4步教你寫本精良的電子書

You’ve got a great idea. You’re going to write an ebook – perhaps your first! It’ll grow your business, bring in money, and help establish your expertise.

 你想到了一個好點子。你想寫本電子書——也許你是第一個想到的呢！這會大大的增加你的業(yè)務(wù)，為你帶來名利。重要的還是能幫你樹立“作家”的專業(yè)性。

And to keep yourself accountable, you tell all your readers to expect the ebook by the end of the month. Sure, that might mean a few caffeine-fuelled, late-night sessions … but your ebook will be done, dusted, and out the door.

 為了保證你自己的作品質(zhì)量，你告訴所有的讀者他們期待的電子書本月末會出版。確實，這可能意味著你不得不用咖啡補充能量，漫長的深夜回憶。。。但是你的電子書一定會完成出版的！

Heck, if you really knuckle down, perhaps you can knock out a short ebook in a single week.

 哎呀呀！如果你對這事真的這么認真的話，也許你一周的時間就能做出一本電子書了。

Maybe you can.

 恩。。也許你可以吧！

But that doesn’t mean you should.

 但這不意味著你必須這么做

Writing an Ebook isn’t a Race

 寫本電子書又不是比賽

It’s easy to feel pressured to knock this out fast. Maybe you wish you’d written your ebook a year ago. Perhaps everyone else in your field seems to have an ebook – or several. You might feel like you’re already behind.

 如果短時間內(nèi)寫本電子書那么壓力可就不小了。也許你想的是用一年的時間完成一本書呢。也許你周圍的人都有一本或者基本書了。你想你也不應(yīng)該太落后了是不？

But writing your ebook isn’t a race.

 但寫本書并不是競賽。

Yes, at some point, you need to ship it out. Taking an extra few weeks (or even just an extra few days) isn’t going to kill your business, though. In fact, it might well be the best decision you make. Your Ebook Should be Your Best Work

 當(dāng)然，某些時候，你需要盡快的出版，但是就算多花幾周時間（或者只是多花幾天）也不會損害你的業(yè)務(wù)的。實際上，這可能是你做的最好的決定了。你的電子書應(yīng)該是你最優(yōu)秀的作品。

Whether your ebook is a paid product or a freebie, it needs to show you at your best.

 不管你的電子書是付費閱讀還是免費閱讀，它都應(yīng)該展示你最好的一面

If customers need to pay for it, they’ll expect an ebook that’s complete, carefully structured, and well-written. If buyers get an ebook that’s error-ridden, badly structured, and obviously rushed, they’re never going to buy from you again.

如果你的客戶是付費閱讀用戶的話，他們期待的是一本完整的（而不是“太監(jiān)”的）、結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹?shù)模ǘ皇沁壿嫽靵y、結(jié)構(gòu)不清）、文筆流暢的、認真斟酌的（而不是胡編亂造）電子書，否則他們下次就會再也不會買你的書了。

And if your ebook is a freebie, you still need to make it as good as you can. Those readers are potential customers, but if they download your free ebook only to find that it’s full of typos, badly formatted, and confusing, they’re not even likely to buy once.

 至于你的電子書如果是免費閱讀的話，你仍然應(yīng)該盡力而為。那些免費讀者可能就是你的潛在客戶，如果他們下載的你的電子書發(fā)現(xiàn)是一對垃圾貨的話，他們也不會掏錢買你的電子書

So what should you do? Here are 4 simple ways to create a well-written ebook: 1: Follow the Writing Process

 那么你該怎么做呢？下面是4種簡單的方法教你制作一本好的電子書：第一，遵照增長的寫作過程

Every writing project goes through the same stages:

 每個寫作項目都差不多有類似的步驟：

Idea Generation

 構(gòu)思

Research

 調(diào)研

Planning

 策劃

Writing

 寫作

Editing

編輯校對

Publishing

 出版

Sometimes the stages overlap; you might do some research while sorting through ideas or revise your plan during the writing stage. Sometimes the stages take next to no time at all, and you might come up with an idea within a couple of minutes.

 有時上面的步驟可能是同時進行的；你可以在產(chǎn)生幾個想法的時候做一些調(diào)研工作，或者在寫作的階段重新策劃寫作的結(jié)構(gòu)。有時候某些步驟也不需要花費時間，比如，你可能幾分鐘就會有好幾個想法了。

But when you rush through the stages with an ebook, though, you waste time.

