3 Practical Tips For Anyone Who Wants To Write A Book

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Writing a book is a huge accomplishment but of course, very rarely can you reap rewards as large as the ones authors do without also putting in a huge amount of work, right? 

WRONG. There are ways to simplify book production, publication and marketing, making this amazing achievement manageable, smooth-running and dare I say it - fun!

Here are 3 top tips ANYONE who wishes to become an author can put into practice TODAY and not only experience better commercial results but also have fun in the process...

A. Know your learning style

We all have amazing skillsets and behaviours that we know how to make work for us, but which unchecked can also work against us. 

We’re all different and have different M.O.s when it comes to our work. Being heavily detail-orientated, for example, can pay dividends when doing your company expenses or analysing the results of a marketing campaign. However, it might lead to analysis paralysis when starting something new, exciting and perhaps daunting like writing your book. You can end up over-thinking and delaying starting or publishing for months, even years. 

You’re waiting to “feel ready”, to complete your research, to get a plan in place even if you’re not sure what should go on your plan. You’re waiting for your confidence to find you in other words but we all know that like the horizon, it never arrives and we can’t reach it either. Feeling ready is an illusion, your research (just like your story) will never be complete, and a plan is only a plan if it leads to action. If it doesn’t then I’m afraid it’s just procrastination! 

You might, on the other hand, be a starter and dive straight in. You’ve started numerous business projects this way leaving others behind; happily multi-tasking and innovating as you go. You can’t be doing with waiting around when there are wins to be had and your book is no exception. 

Have you written 3,000 words already? They just seemed to come to you out of nowhere, the content flowed freely from your fingertips, but then a couple of weeks later you look at what you’ve written and it’s not nearly as good as you thought. You think, “That doesn’t sound right, it’s not perfect, it’s not me”, and don’t quite know where to go next. I’m sure we’ve all heard of writer’s block. Without a process, a coach or a plan in place to guide you, the project has been overshadowed by the next new shiny thing. 

Knowing your learning style will help you to recognise self-sabotaging behaviour so you can create workarounds and avoid losing any momentum along the way. It also helps you identify your strengths which you can draw on to focus on the parts you're most excited about, and your existing resources which give you leverage. Knowing your learning style, in other words, is about using what you naturally possess to your greatest advantage.

Try answering these questions to quickly assess your learning style:

1. What type of activities do you have never-ending mental and creative energy for?
2. Which activities drain you quickly?
3. To free up time, what can you delegate, and who to?

B. Check your mindset

We all know that successful people think differently to non-successful people. They adopt different habits, think different thoughts, ask different questions and let different beliefs inform their actions. Their superior approach allows them to rise up and achieve their wildest dreams. And, well, if you think of your business role model right now, it’s highly likely they’re also an author. Authors are successful, and successful people are authors. But what comes first, the chicken or the egg? 

What authors and successful individuals have in common is their mindset. They believe in the power of knowledge not to keep to oneself, but to share with others. They know that value creation is the best way to help and build their audience and progress their mission. They understand the importance of storytelling and education, and know that in order to build influence, they must not only claim but also demonstrate their own ideas, methodologies and insights. 

Successful people make sure they are held accountable. They seek out support from others; coaches, family, friends, team members, online resources, technology…anything to make their time more productive and their results measurable and tangible. They choose who they hang out with wisely - did you know we tend to be the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with? 

They become masters of delegation because they know what they’re incredible at, and wish to leverage others’ abilities for everything else. They are positive, solution-based thinkers and fully get the power of creative gratitude, continually finding ‘wins’ in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. And they have a deep sense of purpose. Successful people and indeed successful authors commit to leaving the world a better place than when they found it, and they share what they know because, we are better together. 

Answering these questions for a quick mindset check:

1. What can you currently celebrate about your own mindset? 
2. What behaviours and beliefs do you wish to instill in the minds of your audience? 
3. What are some ways you can improve your mindset to emulate those whose success you aspire to?

C. Manage your own expectations

Authoring a book is a life-changing achievement. It also can be a huge undertaking. The good news is though, it doesn’t have to be. As much as we all just want to get started, taking the time first to find out what’s required of you as the author and who else you will need on your support team is the difference between becoming the author of a high quality business book rather than a vanity project; being published in a matter of months versus years or not at all; having a book that continues to make you money, impact those you wish to help and work with, train your team, educate your customers and multiply your business results, as opposed to another clueless piece of marketing that doesn’t actually work. 

Knowing from the very beginning exactly what to expect also allows you to prepare, and as we all know, failing to prepare is preparing to fail. If you could fast forward in time and see yourself as a successful, published author, how else are you feeling? Wouldn’t it be amazing at the end of the publishing process to truly love this masterpiece you've created? To want to show it off and for everyone to see it, instead of feeling so worn out that you don’t even want to read your own book anymore! 

And trust me, as sad as that is, it can happen. It’s amazing the options that are available to us when we put our hands up to ask. Did you know for example that many authors are not actually writers? Many entrepreneurs live with dyslexia, ADHD, chronic disorganisation, a total hatred of being chained to a desk for hours at a time, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, anxiety and generally being extremely, incredibly busy! What if English isn’t your first language? What if you don’t yet have a client base? What if you do, but have no idea how to promote your book once you've got it? 

There are many moving parts to creating a business book that sells so the next time you find yourself observing, enviously, a fellow entrepreneur who appears to have it all, ask yourself, did he/she really do all that themselves? I bet they had some helpers. And when it comes to delegating and books, there isn’t much you have to do yourself after all. In fact, you can actually outsource the entire project, writing included if you want to. 

So it pays to find out:

1. What’s involved in becoming an author?
2. What do I want to happen as a result?
3. What other skills, tools and resources do I need to see this achieve those outcomes?

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If you now have more questions than answers, download The Ultimate Author Action Plan FREE to learn exactly:

• What you need to become a published author
• What you currently have in your toolkit to help get you there, and 
• Where to find the help and support you need to get this amazing project started, and completed!

To speak with us further about this article or other author-related queries, we're here to help. Simply email your questions to info@writebusinessresults.com or 020 7057 3752, or schedule a 45 minute Book Discovery Call with one of our experienced Publishing Consultants here: https://calendly.com/info-5040