How to Write an eBook Fast

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content , with 750K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

Posted 2.17.25

“Write a book and you add credibility to your platform.” It’s good advice. A book with your name on the cover establishes you as an authority in your niche.

Yet even with a book contract, the traditional publishing route takes 12–36 months from query to publication. Subsidy publishing (in which you bear the printing costs as a writer) is not a quickie, either. In the best of circumstances, a subsidy publisher takes at least 90 days to move your manuscript to print.

An eBook is the most direct route to authorship. With your manuscript, formatting, and book cover in hand, you can have your eBook published in 24 hours. eBooks are a remarkably efficient and flexible way to get your message out to readers, build a following, and yes — grow your bank account.

Can you write an eBook fast?

Did you catch those conditions you must meet to publish your eBook quickly?

• You need to have a completed manuscript.
• You need to have a book cover and you must format your manuscript.

At issue is not how quickly your completed eBook can be published. Nor are a book cover and formatting your biggest challenges. A designer can produce a selection of book covers for you in a matter of days and you can format your manuscript easily in Vellum.

The question you face on the road to publication, fellow writer, is this: can you write an eBook fast?

Yes. And you don’t need to sacrifice your soul on the altar of AI and churn out a piece of schlock to do so. That would be self-defeating, anyway. Quality content builds your authority in your field. Weak content, naturally, earns you a reputation you don’t want to have.

To write an eBook fast, you must be efficient. You need to eliminate unnecessary steps and streamline the essentials. Hence this list of tips. Even free spirit types can use these ideas to save time and get that eBook manuscript done.

Write an eBook fast with these tips

Tip #1. Choose a narrow topic.

An eBook doesn’t need to be a definitive guide to your topic. Instead of covering a broad subject, focus on a single issue. Use your eBook to solve one problem for readers — just one.

For example, instead of “How to Grow a Garden” or even “Container Gardening for Beginners,” you could write about “How Beginner Gardeners Can Grow Tomatoes in Containers.”

Bonus: Single-topic eBooks not only allow you to write fast but also open the door for you to create a series. More books mean more notoriety and more royalty checks.

Tip #2. Write a short eBook.

Writing a short book takes less time than writing a long book or even a mid-length book. Short eBooks that provide solutions are valuable to readers. But how short can your eBook be?

To find out, let’s study one of the more popular eBook marketplaces: Kindle books. The average Kindle book length is about 300 pages (75,000 words). In contrast, the recommended minimum for Kindle Short Reads is a ten-page book — a mere 2,500 words. Even a 40-page Short Read clocks in at just 10,000 words.

That’s the equivalent of four or five long blog posts or articles. You can write an eBook fast with that goal in mind, can’t you? Especially if you’ve chosen a narrow topic (Tip #1).

Tip #3. Repurpose your existing content.

If you’ve been writing in your niche for any length of time, you’ve got a jumpstart on writing an eBook fast. Assuming you’ve retained rights, use your published blog posts, articles, or social media content on your topic to give you a head start on your eBook. Organize the material in subtopics to form sections or chapters.

You may need to expand some topics and add others to create an in-depth eBook. But, by using your already-constructed material, your manuscript is already underway.

Plus, once your eBook is published and circulating, you can use that additional content in your manuscript to promote it. That is, pull the new stuff you created from your manuscript and publish blog posts, articles, and social media content with a link to your eBook.

---

Use this mini-bundle to plan your eBook and get it written.

---

Tip #4. Set a strict deadline for your manuscript to be print-ready.

Create a schedule for writing your eBook. The timeframe matters less — whether it’s a week or a month or six months — but rather that you have a plan and stick to it.

Once you’ve got a writing calendar, create daily or weekly writing goals (such as writing one chapter or 1,000 words per day) to stay on schedule. When you don’t feel like writing or when you hit a snarly point and are tempted to give up, remind yourself that you’re in a short writing season. This intensive period will be over soon — when your manuscript is finished.

Tip #5. Plan your eBook cover.

