A case study on how we wrote and designed our ebook from start to finish
We wrote a massive ebook about all the tools we use in our company: we covered a lot of processes in detail and illustrated everything with screenshots.
Here's how we created our ebook from start to finish:
First, how we found the topic, then how we designed and wrote the ebook, and what we've done to promote it since.
Stage I: Exploration
Choosing a topic people want to read about
Creating an ebook takes time (about a month in our case) so you want to get the topic right to ensure you're getting the maximum ROI for your time.
You can't just choose a topic you like, make an outline, outsource a few writers, throw it all in Word, and hope someone reads it.
First, you have to find a worthy topic. You can do this by watching what people like to read on your blog, what posts are the most popular, and if you can expand on them while keeping the high quality.
We started by checking our Medium stats and Google Analytics to determine our most popular posts. We published one very popular post a year ago where we listed some of the tools we use. It wasn't long, and there were around 30 tools and a sentence or two for each.
A few months ago, we expanded the post: we listed all the tools we use (59 this time) and wrote a whole paragraph for each tool, detailing how we use it in practice. It was much longer but also more popular.
Before we published it, we thought it would make a good ebook: we could expand it with more tips and tricks and add screenshots to show real-life examples.
But before making an ebook from the post, we decided to measure interest by offering signup for a future ebook. We created a cover image and asked for an email if the reader wanted to know more. If enough people signed up, we could know there was an interest and safely proceed with writing.
Thankfully, we ended with a hundred sign-ups. Once we knew there was a demand, we could go on with creating the ebook.
Stage II: Creation
Design - 2 days
Before we could start creating the ebook, we needed a design. So, we first designed it in broad strokes in Sketch. Once settled on a general direction and layout, we could continue refining the design in Scribus.
The ebook had three elements: tool description, basic info, and screenshots. We just need to find the right layout and a way to present them.
We tried 7 different variations on 3 layout ideas before finding the perfect one.
In the first draft, we’ve put everything on one page. But it was too crowded, there wasn’t enough room for more text, and you couldn't see the screenshots well.
In the second draft, we tried a few different layouts, thinking, “If we rearrange the elements in the right way, harmony will emerge”. It didn't. Images clashed with text, each trying to hog our attention, and the page ended up too busy and unpleasant to read.
So we decided to give screenshots their own page - after all, they provided as much value as the text, if not more.
We experimented with a few different ways to combine and present basic information and mulled over about what we liked the most about each variation. In the end, we combined the best elements from each one.
We designed the ebook to be read like a real book, with the left and right pages side-by-side.
But if the reader views the ebook as a single page, we’ve put some signifiers to improve the coherence so they never have to think ,"where am I?" or “what’s this?”
Our main inspiration for the new layout was the Universal Principles of Design, which was also influenced by Google’s Material Design.
Layout and assets - 10 days
Now, we had to create screenshots for each tool. We thought about what's special about each tool and what the most representative screenshot would be.
Then we went into each app, took a screenshot or two, and added two visual cues in Sketch:
- a title bar, so it looks like a window from a real app,
- a drop-shadow to add depth and define its relation to other elements.
We then created 122 pages in Scribus and 6 master templates, one for each tool category. We recreated the layout from Sketch: we put text and image frames, added placeholder text and screenshots, set page guidelines, and rearranged the images depending on their number and relation:
For the logo of each tool, we googled it and tried to find an iconic logo in a nice resolution. Not all apps had a logo that would fit into the little square space or transparency, so we had to edit them in GIMP. This taught us how important it is to have several variations of your logo:
Next, we defined custom styles for each type of text. This way, if we changed our mind, we could tweak the font size in one place (the style), and each piece of text with that style would be updated automatically.
Writing - 15 days
The only thing left to do was to write the ebook. This took the longest. We had the original article with 3,500 words, but we needed three times as much: at least one paragraph more for each tool, plus explanations for the screenshots.
We opened Sublime Text, listed every tool in one large work file, hit Shift+Cmd+Alt+F for Distraction Free mode, and began.
