You got the process right. I generate my word document and create the content. From there I typically hand it off to my graphic designer, he makes the ebook cover graphic and then themes to ebook content to the cover and dresses things up a bit. In word you can go to File > save as > PDF or if you have an older version there is a free converter called CutePDF which works great.
I can't emphasize this enough, with ebooks, the cover is EVERYTHING. Good content will mean nothing if you have a bad cover.
After that I load it into a service that automates the payment process and delivery of the ebook. There are a lot of services out there, but I like getdpd the best Check it out here
GetDPD Click here
It is $10 a month, but if you sell a few a month its worth it. I literally don't have to do anything and the money just shows up. Done and Done. The other advantage of this service is that you can have the ebooks stamped, so if someone does share your copyrighted material, you know who it is that shared it.
I don't recommend Amazon, they take too much and have restrictions. On top of that, most ebooks on there don't ever make $500, about 5% make above that and about 2% make more than a few thousand. The other advantage of get dpd type of service is that they do affiliates. This means you contact someone with a similar topic website, say, I have this product, here is a free review copy if you like it and will do a post about it, I'll give you 20% of each sale you generate. This means you can sell your ebook without having the traffic (yet, while you're building a following). If you are very targeted with who you approach, you can get some sales.
When you contact a blog to see if they will do a review or become an affiliate keep these things in mind:
1. is it highly relevant to their blog, do your homework!
2. Keep it simple and remove barriers to sign up as an affiliate
3. Demonstrate why its relevant and valuable to them specifically
4. Be professional, friendly, knowledgeable and responsive.
Remember they are helping you, even if you have affiliate programs that pays them, demonstrate value and be appreciative.
In Paul's podcast he mentioned how angry he gets when people email him like he owes them sometime. I have people all the who email me, "how dare you do it this way!" or "you need to post this" or they want me to cover their stuff and its so off base from what I do or I have no idea who they are. Build relationships before you need something and do things for others before you ask things of them. People are willing to do a lot for a friend, that's what you should be.
If you found this post or others helpful, I'd appreciate anyone using this referral link if they decide to go with get DPD
https://getdpd.com/?referrer=gjcyidotwjs4kw04ck4w
If you also want to know more about this stuff, I do business coaching if interested.