It’s finally happening – you’re finally writing a book! You might have been on fire during the first few weeks hitting that word count with no problems… but lately, you’ve been feeling like you’re stuck in the middle of a really slow marathon and the finish line is nowhere in sight.
The fact is: writing a book is hard work. I know, I’ve been there – twice. And I’m soon to embark upon the journey again!
Hitting that wall where writing feels like homework is never fun which is why in today’s video, I’m sharing 6 tips you can follow to stay motivated and to help you finish writing your book without it becoming a chore. So let’s get into it!
Tip #1: Draft an outline
Right. Tip No. 1 – to get started, you’ve got to draft an outline. If you don’t already have a clear understanding on what your book is going to be about, you can watch my last video that tackles this very topic! But, this is paramount – you’ve got to be super clear on why you’re writing the book, what problem it’ll solve, and most importantly, WHO you’re writing it for.
Once you have that done, you can write your outline. This is essentially an overview of how your book is going to unfold. Where will you start? What will the different sections cover? You can even start sketching out the chapter headings and put a few bullet points under each one on the different topics you’re going to cover.
I followed this exact tactic when I wrote Rise Of The Youpreneur and it really helped me to have that overview of what I was working on, which made everything else easier.
Tip #2: Write down bullet points
Now it’s time for tip 2 – fleshing out your bullet points. Develop your argument and start drafting your conclusion at the end of each chapter. This will help you see how you move people through the book.
Tip #3: Start writing
The 3rd tip is to turn your bullet points into sentences. You’ll start writing paragraphs and some bullet points will turn into essays. What you’re doing now is tricking yourself into writing the book, point by point.
Before long you’ll find you have got several thousand words down and you haven’t had to struggle with them at all. You’re going to feel really good about getting all of this out of your system. Ah, yes… that life-changing, beautiful moment when you get to hold your published book in your hands is getting closer by the day.
Rinsing and repeating steps 2 and 3 will ultimately lead to you writing and finishing your book. But the work is not over yet.
Tip #4: Edit what you've written
Step 4 is to start editing. You start this critical phase by running through your rough draft yourself, with as critical of an eye as possible. Ask yourself whether your book does what you wanted it to do when you first planned it out.
How does it flow? Does your argument, or focus for the book make sense? Have you introduced concepts in the right places? Have you left anything out the reader needs to know?
Tip #5: Get a fresh pair of eyes on it
Now it is time to get a fresh pair of eyes, or several pairs of eyes, on what you have written. Tip number 5 is to get someone else to read your book. Your editor will go through your manuscript and check it for you. You can also ask people in your community to be beta-readers and give you feedback.
It’s absolutely VITAL you don’t skip this step. The fact is, at this point in the game, you’re too close to your book to spot any issues. You need to hear that feedback.
Tip #6: Rewrite the book
The final step is to rewrite the book. Yep! You heard me. You’re not rewriting the entire thing, obviously. But, you might find the rewriting process takes longer than you think. The thing is, there’s no point to asking for feedback and then ignoring it! You’re going to have a lot of feedback from your editor and your beta readers. You’ve gotta act on that feedback as it’ll help you put a better book into the world.
By the end of this process, you’ll have a book you can be proud of that is going to help the people you want to serve.
To make it easier for you to write and market a bestselling book, I’ve put together a FREE guide that’ll help you navigate the in’s and out’s of successfully writing and marketing a book to bestseller status.
If you're struggling to write your book, write bulletpoints down first. Develop your argument and start to draft the conclusion at the end of each chapter to make you see how you'll move people through the book. #Youpreneur Click To TweetWrap Up
If today’s video has helped you in some way, perhaps answered a few questions you’ve been having, or helped you develop a new idea or two, let me know what your biggest takeaway was. I’d love to hear from you, tweet me @chrisducker!
Chris founded Youpreneur® in 2015. He is a serial entrepreneur, keynote speaker and author of the bestselling books “Virtual Freedom” and “Rise of the Youpreneur”. He hosts our podcast, live events and coaches our clients inside the Youpreneur Incubator. Chris is based in Cambridge, UK.
