I recently finished writing my second book, which is based on my first book,The Quarter-Life Breakthrough, a guide for millennials to find meaningful work, which I self-published last year after running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The new edition will be published by Tarcher Perigee (Penguin Random House) in 2016.
Here are a few essential tips, questions, habits, tools, books, and resources that will help you write your first book. Obviously, there’s an endless amount of great book writing, publishing, and marketing resources out there, so I’ve tried to keep this cheat sheet as short as possible. If you think I’m missing an essential resource, please let me know!
A few writing tips
- Don’t just write what you know. Write a book people actually NEED to read. Write a book that matters.
2. Deadlines = books
3. You’ll write when money is on the line
4. Writing requires extended focused attention
5. Know where and when you do your best writing. Know what’s present andwhat’s NOT present when you do your best writing.
6. Saying no to others= saying yes to your craft
7. Break your book up into small, manageable assignments
8. Friends don’t make good editors (hire a professional editor)
9. Confidence = words on the page
10. When one book ends, another begins (keep writing)
A few questions every author should ask
What is your book about (in 1 paragraph)?
What is your book about (in 1 sentence)?
What is your book about (in 1 word)?
What is your book about (in 1 image)?
Why are you writing your book?
Why are you the one to write it?
Who is your audience (in 1 sentence)?
Who is your audience (in 1 word)?
Who is your audience (in 1 image)?
Who is your editor?
Who is your Writing Accountability Buddy? What is their phone number?
At what time each week will your Writing Accountability Buddy call you for a progress update?
What types of bullshit excuses should your Writing Accountability Buddy expect from you?
What are your Weekly, Monthly, 3-Month, and 6-Month writing milestones that you be will held accountable for?
When (specific date) will your book be finished?
A few writing habits
-Write first thing in the morning, before checking email
-Write at the same time and same place every day (ritual)
-No email/phone/web use while writing
-Always carry a small Moleskine journal to write down ideas
-Always be reading one fiction and one non-fiction book
A few writing tools and resources
Self-control (app that blocks websites like Facebook and Gmail)
Medium (hey!)
Scrivener (software for writers — I actually don’t use it , I’m old school and just use Microsoft Word— but a lot of my friends seem to love it!)
Out:think (website offering great resources to build your author platform — sign-up for their email newsletter)
Jeff Goins (author who offers great resources on writing and building an online audience — sign-up for his email newsletter)
Source:
https://medium.com/keep-learning-keep-growing/a-few-things-to-help-you-write-your-first-book-b8862c2b6ee9#.vv0r19vq6
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