Are you just a little bit jealous when you see a new e-book come out on a subject you've been thinking about? Have you been talking about writing your own e-book someday? But that someday just never seems to come? You have perfectly good excuses--not enough time, too busy with work, not really a good writer--so you just keep reading other people's e-books. Or perhaps the thought of writing a 50 or 100 page e-book is too overwhelming. But remember, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Are you ready to take that first step NOW?

Are you wondering what that first step is? Actually there are a variety of ways you can start to write an e-book or even a book or other info-product. To help you get started, I can offer some of the methods other people have used and what I have done; then you can choose whichever makes sense for you. If you get stuck, remember I am a ghostwriter, teacher, and writing coach, so I am available to help you in any way I can.

1. TITLE--You may wake up in the middle of the night with a burst of inspiration or you struggle with just the right title. You will know it when you have it. I like to have a title to keep me inspired to keep going with writing the rest of the e-book. You must create a title that will capture the attention of your audience, set you apart from other e-books, and that offers a benefit or promise to the reader.

2. SYNOPSIS--writing a brief synopsis of the e-book and where you are going can help get your thoughts clear about what you plan to write about. This information will assist your reader and get you on track at the start. You can change directions later on, but at least you are starting off with a plan.

3. OUTLINE--so you now know what you will be writing about. It's a good idea to create an outline as ideas for the e-book come to you. Make sure you address any questions you think your reader might want answered.

4. TABLE OF CONTENTS--turn your outline into your chapters. This creates for you a fill-in-the-blanks template where you can fill in all the data and content.

5. SCATTERED NOTES--you may have files or documents with ideas for books that you've kept over the years. Maybe you have a collection of notes you've jotted on post-its or napkins or junk mail. Collect all your notes and organize them.

6. EXISTING CONTENT--if you have taught any kind of class like a teleclass or seminar or you've written articles or blogs you already have some good content? This can all be re-purposed for your e-book.

7. RESEARCH--maybe you still need to do a little more research on your topic. You might want to read a few books or do research on the Internet. You should check out your competition. Then just decide that you have enough information and start writing. Don't use research as a convenient form of procrastination.

8. JUMP RIGHT IN--BEGINNING, MIDDLE, OR END--you can start writing anywhere you like! There are no rules to follow as to how to start writing your e-book. Once you have your table of contents and your data, just fill it in where it goes.

9. POLISH--now that you've put your content in each chapter, take some time to clean it up, do some editing, put it through spell-check, and there you have it! Your e-book. Congratulations!