First, we thought what was the best thing about each tool and how to present it. Then, we used the inverted pyramid approach to writing:
- we wrote the most important thing first: what we use the tool for,
- and then provided further details: how we use each tool, why, and what’s our workflow.
This way, the reader doesn’t have to hunt for information or even read the whole ebook - they can scan it quickly, see what interests them, and only read that. The book is specifically designed for modern, fast-paced readers accustomed to scanning and information hunting.
But you'd still be rewarded if you decided to read the whole ebook. You’d learn a lot from our experience - how to collaborate, develop software, support customers, design websites and new features, market a product, and stay productive.
While writing, we didn't pay attention to grammar and spelling. We just kept writing until we finished everything. After that, we reviewed everything in Google Docs.
The editing took longer than the writing: some sentences were removed, some were added, and some were rewritten. Half of the Google doc was red from all the stylistic changes.
Polishing - 4 days
We had our ebook but it needed polish. Basically, it was ready for PDF export but there were many minor fixes/improvements to make - the kind you waste a whole day on, have nothing to show for, but which ultimately make the final product 10 times better.
No one will pick them up consciously, but if you don’t fix them, they’ll leave an impression of a sub-par product. It's like with a luxurious product - insisting on a slightly darker shade of white or a 1 cm thinner device may seem like hair-splitting, but tiny things like this make a huge difference in how users perceive your product and how well it sells.
We also decided to change the book’s cover. We used an image from the blog post (which we took from Unsplash) for the original covre and made it more ebook-like.
After we created the ebook, we were no longer happy with the cover - it was plain, cheap, and a bit tacky. So we scoured the internet for inspiration (Dribbble, Amazon), created a few alternative designs, added a subheading, and chose the cover that aligned the most with our existing style.
EPUB and MOBI - 2 days
We had the PDF version of the ebook finished, but we also needed it in EPUB and MOBI formats for the online ebook stores.
First, we put together everything together in one folder:
- the whole ebook in one markdown file
- images and the cover
- stylesheet
Then we downloaded PanDoc, and built the EPUB using the command line:
$ pandoc -f markdown -t epub --epub-cover-image=cover.png -o EssentialTools.epub --smart --toc --epub-stylesheet=style.css tools.md
Basically, it converts `tools.md` file from markdown to epub as `EssentialTools.epub` file, using `cover.png` as the cover image and `style.css` for custom formatting, fixing straight quotes, and generating the table of contents along the way.
Then we downloaded Amazon's KindleGen to convert the generated EPUB to MOBI, which is also run from the command line:
$ kindlegen EssentialTools.epub
For publishing the ebook to the stores, check out this excellent article from the Zapier team.
Stage III: Promotion
Letting people know it exists
We created a landing page to promote ebook where people could leave their email to download it. This page needed to show what the ebook is about, as well as interest people enough to enter their email, so we added two sections:
- What's inside - to outline the ebook’s value and give visitors a sneak peak.
- How this ebook can help you - to address visitors’ needs, what they’ll learn, and the benefits they'll receive.
Next, we wrote this post detailing how we made the ebook. We could put together a quick post announcing the ebook, but this way we can announce the ebook, reveal how we made it, and share something useful.
We then sent the ebook to the people who subscribed to be the first ones to receive it, and the people who downloaded our first Kanban ebook, in case they might be interested.
Some more ideas
- Post it on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn groups, Quora, Medium, Dribble...
- Spread the news on aggregators: GrowthHackers, Inbound, Hacker News, Sidebar, Designer News, Submit.co, Product Hunt, Reddit...
- Submit it to stores: Kindle Store, iBooks Store, Nook Press, Play Books, Lulu, Leanpub, Smashwords...
- Guest post about it on blogs and news sites: Copyblogger, Hufftington Post, Enterpreneur, Forbes, Upstart Business Journal, Upworthy, Mashable, Business Insider, The Next Web, Wired, VentureBeat, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Thought Catalog, Smashing Magazine, 99designs...
If you have any ideas or suggestions, leave a comment or send us an email at editor@activecollab.com.
