Writing a book is a lifelong ambition for many of us.
Maybe you have been dreaming about sharing your story through a book. Or perhaps you want to write a book to share your expert knowledge and skills to a wider audience.
You have this burning desire to become an author.
But the trouble is, you have a hectic schedule and you don’t know how to fit your book into your routine. You don’t even know where to start to get the ball rolling.
As a 3x #1 best-selling author, people have been reaching out to me to ask how I did it, even when I had a full-time job and a busy family life.
I’m not going to lie; it wasn’t easy. But it’s not impossible either.
You can certainly make this process enjoyable and satisfying if you have the right mindset and support to back you up every step of the way.
But how do you start? What’s the first step?
Some writing coaches will ask you just to start writing.
But as a psychologist and an author myself, I know that you can start with good intentions, and then your motivation may evaporate after a couple of weeks, if not just after a few days.
Before writing your book, you need to take some initial steps to get you into the right mindset and set yourself up for success so you can finish writing your book in 90 days or less.
Are you ready?
Here are my five simple steps to help you get started:
You can certainly make this process enjoyable and satisfying if you have the right mindset and support to back you up every step of the way.
But how do you start? What’s the first step?
Some writing coaches will ask you just to start writing.
But as a psychologist and an author myself, I know that you can start with good intentions, and then your motivation may evaporate after a couple of weeks, if not just after a few days.
Before writing your book, you need to take some initial steps to get you into the right mindset and set yourself up for success so you can finish writing your book in 90 days or less.
Are you ready?
Here are my five simple steps to help you get started:
Some people may make a verbal statement that they will write their book. However, I would strongly encourage you to write down this commitment and share it with someone else. Writing it down this makes the commitment concrete and letting someone else know will help to keep you accountable.
In my practice as a writing and self-publishing coach, I even encourage my students to make themselves publicly accountable by posting their commitment on social media. They post their commitment in our friendly authors’ group online, so we can monitor our progress, share our wins, and cheer each other up whenever we encounter blocks along the way. Doing this helps them to stay on track and motivated to finish what they initially set out to do.
STEP 2. Find the time to write a book
If you are hoping to write your book whenever you have spare time — I’m telling you this — the “free time” you’re waiting for will never come.
There will always be something more urgent. Your book will get set aside. And the next thing you know, five years passed and your book is still “in the works”.
If you want to get your book done in 90 days or less, what you need to do is to block some time to get it done.
Grab your calendar and schedule dedicated time in advance to write your book.
Remember, it’s not going to be forever. Once your book is done, it is done!
Block times in your calendar and keep it consistent and undistracted every week so you can focus on writing your book at that time.
Don’t do anything else during that time apart from writing your book.
Even just an hour a day will be enough. But keep it consistent so you can keep up the momentum.
STEP 3. Choose a topic – and it’s not just about what YOU want to write
Now that you’ve made the commitment and blocked some time to write your book, the next step is to choose your topic.
The problem is, you still have no clue what you want to write.
Not knowing what to write is a common struggle for aspiring authors. They have so many ideas for their book; they don’t know which one to pick.
So, how do you pin down your topic? How do you choose what to write?
Here’s my tip: instead of asking “what shall I write about?”, ask, “
“who do I want to reach with my book?”
Instead of focusing on what YOU want to write about, ask, “who do I want to help with my book? Who is my ideal reader?”
Imagine a particular person when you ask these questions and ask, “what does this person want to read? What does she need right now? What’s her struggle? What can I write to help her?”
As soon as you know the answer to these questions, it will be easier to pin down your topic because you are catering for a very specific person with very specific needs.
So remember, keep your audience in mind when you choose a topic for your book and write a book that will serve them well.
STEP 4. Create your outline
After choosing your topic, you can now start creating the outline for your book.
If you ask me, since I’m such an organized freak, I usually start my outline by creating a spreadsheet to map out my book.
I have a column for the title, aims and three key points for each chapter. I also add columns for the key problem and the recommended strategies to address these. I also think about what stories I can include as an example. Finally, I add a column for research evidence (just because I’ve been trained to do that).
Lay out all your planned content in your outline before you start writing, so it is clear what you will write about for each chapter.
Doing this will make the writing process so much easier! I promise.
STEP 5. Finally, start writing
If you followed the previous four steps, writing your book will be a breeze.
The words will just flow because you know what you are writing and who your readers are.
However, for some people, writing doesn’t usually come naturally. They may know what to write about, but when it comes to writing it on paper, they tend to freeze.
If you’re one of these people, don’t worry, there are ways to get over this hurdle. You can actually “talk” through your book and have it recorded.
The important thing is to get your knowledge out of your
head one way or another.
You can write it straight onto a page, or you can “speak” your knowledge first and get it transcribed later.
Whatever works for you, go for it!
As long as you get the words out on the first instance, then that’s fine. You can always get it edited later after you’ve completed the first draft.
Writing the book itself is the fun and creative part — so try to enjoy it! 🙂
So there you have it!
It’s not that complicated, is it?
Commit, find the time, know your audience, create your outline, and then go for it!
Follow these five simple steps so you can finally achieve that dream of becoming an author yourself.
So, what are you waiting for?