Those who wish to write a book to help their career or business often find it very difficult to get into flow with their book writing. So they dally. Here, I’ll go into how to save time in writing a book or paper.
The main problem is, when the person finally sits down to write, they don’t know what to work on. So, the writer spends 20 minutes or so trying to work out what should go next. Does this sound familiar?
In my Establish Book Coaching, I teach book writers a better method to apply. The process involves finding an angle from a competition and complementary book search, brainstorming (mind mapping), refining the topics to cover, and outlining the book.
Mind Mapping (manually, in colour) centres on what a non-fiction writer must cover in their book in order to be relevant to readers today. It is a visual outline, which is then refined into a detailed table of contents, also called an outline.
By outlining, I mean having a plan of what case study or story you’ll use in which chapter. Each chapter should cover a particular part of the topic, for example, the history of publishing, or if it’s more your story, a particular narrow theme.
In my online course, we go over mind mapping towards an outline. There’s a video on competitive research as well. In fact, for those intending to self-publish, the Book Creation Self-Publish course is a teacher. You even get a little homework, in the form of templates to fill in!
Book Creation Self-Publish covers:
- Why write a book? (for business or career)
- Learning the truth about self-publishing
- Researching and writing a book
- Book production
- Administration of print on demand
- Know the legal aspects
- Preparing for launch
You may also access a higher level of support in your book writing, with how-to & self-help book writing coach, Jennifer Lancaster. She has supported authors through her editing services for 10 years, which was a natural base for becoming a writing coach.
Book Creation Tips
To get beautiful works done, you need ‘nil distraction time’. Will your Facebook feed write your book… or will you?
– Jen Lancaster
Planning makes the book a likelier success
Most of us have seen friends go rushing into publishing because they are excited about seeing their ‘book baby’ in the world. Without the right preparation though, we won’t get good sales and reviews for our book if it has not been properly thought out and formed.
There’s also a focus in the course and writing coaching program on preparing for launch day. This is because many of the authors Jennifer talks to admit to not being ready for the marketing, media and budgeting part of publishing. This leads to either panic or procrastination!
We provide guidelines on types of editing, typical costs, and book design tips, so the new author can be fully informed. There is a book business plan template that helps you clarify the book’s angle and pitch – making it easier to write the blurb.
Once you know exactly what to do and where to go to save time in writing and publishing a book, there’s no need to go to an American Author Solutions Inc Goliath. You can then publish your next book because you know more about the book creation and publishing process. You’re not at the mercy of profit-making subsidy publishers.
Guiding a freelance designer and editor is always going to be the most cost-effective route, if you can handle some learning. Having your own ISBN means being in control.
If you prefer a company to handle all this, then approach literary agents or pitch proposals for traditional publishing. Work on your proposal, buy a book on how to form a proposal (I recommend The Author Training Guide by Nina Amir), and think of yourself as a researcher. Work on getting your final manuscript to a top quality one, which may require a professional editor or writing coach.
