10 Questions to Answer Before You Write Your E-book

1. What's in it for me? Define the purpose of your e-book for you and your motivation for writing it. What is your reason for writing it? What are your goals? (ex: you feel strongly about an issue and need to get it off your chest.)

2. What's in it for the reader? Define the purpose of your e-book for your reader and what will motivate the reader to read it. What are you trying to say? What do you want the reader to come away with? (ex: you learned a valuable lesson from a mistake and want to advise readers what to do and what not to do. You hope they can learn from your mistakes.)

3. Who is your reader? Define the age, gender, location, educational and vocational status and as many other details as you can. Then when you write, imagine one of your readers sitting in your office and write to him/her.

4. What is the theme of your e-book? Can you write one sentence that sums up your e-book? Consider writing the e-book promotional material first. This will crystallize your ideas and focus you in on what's most important.

5. What do you hope to gain by writing this e-book? Fame? Passive income? Do you want to give it away for free and make a profit? Do you want it to be the start of a whole info-product line?

6. How do you plan to use this e-book? Will you sell it to the general public through your website and online bookstores? Will you seek out specialty markets? Are you planning to use it as a promotional giveaway? Do you have a website with other products where you can sell this e-book?

7. What is the tone and format of this e-book? Do you have a model of how you want your e-book to look? Do you know how mamy pages it will be and if you want illustrations or graphis? Will you write in a conversational or more formal tone? Will you involve the reader by asking questions or having action steps?

8. Will you write and edit alone? Do you plan to have a collaborator, a ghostwriter, or an authority to collaborate with? Will you have the e-book professionally edited or proofread? Do you need ongoing support from a coach or writing partner?

9. How much time do you have? Have you carved out a few hours every day for writing? Can you delegate obligations and chores? Do you have an idea how long it will take to complete the e-book? Do you think you can stick with it? Have you built in a way to stay on track when distractions drag you away?

10. Have you checked the competition? Do you know if your subject matter is popular or is it obscure? Are there too many e-books on the subject or does yours have a unique angle? Are you filling a need or a special niche?