In a previous article I wrote, “The Art of Christian Writing,” I talked about how to write from God’s inspiration as a Christian writer. When you decide to write a Christian ebook, your type of content won’t be too different from your other writing jobs as a Christian writer. You are still a Christian writer who must write from the seat of a God-inspired spirit and soul.
There are many excellent secular articles on how to write your first e-book. Some may ask you to do some research and find out what is “in” or selling on the internet market and then write about that topic. Hopefully, the topic would be in the same vein as her business. Others may tell you to use article writing to promote your website and products, without blatantly promoting products in your ebook. Still, many people do not follow this good advice; they simply write very poor quality eBooks that are nothing more than pages of promotional material for their products and websites, with no really valuable content information for the reader. While e-books are an effective tool for marketing an internet business or other businesses, I agree with those who suggest that e-books should be rich in content and provide valuable information to the reader, even if the e-book is a gift. free to promote a website or commercial product(s).
As Christian writers, we should not be driven solely by profit when making our decision on what eBook topic to write. I believe that, first and foremost, we are really “ghost writers” for God through his indwelling Holy Spirit. So we must first pray and ask God to inspire us to write about a topic that He wants us to write about. You see the amazing thing about being a Christian writer is that when God inspires you to write on a specific topic, you can be sure that many people need that information. For example, you may be inspired to write about how to select the best ebook creation software for Christian writers. You may be surprised at how many Christian writers are struggling to understand and decide which software to buy to write and publish their eBooks. You might be inspired to write about selecting a good website hosting company. You may find later that with the plethora of website hosting companies available, many Christian writers are overwhelmed trying to select the company that offers the best and most suitable package for their desired website. God guides Christian writers on what to write and how to write what they write. Therefore, never take this aspect of Christian scripture for granted. Once you have a clear vision of the ebook you are going to write, do some research to add it to your work.
Once your inspiration is flying and you’re overflowing with words to write, feel free to start writing, using any word processing software. Later, you can always cut and paste your writing into an eBook creation software application, or easily convert your document to a simple pdf file. Note that there are people who write directly into an eBook authoring software application. Personally, I prefer to write and store my initial eBook content in a word processing application and then transfer that content as needed when creating an actual eBook. In the case of an ebook pdf format, all you need to do is simply convert a word processing document into a pdf file format.
Below is a clear writing approach I suggest you take as you begin writing your first Christian eBook writing project:
1. First, you need to ask some critical questions. Who is your target audience? Is it just Christians or all? If they are all, then you must decide how to present the biblical information in such a way that many will receive it. In short, you would need to write what I call “crusader” Christian writing. This is the kind of writing that appeals to Christians and non-Christians alike, because it contains palatable universal truths that all humans can relate to. For example, “Understanding your purpose in life”, “Christian strategies for dealing with daily stress”, etc. But remember, you have to write what God has inspired you to write.
2. Write an outline of the Christian topic you have decided to write about based on a biblical theme. Decide if you plan to write a short Christian e-book or a full book. I suggest that depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the Christian ebook, you should make the decision about the length. For example, if the Christian ebook is for teaching, it could be longer than one designed for evangelism.
3. Organize your Christian ebook outline into logical chapter sections. This could be a one sentence per chapter synopsis of what each chapter of your e-book will be about. This is kind of a chapter-by-chapter synopsis.
4. Start with an introduction. Why are you writing about this specific topic? Are there issues that people face, either within the Christian community or in the world at large, that you need to address in your writing? Also, be prepared to offer Bible-centered approaches or solutions to address the problems identified, but avoid sounding judgmental.
5. What do you hope to accomplish with your Christian writing, specifically your e-book? Is it a teaching, preaching or evangelism tool? Is it motivational or inspirational writing? What is your target group of gender and age, etc.? Is your ebook for women or men, youth or children? Remember that you are targeting subgroups within a general group of Christian readers and non-Christian readers, and perhaps new people who have recently been inspired to read e-books and books in general.
6. Now, focus on your main writing focus, which is the main core of your Christian ebook. Write from your heart. Write as if you are sitting with someone you really care about and whose interest you have at heart. So, leave in your writings the inspiring words that God has given you. Address the subject of your writing approach with powerful words from God and deliver an electrifying message in writing, offering both short-term and long-term Bible-based approaches to problem solving. Don’t worry about editing your writing for now. Only write. You will focus on the editing aspect later.
7. Make sure as you write about the main focus, which is the core of your writing, that you clearly identify the specific issues, discuss them, and provide solutions or guidance based on God’s Holy Word. Don’t come across as superficial in your writing, or as having little or no expert knowledge of the topic you’re writing about.
8. Write simply, clearly and concisely. As much as possible, write down your points and keep them clear and simple. Remember that when people are looking for information, the last thing they want is long, convoluted prose that is hard to figure out what the point is.
9. As much as possible, try to use specific and realistic examples to illustrate your points.
10. Avoid using generalizations as this may put some people off.
11. If you’re writing a crossover Christian eBook, don’t sound too preachy or you may lose your audience. Instead, introduce and illustrate God’s Holy Word with real-life scenario examples that your audience can relate to. For example, you can illustrate how a mountain climber stranded on a Swiss snowy mountain prayed for a miracle and got it; a rescue helicopter that had flown over several times and didn’t see him suddenly did after he prayed.
12. Write your conclusion or summary. This should be short and to the point and should not be a repetition of what you have already said; rather, you can ask a question about the Christian topic you are writing about. Something to get your reader thinking, or perhaps, a hook that will make them eager to read your next Christian eBook.
13. Now, edit and polish your ebook content that is still in a word processing format, and prepare it to be produced or created, i.e. so you can cut and paste your writing into the ebook format of your choice . There are many great articles on different ebook formats and ebook cover creation software. I’ll be adding a new article shortly, “Christian Writers’ Choice of E-Book Format.”
Keep in mind that your first Christian ebook could be the beginning of a great Christian ministry for you. Your first Christian e-book could be the start of tons of e-books you’ll write, a Christian e-book webstore, or a teaching, preaching, and evangelistic ministry that could touch the lives of millions of people around the world. Remember the popular adage that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So get ready, take the first step and start writing your first Christian e-book.