Interview With a Writer

Today, I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Alyice Edrich, a wonderful writer from
http://thedabblingmum.com on the topic of writing and selling e-books.

How did you get started writing e-books?

Alyice: "In 1999, I did a lot of research to become a mobile notary, now called a Loan Document Signing Agent. Back then, there wasn't any printed material and I had to learn everything by trial and error. I joined a few message boards where questions about getting started and my frustrations about finding mentors abound. I knew I only wanted to work part-time as a mobile notary because I simply wanted it to get me out of the house for a few hours (I was a stay at home mom), but when I saw so many people having a hard time understanding the business and getting started, I took all my notes and compiled them into a book.

At first, I printed bound copies at Kinkos and Office Depot, but then I began receiving requests to send the information over the Internet electronically. So I saved my word document as a pdf file and began manually emailing orders. Little did I realize back then, that I was actually publishing an e-book."

How has writing/selling e-books changed for you since you started writing them in 1999?

Alyice: "In the beginning, I manually sent all orders. That meant I was afraid to leave the house because if someone paid via Paypal, they were expecting their orders immediately. And sometimes, spam filters blocked the emails or their email accounts were too small to accommodate such large files. It was quite frustrating to say the least.

Today, I use a shopping card service that automatically downloads the e-books after payment and then disables the download link in 24 hours. It's been a huge blessing. Occasionally something will happen where the buyer isn't sent back to the download page, and I'll hae to manually email the e-book, but now I email it via a zip file which condenses the file and makes it smaller."

What's the biggest hurdle you've had to overcome writing e-books?

Alyice: "Getting started. I have an electronic file that has several outlines for e-books I want to write. I even have three e-books started. But I get easily sidetracked running the business end that I don't always make time to write."

What's the best thing about writing and selling e-books?"

Alyice: "The best thing about writing e-books is definitely instant publication. You don't have to spend weeks, months, or years pitching you idea to a publisher and then waiting two years for the book to be published. You spend six months to a year writing and perfecting your e-book, then within a matter of days, your e-book is ready to be sold electronically.

The best thing about selling e-books is definitely the money. With a traditional book contract you get so many cents on the dollar. With e-books, you retain the full retail value of the e-book, less any expenses in running your e-book business--which averages to between 30- and 50% of the profits."

What advice would you give someone just starting out with e-books?

Alyice: "You can't just write an e-book and put it on your website in hopes of gaining sales. You have to promote your e-book like a business. In other words, you need a business plan.

Ask yourself the following questions:
What audience does your e-book address?
What does it solve?
Who does it entertain?

Then market your e-book to that audience on a regular basis. Your regular basis may mean daily, weekly, or monthly promoting; it will all depend on your personal circumstances. Market your e-book through word of mouth, speaking engagements, published articles, advertisements, press releases, radio interviews, etc.

Alyice Edrich is the author of several work-from-home e-books, including Tid-Bits for Making Money With E-books--where parents earn hundreds of dollars selling information they already possess. You can visit Alyice at http://thedabblingmumpress.com to order a copy today.