Monday Morning Gold

Allow me to make a bold statement. Writing a book is easy. There I said it. All you have to do is begin. Right?

Imagine you are standing in the airport. You have decided to take a trip. A kind lady walks past and you ask, “Where is a good city to visit?”

She enthusiastically answer, “Pittsburgh!”

And you think, “Yeah Pittsburgh. How do I get there?”

“Just jump on a plane and go,” yells the lady as she totes her carry-on along.

So you take the ladies advice and hop on the first plane you find. It takes off and lands in Dallas. Hmmm? What happened?

Well, in my opinion you only had a fraction of the answer you needed. Other information might have been airlines with that destination, times leaving, weather conditions when you arrive, accommodations, etc. Writing is the same as a trip to Pittsburgh – well maybe.

So, writing a book is easy if you have all the right ingredients, put them into the bowl in the right sequence and mix together until all the lumps are gone.

1. Select a topic you are passionate about, have good knowledge of, and there is an interest.

2. You are going to need lots of research. Start clipping articles, searching the web for good (credible) information, finding solid sources, stories, and examples.

3. Create you outline. I suggest you go for a high level broad stroke of an outline to begin. Now review your research info and insert the details for each chapter.

4. Now… start writing. Set a schedule you will honor as if it were gold. It is your sacred creativity time. I can write about 1000 to 1200 words per day, so a 36,000 word book will equate to about 150 finished pages and will take me between 30 and 40 writing days. I write about three times per week, so in three months I should have something workable. I will have a first draft.

5. Now do it again. This time you are rewriting. You are getting all the right examples, stories, and supporting sources into your book.

6. And… one more time. You are looking for grammatical stuff and editing.

7. For those who drink wine, now is a good time to pop the cork on a nice bottle of red. If you are not into wine, reward yourself with your favorite thing.

If you follow these steps you should be able to write that book. See it is easy if you take the time to map it out, dedicate your time to writing, rewriting, and rewriting again. Writing a book can happen. When you are all done you will most certainly look back and reflect on your success of starting and finishing what you set out to accomplish.

So what if you lose track in the middle of your writing journey? What if you lose interest in finishing? Hey, lets be real it happens. I suggest you find a good coach or mentor who can help you remain focused on the end goal. I use my own personal coach to keep me honest. I too can get off on a bunny trail or lose interest. My coach helps me find the right answers by digging them out of me.

Figure out your breakdown for writing. Maybe it is more of less than 1,000 words per day, three times per week. Do what works for you and feels comfortable. Your books should be written with quality in mind, not speed. What ever you decide, honor that commitment. Use your personal coach to help you stay on target.

Understand this is only step one. The next steps show up as marketing and sales. Good luck and happy writing.

I would definitely love to read your story on your journeys of writing a book. Heck I may even review you and your book and post it right here.