Mom may have taught you not to judge a book by its cover, but your cover is what sells your book online. Make sure yours is a good one. Unless you’ve got outstanding design skills, outsource your book cover to a designer so it’s completed by the time your manuscript is ready. (Fivrr is a good source for book cover designers.)

Tip #6. Make plans for editing and formatting.

Schedule time on the calendar for a freelance editor and a freelance designer to polish the text and format your eBook professionally. Or block off personal editing time on your calendar so the manuscript is error-free by your personal “due date.”

And if you plan to format the book on your own, set aside time in the schedule to acclimate yourself to using Vellum book formatting software or pre-designed templates in Canva, PicMonkey, or Microsoft Word.

Tip #7. Create an outline for your book.

Outline your eBook to structure your thoughts clearly.

Your outline needn’t be complicated. Break down each chapter with bullet points or headings. This way, when you write the first draft you already know what to cover.

An outline divides your book into smaller, more manageable parts to write. It’s easier to tackle writing a short section than to face the idea of writing a whole book — even a short one. You can write an eBook faster when you have the momentum that comes with completing section after section.

Find outlining a challenge? Use a book outline template like those offered at no cost through the Self-Publishing School.

Tip #8. Write a messy first draft.

Write a section or chapter of your eBook at a time without stopping and without editing yourself. Now is not the time to strive for perfection. You will improve your manuscript later (see Tip #11).

But during this first pass, follow your outline. Religiously. Get the book out of you. Pour your ideas from your brain and from your notecards onto the computer screen.

Use this fillable worksheet to write a book summary that sells you book.

Tip #9. Use dictation software.

Check out Google Docs’ voice typing or apps like Otter.ai to speak your content instead of typing — particularly useful if you’re more comfortable talking through your ideas. You can also use speech-to-text if you have a long commute or when you spend time waiting in the car lines at school.

Tip #10. Write in bursts and binges.

Dedicate blocks of time — binges — to writing multiple sections or chapters in one go. Identify short tasks to complete in bursts: brainstorm 5 versions of a chapter title, for instance. Balance your writing between bursts and binges to stay productive and prevent burnout.

Writing tip: if you’re stuck in a section during a binge, insert a placeholder note, like “add a statistic here.” Then move on. You can return to fill in gaps later during a burst.

Tip #11. Batch your editing.

You’ve attacked your first draft in sections. Now, save time by using the same approach with editing.

Once you’ve written a substantial portion of your manuscript (say a chapter or two) dedicate a session to editing. Writing content and editing content use different parts of the brain, so you’ll save time and energy with batch editing.

Tip #12. Try out writing tools.

Grammarly and ProWritingAid are two examples of apps that help find grammar, spelling, and syntax errors quickly. They can help you write and edit your eBook faster by catching issues automatically.

Write an eBook fast — and authentically

“Efficiency is doing things right,” said management guru Peter Drucker (1909–2005) in The Effective Executive. “Effectiveness is doing the right things.”

An eBook is the most efficient way to get your name on a cover. But is it the most effective? It can be.

Today, there’s plenty of temptation to cut corners with AI and churn out electronic McBooks simply so you can claim the title of published author. But that’s not the most effective way to write a book. Don’t be like so many others and let a chatbot get credit for your book idea.

To write and publish an eBook means you have to put in the work. But use a few of the tips here, and you can write an eBook fast and efficiently.

Do that and you’ll earn a book byline that builds authority in your niche — and more. It will be authentic, too.

---

More eBook Writing Tips

Should You Write a Free eBook? Take This Quiz to Find Out ...

How to Use a Personalized Book Writing Plan to Get Your Book Done ...

E-Books Versus Print Books: Which Do Readers Prefer? 

Writing an eBook? Get started by writing a short one ...

Why You Should Write an eBook: 5 Reasons to Consider It ...

Wanted: eBook Writer ...

eBook Writing Software: The Lowdown on Tools for Writing eBooks ...

The Best Product to Sell Online (Especially for Writers) ...

1-Year Book Writing Planner (Fillable and Re-Usable) ...

More about Writing Books on our Pinterest board ...

Return from How to Write an eBook Fast to Nonprofit Copywriter home

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Powered by SBI! Learn more here.