 但是，如果你試圖省略它們當(dāng)中的幾個步驟，那你是純粹的浪費時間了。

If you don’t have a strong idea of what readers would love, then you’ll wonder what to write.. If you don’t take enough time to plan, you’re going to get stuck partway through. If you rush the writing, you’ll spend extra time going back to fix it up later. 2: Set Aside Time on a Regular Basis

 如果你對讀者們喜歡那種類型沒有了解，然后就開始寫作。。。如果你沒有足夠的時間做策劃，你發(fā)現(xiàn)你可能在某個地方就卡殼了。如果你在寫作的時候毛毛草草的話，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)你還會回來返工的。第二：制定合理的日程表。按計劃行事

You might have great intentions for your ebook, but if you don’t get into the habit of spending time working on it regularly, you’ll end up rushing things to meet your launch deadline.

 你可能對你的電子書自信滿滿，但是如果你沒有堅持寫作的習(xí)慣的話，你會為最后的截稿日期發(fā)愁的。

Big chunks of free time aren’t just going to magically appear. You need to carve them out of your schedule.

 大塊大塊的寫作時間不會憑空出現(xiàn)，你需要將自己要做的事情寫在日程表上啦。

Put ebook-writing appointments into your calendar at regular intervals. That might mean spending the first hour of every day on your ebook (yep, before you check emails) or it could mean blocking out a couple of afternoons each week. 3: Involve Readers during the Process

 定期的吧你寫作的進度記在你的記事本和備忘錄里。這意味著每天你必須要花一個小時在你的電子書上（當(dāng)然了，你可以在檢查完郵件在做這些）或者意味著你必須拿出每周的幾個下午來做這些事。而不是去喝茶泡妞。第三：寫作過程中讀者的參與

The good news is that you don’t have to tackle every stage of writing your ebook alone. If you have a blog, email list, Twitter account or Facebook page, you’ve already got at least a few readers or potential customers.

 好消息是，整個寫作過程你并不是一個人在戰(zhàn)斗。如果你有博客、郵件列表、新浪微博或者“非死不可”（facebook）的話，你至少有了一批讀者和潛在的客戶。

Get them involved from the start.

 從寫作之初就讓他們參與其中

When you’re coming up with ideas, look at the questions your existing readers typically ask. Do any topics come up again and again? Or if you’re not sure, you could run a survey to find out what readers want or need.

 當(dāng)你有了一個想法的時候，你可以問問讀者對這個想法有沒有什么好的建議。這是不是又一次的炒冷飯呢？或者你不確定的話，你也可以在感興趣的讀者種做些調(diào)查。了解他們的想法和需求。

When you’ve finished the first or second draft of your ebook, ask if any readers would be willing to take a look and give you some feedback. (In return, you’ll give them a copy of the finished ebook in due course.)

 如果你完成了初稿或者二稿的話，如果有讀者愿意先睹為快并把自己的意見反饋給你那就太好了。（作為回報，你可以在電子書出版以后免費贈送他一本）

They might not be expert writers, but they can tell you when you haven’t explained something clearly enough or when you’ve gone off on an unnecessary tangent. 4: Get Help from Professionals

 他們或許不是專業(yè)的作家，但是他們可以告訴你你那些地方?jīng)]有敘述清楚，或者那些地方完全是畫蛇添足。第四：從專家那里得到幫助

If you’re short on time but have a bit of money to spare, then consider paying for help. You could hire an editor to improve your rough draft, for instance, or you could even hire a ghostwriter to do the bulk of the work for you. And when you get to the publishing stage, you might want to involve a paid ebook designer.

 如果你的時間比較緊張但是還有閑錢的話，考慮付費的方式得到幫助。例如：你可以雇傭一個編輯潤色你的手稿，或者你可以雇傭一個槍手為你完成寫作。當(dāng)我們進行到出版的階段的話，你也許會花錢找個封面設(shè)計什么的

Not only will you save time but you’ll also end up with a higher-quality finished product – which helps make the time you invest more worthwhile.

 這不僅能幫你節(jié)省時間，更重要的是你會有一本高質(zhì)量的作品出現(xiàn)——這完全值得你對其進行投資。

An ebook can be a huge asset to your business. If it’s a freebie, it can bring in lots of new customers; if it’s a paid-for product, it can become a very nice income stream. But you can’t just sit down and rattle off ten thousand words in a spare afternoon or two.

 一本電子書為你的業(yè)務(wù)帶來的收入不菲。如果它是免費閱讀的話，也能給你帶來大量的新客戶；如果是付費產(chǎn)品的話，它是一個很好的收入來源和現(xiàn)金奶牛。但是你不能指望你花了一個下午就坐在電腦前碼出的那幾千字達到這個目的。

You need to put time and effort into your ebook if you want it to be a success.

 如果你想要自己的電子書成功的話，那么你就得花費時間和精力在這上面。

Don’t let that put you off, though. Right now, take out your schedule and look ahead a week or two. Find some time that you can block out to work on your new ebook.

 別讓這些把你打倒，現(xiàn)在趕快把你未來一周和兩周要做的事情安排在你的日程表上吧。趕快找到時間創(chuàng)作你的新電子書吧！