Building a book will give you an important advantage, namely that you will finally have a book that you've always wanted to read, plus increase your chances of selling information that a lot of other people are looking for.

Here's how to do it:

- Choose a topic/subject that you enjoy reading about.

- Ask yourself if everything you've learned about this topic (on your own) could help readers save time and avoid mistakes. For example, if you were building another website, what would you do differently or more efficiently this time? Make a list of those items. This list can be as detailed as you like.

- When you have about 20-30 items down, start arranging them according to the way they should be considered and/or done. What questions might a beginner have? An experienced user?

- Decide if your primary audience will consist of beginners or experienced users and edit your list. For example, group similar items together and develop miscellaneous items further.

- You should be able to get anywhere from ten to fifteen chapters from those items for your book. If you come up short, re-examine your list and consider adding other helpful items to it.

- Arrange the chapters logically. Consider assigning a title to each chapter. Then brainstorm titles that accurately describe your book and pique your reader's curiosity and attention.

- Begin writing your book's chapters.

And there, you have it! You can turn your work into an e-book or write a tantalizing description of it in a query letter. Good luck in your efforts!

Dorothy Zjawin's website, http://www.profitable-pen.com, includes ideas for all writers and a free forum. Dorothy is a published author of Teaching Ideas for the Come-Alive Classroom (Parker Pub. Co./Prentice-Hall).