If you’ve always wanted to know how to write a book, this article is for you. Writing a book can be brutally slow. If it’s a task that drags on for months or years, chances are you’ll never get it completed. But what if you could write a book — even your first-ever publication — in just a few weeks, or even days.
A finished book is the goal, whether it takes days or years. Once completed, you have an asset – a very valuable asset. It’s a finished product ready for the marketplace. If you’ve put forth a decent effort and completed your homework, your work can earn you continuous cash for many months and even years to come.
But if it takes you years just to get your project off the ground, the costs in terms of time are far too high. Inevitably, the payoff seems comparatively small for the effort expended when writing your book takes more than a month or so.
Simply put, the secret is to crank out your book as quickly as possible. That doesn’t mean creating a weak product. It means using speed writing techniques to create your project quickly, so you’ll have an asset that can earn you money indefinitely.
Productive writing allows you to leverage your time. You get the text written quickly and in turn get the best possible return from your effort.
Discover a problem that could use a solution.
You won’t have to look very far to find your next problem. It’s probably right in front of you now. If you can’t spot a problem to write about, consult others and you’ll have more problems than you could resolve in two lifetimes. Strike up a conversation with a friend or business acquaintance and inevitably a problem will emerge.
Keep a notebook nearby to capture the kinds of problems people are having. If you discover a common problem, you could be on your way to a best seller. Choosing a topic is a crucial first step if you want to discover how to write a book of your own that earns you income for years. When you hear about a problem frequently, you might have just discovered an untapped goldmine.
But it’s not the problem that’s going to deliver the cash payoff to you; it’s the solution you provide in the form of a book or report.
Successful book writing begins with somebody’s problem. As the great philosopher and author, Napoleon Hill once said “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. The problem is your starting point. It’s the solution you create that forms the foundation of your book.
Once you’ve identified a problem in the marketplace and you’re confident you can develop a solution, it’s time to decide on your general topic and the specific angle you’re going to take. For example, if the problem you want to take on is “arthritis” and you’ve identified 5 alternative remedies, you could target a specific niche with your solution. “5 Natural Ways Women Over 50 Can Beat Arthritis Every Time” gives your book idea a direction, a focus. Could it be that this niche market is just waiting for your kind of book to appear?
With some simple techniques and a strong desire, you can figure out how to write and publish your own outrageously profitable book… in as little as 7 days. A short report or ebook can be finished even sooner.
When you’re considering your book’s topic and focus, ask yourself — “What would make someone pay good money for my book?” Keep in mind that your target market’s problem is like a weight on their shoulders. It’s an annoyance that often interrupts their life and creates stress. Your task in writing about the solution is to provide helpful advice that works so readers feel justified in buying your book and will gladly recommend it to anyone they know with a similar problem.
It’s important to choose the right angle from the start. No sense in writing for days only to discover that you’ve missed the mark. That’s why it’s important to carefully examine your book’s subject. Restate the topic. Refine it further. Rewrite it a couple of different ways. Recast it in a way that’s even more compelling and you’ll enjoy even greater rewards upon completion.
Now that you’ve got your topic and carved out a specific angle, it’s time to identify all the major subtopics you want to cover in your book. Set a timer and brainstorm non-stop for 5 minutes. During that time, simply write or record your voice as you generate a huge list of key words, concepts or ideas related to your main topic. The only rule is to not edit yourself and don’t stop to think.
Look For Those BIG Ideas
Whatever comes to mind, you need to capture immediately. After this simple 5 minute exercise, you should have a bunch of ideas. Now you can go back and select those you want and delete the ones that don’t fit in with the concept of your book.
The idea of the brainstorm exercise is to generate a large initial list. You’ll undoubtedly add to it and further refine some of the ideas you’ve recorded. Your huge list makes it much easier to choose the key concepts you want to discuss. From a page or two of possibilities, it should be relatively easy to choose the top 10 – 25 subtopics. Each of these subtopics will then become a chapter on its own, with each adding value and important detail to your book.
Next, take out a blank sheet of paper for each proposed chapter. Write the chapter subject at the top of the page. Next, brainstorm one chapter at a time to create the basic detail you’ll write about. Write or record everything you can think of that is related to this particular chapter. Include every keyword and concept that enters your consciousness. Once you have a list, choose the best 10 – 20 thoughts, ideas, or concepts and place them into a logical sequence.
Do this for each of your chapter headings. Once you’ve done that, gather all the sheets, including your list of main chapters, and staple them together. This is your outline or blueprint. Guard it. Protect it. Value it. This single document is the whole key to writing a successful book fast.
The value of this chapter outlining system is that it makes writing you book so easy that anyone could do it. You do all the heavy thinking upfront at the outline stage. Then when it’s time to write, you simply take one concept at a time write freely, unencumbered by the uncertainty that plagues many beginning writers. Everything is mapped out for you so the actual writing of your book is pure pleasure.
If you want to master the basics of how to write a book, you have to learn to think things through in advance. Before the writing begins, organize your ideas into a logical sequence. Then write it fast. Do this and you’ll see that it’s a guaranteed formula for book writing success.
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About the Author
Ann Douglas has written several successful reports, manuals and books over the past dozen years on various topics. But what she enjoys most is helping others turn their own words into money.
