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Episode 131

The Ebook Show

March 9, 2018 ·

EP131: THE EBOOK SHOW Today’s episode 131 is a behind the scenes episode as I wanted to introduce you to my self-imposed writing project, Write the Life. Episode Summary: What is Write The Life? Why did I start the project? What is my vision and long-term goals for me and others like you?

Episode Summary: A behind-the-scenes look at Mike’s self-imposed writing challenge, the “Write the Life” project — publish a self-published eBook by April 15, 2018 — plus a quick overview of eBooks in general.

What You’ll Learn

  • A quick overview of eBooks: what they are, where to buy them, and typical pricing
  • The self-imposed “Write the Life” eBook challenge: publish by April 15, 2018
  • Why Mike chose eBooks as the next content format after podcasting and video
  • The vision behind building a passive-income content platform through self-published books

37 days remaining in the challenge at the time of recording.

What Is an eBook?

An eBook — electronic book — is a digital book made of text, images, or both, readable on computers, phones, or tablets. The digital counterpart to a printed book.

Benefits of eBooks

Generally inexpensive, an endless catalog to choose from, and convenient to read on a phone, tablet, or dedicated e-reader like the Kindle. eBooks let you highlight, bookmark, add notes, and search text — and take up zero luggage space.

Where to Buy Them

Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo, among others — though Amazon and the Kindle Store dominate the market and make self-publishing highly accessible. Amazon was Mike’s primary focus, with distribution to smaller sellers planned too.

Pricing

Generally under $10, with the most common Kindle Store price points around $2-3.99, and plenty of free or $0.99 titles.

Purchasing and Reading

Dedicated readers like Kindle or Nook allow direct purchases on-device. On iPhone or iPad, purchases happen through Amazon first, then sync easily to the free Kindle app — Mike’s own preferred way to read, primarily on an iPad Pro.

What Was WritetheLife.com?

A new blog built specifically to force a public commitment: publish an eBook on Amazon by April 15, 2018. The reasoning leaned on Parkinson’s Law — work expands to fill the time you give it — the same logic that got this podcast launched in 30 days with zero prior podcasting or audio-recording experience. The challenge: self-publish an eBook and document the whole process, tools included, on the blog, with a companion 5-10 episode podcast series and a class planned alongside it.

Why Start This Project?

The broader vision for Mike Murphy LLC is educational and motivational content teaching creatives the tech and lessons learned building an online business — audio, video, and words are the three legs of that content stool, and eBooks fit naturally into the “words” leg. Writing has always been a strength (an English degree helps), and there’s been a long-simmering, semi-secret desire to make it as a blogger that never got pursued seriously after an early attempt. This project doubles as a forcing function — a deadline to finally ship something that’s been weighing on him — and a realistic one, given 131 podcast episodes’ worth of source material (roughly 3,000 words each) to draw from for eBooks targeting around 10,000 words apiece.

Vision and Long-Term Goals

The goal: build a platform of tutorials and educational content that generates passive income through products and affiliate links. eBooks work well as marketing products too — brands can use them almost like a business card — and Mike wants to make the self-publishing process (blog, podcast, social channels, and the book itself) as approachable as possible for others.

Conclusion

The goal: eBook #1 live in the Kindle Store by April 15, 2018, with progress documented along the way and an open invitation for anyone who wants to join the challenge.

Show Notes & Links