allume

real light living

4 {Great} Reasons YOU Should Write an eBook

By

Hi, I’m Trina and I’m a blogger who writes books.

My books have not gone viral nor made me famous. I’m not making a full-time income from my ebook earnings, nor have any publishers come calling. But I still love writing books, and I believe no matter how big (or small!) your blog, or what your vision for your writing is, you should consider self publishing an ebook.

Here’s why:

youshouldwriteanebook

1. It’s a step toward bigger dreams.

A published book is the ‘Holy Grail’ for many writers. Whether self-pub or contracted, we long to see our name in the author line on a manuscript. Although I don’t believe for a minute that authorship is the ultimate proof that we are REAL writers, there are still many writers who believe that title as an important milestone in their journey, and they will—often subconsciously—put most of their efforts into reaching that point.

But what if you were past that goal? Then what would you feel free to pursue?

For years I saw publishing a book as the ultimate goal of my writing. Once I got that out of my system, I was able to expand my horizons with my writing, and also felt more freedom to ask God what His dreams for my writing were. (Novel idea, I know!)

If publishing even a small ebook helps you get past that mental block of “I have to write a book first” so you can pursue different or broader dreams with your writing, then go for it! If, on the other hand, my little confession helps you realize that a book has been getting in the way of your calling, then skip the book and go straight for your dreams!

2. People still prefer books.

If you had a series on your blog that I was really interested in, and you had gathered all 6 or 10 or 31 posts into a PDF I could download and read on my Kindle app, guess what I’d prefer? The file that has it all in one place.

As much as we all love reading blogs, there’s still something about a book that continues to draw us. Maybe it’s the fact that a book doesn’t ask us to comment or share or engage. Instead we ingest, meditate, and relax into the content, and any ‘call to action’ is hopefully something that calls us to engage more fully in life, instead of just social media.

If you have some great content on your blog, or some posts that you feel get to the heart of what God has called you to write about, consider doing your readers the service of organizing them into one place. Maybe it’s a fancy, shmancy ebook formatted for kindle, with a custom-designed cover. Or maybe it’s a simple PDF they can download for free. Either way, creating a book is a way to serve your readers well. (<–Tweet that!)

3. It’s a wise use of your time.

Let’s face it, blog posts have a very short life span. No matter how much work you put into that post, it’s going to eventually get bumped into your archives. You can try to resurrect it, but it’s still just a blog post that people are going to have to be willing to follow a link trail to read.

On the other hand, a book is not so easily lost. It can live right in your sidebar with a cute graphic, be shared regularly with other bloggers via reviews or giveaways, and be easily linked to in current posts. You can also get it formatted for print and have a tangible capsule of your words to share with friends and keep as a reminder to yourself of what God has taught you.

Putting our efforts into creating something more enduring than a blog post is a wise stewardship of our gifts and calling.

4. Makes great residual income.

I love things where you do the work once, but continue to reap the rewards: like taking the time to teach your children to do the laundry, or planting a perennial in the garden.  The benefits keep coming after you’ve quit sweating!

This is what ebooks have been for me. Sure, they’re more work than a blog post. But once they’re finished, and you upload them to Amazon or Ejunkie, the work of creating is done. You may spend a season of time actively marketing your book (and that can feel like more work than the writing!), but eventually you will move on to other things, while the book stands on its own two feet, and people can continue to buy it.

My first book sold 2 copies the day I released it. I had such a small platform at the time and so few connections that whatever attempts I made to market it hardly made a ripple. Within a few months I had moved on to other projects. But the book was still there, and every once in a while, someone would buy a copy. For the first year, I only sold a few per month, but my little book sitting there in my sidebar saved me the trouble of having to find sponsorship for my blog in order to afford hosting fees. It continues to sell two years later, providing a blessed little residual income stream for our family.

Final Advice for Would-Be Authors:

If these points have got you brainstorming about what idea or content you can turn into an ebook, I’m excited for you! But my final word of advice is this: as with any project or dream you pursue, make sure the idea is actually in line with God’s desire for your writing. Writing an ebook is a lot of work, and not something to be embarked upon without prayer, counsel, and counting the cost. With that, I wish you well and look forward to seeing what God calls you to write in the future!

