My first ebook just went up for sale! Here’s the story:
About a year ago, I offered to help a friend start her own blog. She was already an accomplished writer, producing regular articles for her local newspaper, and had a “fake” blog on the online version of that same newspaper. I suggested to her that she should have a “real” blog. After a while, she took me up on it!
Linda turned out to be an enthusiastic newbie to the world of blogging, and she needed a helping hand through each step of the process. Many emails went back and forth from NC to her nomadic locations in OH, MI and FL. We started from the very beginning and took small steps until she had her blog up and running. Shoes for an Imaginary Life is a beautiful expression of Linda’s view of the world. Her blog has been a great addition to the blogosphere!
During the process of setting up her blog, we joked that the emails would be good material for a “how to” book about starting a blog. I guess that planted a seed which must have grown in the back of my mind. After a few months, I reviewed the emails and started writing. A little ebook gradually took form. My daughter, Ginny, helped me with some key insights and with encouragement. There was a technical learning curve regarding ebook self publishing, but with a little luck and determination, I gradually figured it out!
How to Start and Own Your WordPress Blog ~ Made Easy is my first ebook! 😀 It seems crazy, but it is available on Amazon (for the Kindle,) on Apple’s iBookstore (for the iPhone and iPad) and will soon be up on Barnes and Noble (for the Nook reader.)
Of course, most of you reading this already have your own blog and don’t need the information. But I do hope other people find their way to this post by way of searches, and that they are encouraged to start their own blog! This ebook is essentially the helping hand used to bring Linda’s blog to life. It’s a step by step tutorial, easy to follow, so that anyone who wants to can easily start and own their blog! 🙂
I’m very excited about this project and I hope it reaches the audience for whom it is intended. Please help me promote it with a Facebook “Share” or “Like.” I would really appreciate that! Thank you very much! 🙂
Congratulations! What a fabulous idea, and it sounds like a great book. Plus, I’m looking forward to meeting Linda.
You know I looked the other day and for some reason I do not have The Best Parts link on my blog list. So, I wanted to ask you if it would be alright if I added it?
I’ve been offline for too long, I guess. Some of the blogs on my list have disappeared. You become a dinosaur quick in the blogging world. 🙂
Just let me know when you can…About the link, I mean.
By the way, your blog is a site for sore eyes.
Annie
Annie! One of my oldest and dearest blog friends! I’m SO glad you’re back at it! 🙂
It really is true that blogging has evolved in the relatively short time you’ve been away, but you’re not a dinosaur! Your kind and gentle spirit makes your blog the kind of place we all love to visit.
I would be honored to be on your list! 🙂
I remember when Linda was first setting up her blog!
I am impressed to say the least! An E-Book… wow. You are a man of many talents.
I sell e-books but I’ve never made one.
Come to think of it… the first e-book I ever sold was called “Men Made Easy” 🙂
It was a hit!
Coming from one of the most talented people I know, I’ll take that as a huge compliment! Thanks, Dawn!
Ha! “Men Made Easy” sounds hilarious! A title like that would surely be a hit! Mine sounds so dorky by comparison.
You might have to fill me in on how it is you sell ebooks. I suspect it’s through your Horoscope site.
You suspect right. I am an affiliate for clickbank that particular book was one of my bestsellers for about 3 years 🙂
I can’t say enough good things about Ferd’s expertise and patience as a teacher. Even as a blogger with one year’s experience, I look forward to continuing my education with this book.
Ferd, the cover is fabulous… a real attention getter. I miss the good old days of all those emails and blog emergencies… like the time my first story disappeared because somehow I turned all the letters white!
Thank you Dawn and Ann for your kind words. And thanks, Ferd, for using my pic in this post. I love anything that feeds my ego.
Great job, my friend… I’m so proud of you! Hugs… : )
Thank you for all that, Linda! It was really fun working with you on your blog because of your enthusiasm. And look what came out of it!
I worked on that cover for a long time. I’m updating the iBookstore version with this cover as we speak. It’s a picture of my MacBook Air, with my blog showing, with my kids on the header picture, on our kitchen table, looking out the window into our screened-in porch, with a flower off the mantle, and my standard cup of hot chocolate! 🙂
Congrats on your first EBook,my Efriend.
Thank you very much, Mike! 🙂
Awesome! What’s Amazon’s cut of that, by the way? I’ve thought about writing a “Places to Visit in Minneapolis-St. Paul” book before. But I was looking at publishing it with Lulu, where the price would have been ridiculously high for the buyer. An ebook format might work though.l
I was surprised at how well the screenshots (which are tricky with the words so tiny) came through on the final product. I think pictures of places would come out just fine in ebook format, and the amount of writing would be just right as well. Good idea. Do it! You know how much I love your explorations of the cities.
I did use Lulu as my publishing vehicle, but I had successfully formatted my epub file so I didn’t have to pay them a cent up front. They jump the hoops to get the ebook up on the iBookstore and on Barnes and Noble so they will get a cut of sales. Amazon was actually much easier, but by then I had an acceptable epub file. All of these places take about the same amount of money, roughly 35%. I’ll get about $3.33 for each ebook, which is priced at $4.99.
I hope to maybe make enough for beer money, which is a joke because I drink about six-pack a year! LOL
Ha! Yeah, I don’t expect to make much. I’ll probably even offer a free version for the pc and just charge for the Kindle/Nook versions.
Where were you when I started my blog? That is awesome that you have written an e-book.
Linda is an amazing writer and I love her blog.
Thanks, Pam! 🙂
Oh congrats to you! Tweeting & Facebooking.
Thank you very much, Meleah! 😀
This is great information and I really need to do this! I hope all is well with you and yours and THANK YOU so much for all of your nice comments during the past 2 months that I’ve been So busy and probably lazy too. Take care!
Thanks, Michelle!
Ha! Lazy! You are so NOT lazy! You were overseas working on an advanced Yoga degree. That is SO the OPPOSITE of lazy! Crazy maybe! LOL
I am SO BEHIND on my blog reading, and you are at the top of the list! The book sounds GREAT. People sometimes ask me how to do all of this… I will start referring them to this book!!
The nice thing about blog reading is that we get to it when we can. I appreciate your visits, early or late, and especially that you leave comments. Thank you!
Just read the book, Dad. It was great! I love the images you used. Good work!
Thank you, Ginny!
The book would not have happened without your thoughts and encouragements at key moments.
This is really interesting, You are an excessively
skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to in search of extra of your excellent post.
Also, I’ve shared your website in my social networks