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How to Write and Publish a New Kindle Book Every. Single. Week.

Today, I have a guest post from one of my favoritest coaching clients (who also helped me to publish my book) AND is one of my dear friends…. Kristen Eckstein.

With that intro out of the way, I'm going to step back and just let Kristen shine. 🙂


How I am Able to Write & Publish a New Kindle Book EVERY Week

by Kristen Eckstein

kristen_eckstein_headshotIt’s official, I’ve gone completely nuts! When Nicole challenged me to write and publish a brand new Kindle book… Every. Freaking. Week… for the fourth quarter of 2013, I’m not sure she expected me to follow through. And I’m proud to say despite losing my writing mojo, my crazy travel schedule, and my more than full-time business’ current busy season, I’m keeping up with the task.

So how exactly am I pulling this off? I mean, a brand new Kindle book every week???

First, I’m crazy. You have to be somewhat off-your-rocker to accept a challenge like this, much less follow through with it. You have to be a little nuts to go farther and do more than your mind and body tell you that you can. Anyone who’s been through a session with a personal trainer knows, by the end of the session you’re awe struck that you did it. You finished. And you did more than you thought you were able when you first walked through that door.

This Kindle writing challenge is much the same. It’s personal training for my writing muscles, and my creativity in finding, editing, and developing new content. And here’s exactly how I’m doing it:

  • Answering Questions—It’s easy enough to write an answer to a question someone asks. The first few e-books I wrote were simply answers to questions my audience was asking me. How did I know they asked? Simple, I created a Facebook poll and asked them what they wanted to know. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
  • Kit Bashing—My husband is a model railroader. In model building, kit bashing is where you take several kits and “bash” them together (i.e.: Take pieces from each) to create one unique piece. Kit bashing in writing means I take content from several places—speeches, blog posts, guest blog articles, and other books I’ve written—and combine them to create one unique e-book.
  • Repurposing—Similar to kit bashing, repurposing content is simple. The content is done, articles are written, and I even had several chapters for new books ready for editing. I simply gathered those chapters, expanded them a bit, and repurposed them into individual e-books.
  • Write Like the Wind—Any time the writing bug bites, I grab my laptop and write. Sometimes it’s 3:00AM. Sometimes it’s 11:00PM. Sometimes it’s the ten minutes I have free in-between appointments. It doesn’t matter when it strikes or how long the time is I have to devote to it, I write.
  • Short Titles—I had a conversation with a prospect recently who was upset at all the books she started reading, then got bored with. Some big-name publishers say they can’t sell a book unless the manuscript is at least 285 pages. However, what she noticed was she never finished those books because 285 pages’ worth of content was already said in the first 50. The rest of the book was rehashing everything to fill the space. I’ve found shorter, to-the-point books with solid action steps sell much better than big books full of fluff, and people tend to read the whole thing. It’s no wonder only the first 20% of most books ever get read. By writing quality over quantity, I’m able to crank out e-books faster.

One more tip… As I’m writing these short Kindle books, I’m writing them all to be part of the same series, the Author’s Quick Guide series. This makes them easier to write as the time it took to create templates for the cover designs and interior formatting for the first e-book never has to be done again. (YAY for time saving strategies!)

I’m excited at how my completion of each Kindle book in this challenge has inspired many of you to get your e-books done and published. I love hearing from you, so feel free to connect with me and let me know how I can support you in helping you get your message in book format released to the world!

Here's how:

Kristen on Amazon –

Kristen's Official Bio:

Kristen Eckstein, the Ultimate Book Coach, is a sought-after independent publishing expert, two time best-selling author and award-winning international speaker. Her reputation is to create books that bring you business through Ghost Publishing, a term she coined to define her exclusive done-for-you independent publishing program, “I am Published!” She has been in the publishing industry since 2003, run a traditional publishing company, vanity publishing house, and started her own independent publishing house with a traditional arm. To date she has started 45 publishing companies and published 133 books and eBooks, 13 of those her own.

Find Kristen on the web at Ultimate Book Coach.


Well there you have it. I set a big, hairy goal for Kristen and she is knocking it OUT of the ballpark.

I'm so proud of her.

So, what can you take from this?

1. If you want to learn about book publishing, grab a few of Kristen's little “Quick Guides for Authors”.
2. If you need help designing your Kindle book and/or cover or getting your book into print, Kristen offers services to do that.
3. If you want your existing Kindle book turned into a PROFESSIONAL looking print book – Kristen does that, too.

Your Homework:
1. Think about a big hairy goal that YOU can set that will challenge you.
2. DO IT.
3. Report back. 🙂

Warmly,
Nicole Dean

I appreciate shares and I adore comments! Please share your thoughts.

  • Jayon
    Reply

    I’ve been hesitant to write an ebook because I’ve always thought it had to be that 285pg manuscript you speak of. Now it seems way more possible if I do smaller amount of pages mixed with the kit bashing strategy.

  • Jeanne Kolenda
    Reply

    Well, I love you BOTH, and I am nothing short of amazed at this project. It certainly leaves me feeling that I have absolutely NO excuses left for not writing books. However, I feel paralyzed at the notion of knowing where to start. I feel like I need an overview…a target. I’m sure I’ll find it if I keep following you both.
    Much Love 🙂

    • Nicole
      Reply

      Jeanne –

      Knowing you as I do, you will most definitely get your book done, and soon. I can’t imagine you shying away from any challenge. 🙂

      Just a FYI – Kristen will be hosting a 30 day book challenge in January. (See how I’m doing it again? Making her accountable? lol!) So stay tuned for that.

      N

  • Elizabeth Cottrell
    Reply

    Wow, this is not only inspiring, but also motivating. Thank you both! The idea of a series with a themed cover is terrific.

  • Penelope
    Reply

    Congratulations, Kristen! I know how hard it is to get the darn books written, let alone published–and one per week! You go girl. I have six up on Amazon right now, and keeping my fingers crossed for five more by Christmas time.

    You’ve inspired me! 😉

  • Bonnie Gean
    Reply

    Well this certainly squashes the excuses that prevent me from finishing the Kindle book I started months ago!

    What an inspiration, Kristen!

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