The First Steps To Write An EBook

For many of us, writing is the easy part of making an ebook.

The hardest part is getting past the hurdles at the early stages before drafting begins. Namely, you need to know the first steps to write an ebook before you can even start. So where to begin?

Before you start thinking about chapters, cover pages, or even an outline, you need to decide you’re going to write an ebook.

Right now you might be reading this and thinking I’m blowing smoke, but I’m serious — you have to decide you want to do it. You have to be determined to write this ebook, and you have to dedicate time to it.

If you don’t, you’ll just end up with another “someday” project filed away in the back of your mind and it will never be completed.

The reason it took me so freaking long to get my first ebook out into the world? Because I didn’t have my heart in it from the get go.

Now, that’s not to say my heart wasn’t in it at all — it definitely was! But it took me a year longer than it should have to finish it after I first started drafting because I wasn’t really that invested in the project initially.

I liked the idea of telling people I was going to write a book someday, and I liked the idea of what my book could be more than I liked the idea of sitting down and writing the damn thing.

So when I tell you that you have to want it, I’m dead serious.

Once you have decided you are going to do it, the other first steps to write an ebook are simple:

#1 Make time in your schedule for writing your book.

If you don’t set aside time blocks to work on your ebook, you’re never going to have time to finish it. One of the biggest mistakes anyone as a creator can make is to put off a project for years because they “don’t have time.”

Usually it isn’t an absence of time keeping their project from reaching completion, it’s their inability to dedicate time and focus on the project. So if you have decided you want this, you have to put your time where your mouth is.

(Psst… Want to get your ebook done in only 14 days? Check out my guide!)

If you’re a Type A kind of person who has to have every minute of every day scheduled out, plan a recurring writing session on your calendar for the same time/days every week. This will help you hold yourself accountable.

Are you more of a spontaneous person who likes to do whatever task looks the shiniest on a given day? That’s okay! Send me a DM to join my weekly Zoom writing session, or partnering up with a fellow writer or friend who will help you stay accountable for your writing time.

#2 Move beyond the Imposter Syndrome.

Y’all, let me tell you. Imposter Syndrome has kept me from living my best life for years. Yes, literal years have been wasted not completing any projects because I was terrified I wasn’t good enough or didn’t know enough to be telling anyone anything.

Truth is, none of us know everything. But we all know something. And what knowledge and experience we do have is worth sharing.

There will always be someone who knows more than you on a topic, sure. But there will also always be someone who knows less than you do, and who wants to know more. And maybe you’re exactly the right person to teach them.

No matter what level your expertise is at, there is always someone who can benefit from hearing what you have to say. Recognizing this and moving past the Imposter Syndrome is one of the most critical first steps to write an e-book.

#3 Get past your fear of failure.

So you’re comfortable in your knowledge on a subject. Awesome! But that doesn’t mean you aren’t still terrified of failure.

Look, I get it. Fear of failure has been so deeply ingrained in me, it makes my bones ache to even think about my ebook falling flat.

But there’s a secret most successful writers and business owners won’t tell you, so I’m going to share it with you…

Your first launch, your first project, your first anything will not be an instant best seller.

Whether we’re talking ebooks, other digital products, services, or physical products, your first attempt at anything is probably going to be mediocre. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth.

The thing is, you aren’t going to get better or gain momentum until you do that first project.

Every successful writer and business owner will tell you that success isn’t instant. We all “fail” in the beginning, and that’s okay! The people who find immediate success and fortune with their first product are not “the norm.”

Making those first few failures is what teaches you how to improve so that eventually you will be successful. Don’t let that fear stop you from progressing.

These first steps to write an ebook all tie back to one important factor: Mindset.

Dedication, forgoing Imposter Syndrome, and courage to fail all make writing your first ebook possible. It just requires the right mindset.

So tell me, what’s holding you back from starting your ebook?