If you’ve been waiting to do an e-book, the time has come. Consider this:
- In July, Amazon reported that in the second quarter of 2010 the online book giant sold more e-books for its Kindle digital book reader than hardcover books, for the first time ever.
- Since its release in April, Apple has sold more than 2 million iPads, all of which can be used as e-book readers.
- Digital book reader software is now available for most smartphones.
- DIY book publishing houses such as Lulu.com have made creating e-books simpler than ever.
Today the question isn’t why do an e-book, but why not.
Boston freelance writer and The Urban Muse blogger Susan Johnston who earlier this year published her first e-book, The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets, will be my guest during the next WordCount Last Wednesday chat, which is appropriately enough, all about e-books. Tune in on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time for a discussion that will cover e-book basics such as:
- What are the advantages of self-publishing an e-book vs. a traditional print book?
- How do I get started?
- What are some common mistakes writers make putting together an e-book?
- What distribution channels are best?
- How can I promote my e-book?
The one-hour chat takes place on Twitter. To follow along, use the hashtag #wclw.
The format of tomorrow’s live chat is as follows:
- 8:30 – Log on and introduce yourself.
- 8:35 to 8:45 – I’ll ask Susan a few questions to get things rolling.
- 8:45 – We’ll open it up to questions from the audience.
- 9:30 a.m. – The chat ends.
Although it’s possible to use the standard Twitter interface for a live chat, you might find it easier to follow along with an add-on application such as TweetGrid, TweetChat or HootSuite. This tutorialexplains how to set them up.
If you’re afraid you’ll offend followers by tweeting too much during a chat, you can suggest they use an app called TwitterSnooze to temporarily turn off your tweets. In case you haven’t done this before, when the chat starts, tweet a message like this: “I’ll be in a live chat for the next hour; if you don’t want to follow, turn off my tweets with TwitterSnooze.com.”
If you’ve got a suggestion for a subject you’d like to see covered, send it my way. The next WordCount Last Wednesday chat will take place on Nov. 24 and feature Jason Lancaster, an Internet marketing consultant and SEO expert with Spork Marketing in Denver, who’ll lead a discussion on SEO basics for writers and bloggers.
If you’re an expert in a particular aspect of freelance writing, running a freelance business or tech tools for writers and are interested in participating in a future WordCount Last Wednesday as a guest speaker, contact me.