To outsider looking in, life may seem sweet, with hours to suit, no trudging to work in wind and rain, or working at a job you despise, however, freelancers vary rarely work traditional 9-5 and working a five day week is almost unheard of. There are no steady hours in freelance writers world. Any time off is often spent researching new material, absorbing daily events or at least mentally planning for next interview. Even time spent away on holiday cannot prevent Freelancer from planning next travel article and taking notes and photographs of places of interest-just in case.

Professional writers work long and sometimes unsociable hours, in their attempt to make a living. Life is governed by possible rejections, disappointments and extreme highs when an article is finally accepted for publication. Freelance writers these days have to not only be creative, inventive, and resilient, but are expected to be experts in niche areas and able to market themselves to boot!

Although, most established freelance writers would not swap their existence for a steady 9-5 job, it is easy to see how some writers buckle under severe pressure, living life by their wits, having to constantly budget their money for months ahead. They can become jaded with this continual pressure. The very source of their writing essence can dry up, leaving them struggling for both ideas and direction.

Freelancers become so used to writing for deadlines, targeting a specific house style, and then double-checking their facts that sometimes, it is easy to forget that writing can and should be fun.

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Summary: Want to write an ebook? You can. Start with an idea, build on it, and before you know it, you've got a book.

Category: Writing

Words: 800

Start Here To Write An Ebook

Copyright © 2003 by Angela Booth

Want to write an ebook? You can. Start with an idea, build on it, and before you know it, you've got a book. (I'll be using 'book' and 'ebook' interchangeably in this article, because any idea you find for an electronic book will certainly work as a print book as well.)

Here are some ways to get ideas for books only YOU could write. Work through following exercises.

Work through them quickly. Don't allow yourself to bog down. Do them as quickly as you can, and then go and do something else for a few hours, to let ideas gestate and bubble in your subconscious mind.

When you come back, read through ideas you generated, and add to them as you read through your lists. PLEASE DON’T DISCARD ANY IDEAS AT THIS STAGE. This is because way to a brilliant, fantastic NEW idea is by twisting an idea slightly, reversing it, or by combining several ideas into a new one. Don’t discard!

=> Ideas from: What you're good at

Make a list of 20 things you're good at. Don't think too hard about this. Maybe you're good at buying presents for people—you've got a knack for choosing just right gift. Maybe you're a good cook, or a good parent, or a good swimmer or a good tennis player. Or maybe you used to be good at one or more of these things.

=> Ideas from: Your past experiences

Experiences sell. If you've been abducted by little green men from Mars, it's a book. If you're a bigamist, it’s a book. People have written books about their illnesses (see Challenges below), their addictions, and their pets. Browse through bestseller lists to see what personal experiences people are writing about.

Here's where you walk down memory lane. If you're in your twenties, it'll be a short stroll. If you’re in your forties or older, it will be a hike. Don't get bogged down with this, list 20 experiences you've had that spring to mind.