the resources section to get this done. After the conversion is complete, you now have a professional looking eBook that you wrote for absolutely free!

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to save often when writing your free e book! You never know when the internet or power might go out, so it's definitely a smart thing to do. Every 10 minutes should be fine.
• An e book is a great tool for gaining exposure online. If you are spending time to write an e book, let your readers or subscribers know (if you have any) what you are working on to generate some buzz before it's ready.
• You are allowed to sell the e book, or give it away for free, it's up to you.
• If you plan on distributing your e book, be sure you have complied with all copyright, trademark and intellectual property laws, or else you may run into some trouble later.
• If you are ever unsure about whether or not you are complying with all laws, please consult with an attorney.

Resources

• OpenOffice.org - The Free and Open Productivity Suite
• Google Docs
• Free PDF Converter
• Primo PDF Free PDF Conversion Application
• e Book Starter Program for Beginners

[roseanne09]

on 11/16/2009 Excellent article on writing a free e-book. 5*

[niknik2008]

on 10/22/2009 Great Article!

[driechm]

on 9/14/2009 Thanks for the information (from a newbie in the blogging world). This is well-written and concise summary.