Tweetables:

 

DYI ebook publishingYou can read the full account of my first self-publishing journey in my series: The Smaller Blogger’s Step-by-Step Guide to DYI Publishing. You may also enjoy my husband’s techy tips for formatting a book for kindle and for print. P.S. My second ebook was released last month. Though it hasn’t gone viral, some of my friends think it’s pretty cool. *wink* Find it here. 

Do you dream of writing a book? What’s holding you back? If you need feedback or encouragement for your dream, I’m your gal. Let’s brainstorm in the comments!

Comments

  1. Can I add a number 5? Because you pave the way so beautifully for us that following your example is an incredible adventure and worth the risk! Without you, my friend, Impact My Life wouldn’t exist. And without Impact My Life, there would be countless lives left untouched with insights needed for mentoring today. But that’s not even the best part. The real gift to me, through publishing this ebook, is the people I’ve met and the way I get to co-labor with them in ministry while growing an honest-to-goodness friendship. My life is richer — in Christ — because of this experience. And it has so clearly taught me that making dollars and hitting “the best” sales charts isn’t the reward. It is the people and the journey, lived for God’s glory, that is the best part of the eBook process.

    • Yes, my dear, you may ABSOLUTELY add #5! Thank you for sharing what your publishing journey has taught you! I was so blessed to be a small part of that, and overjoyed to see the doors opening and relationships growing because of your diligent pursuit of God’s call on you to mentor women. (P.S. I hear you are coming to my corner of NY next year–squeee! ;))

  2. Ooh…I want to add #6! Because when God calls you to it, the glory is all His. I’m still in awe that little ol’ me, so unqualified and unequipped to write a book, wrote a book! And self-published it, all at the prompting of the Holy Spirit on a subject so near and dear to my heart…and then it turned into a ministry, and God continues to blow my mind with what He’s doing with that book and it’s reach. I didn’t even know the first thing about how to market the book and hardly had a platform to work with, yet it’s still selling copies here and there and women are still reaching out to me via email or in a private FB community for support through their struggles. Who knew God will build a ministry out of my eBook?! 🙂

  4. Love this Trina! I started writing ebooks in 2010 and have loved each and every one! Working on the next one right now! 🙂

  5. Thank you! I am working on an ebook (or two) and appreciate another push in that direction.

    • Yes, Sarah- 3 is more than a reason for me, it’s more like a conviction – a call to steward my writing time wisely.
      Um, yes! Start writing, girl!

  7. Trina, this is so encouraging–and I appreciate the commonsense reasons you give about the more lasting impact an ebook can have because it is just plain easier to access the content. . . And also, there is the invitation for readers to just sit with the words a bit longer than they feel they can with a blog post. Thank you!

  8. YES! Thanks so much for this! It is exactly what I needed to read to get moving on my book. I stalled out because it became too overwhelming and this idea of a small ebook totally lifts the “Impossible” off my idea! Thank you!
    Susie

  9. This. This is just pure beauty and encouragement and I so appreciate you! You, my friend, are inspiring and this post, along with other seeds that have been planted in me over some time, is just so full of the reasons I need to just begin. One word at a time. Thank you!

    • Jacque, starting can be the hardest part sometimes. I just told myself, even if I wrote for 5 minutes it was a start. Write when you can — even if you don’t have a long time to do so. If you do that not only will you start your book, but you’ll finish it as well.

  10. Thanks for this post! I’ve been considering an eBook for awhile now and have been praying more specifically about it. Your points are very helpful!

    Looking forward to my first Allume conference this year! 🙂

  11. I agree with all your points, but would like to add two:

    1. Writing an eBook will teach you a lot about your writing, and help you develop your craft.

    2. You’ll have a greater appreciation for authors — traditionally published and self-published. I now review books when I finish them (because us authors appreciate this), promote books I like (who doesn’t love great word of mouth?), and admire the diligence in publishing a book.

  13. I’ve been working on an eBook and this is GREAT fuel for me to carry on! Thanks so much! Also, I’ve really loved all the wisdom from Allume writers and hope to attend the conference this fall!

Trackbacks

Categories

Archives

Google+