It has never been easier to write your book and get it into print. If you’ve spent any time researching how to write a book on the internet or elsewhere, you’re probably overwhelmed by all the varying advice and systems, leaving you asking, “How can I write a book?”
If you’re feeling like that, Just stop.
Stop searching for information on how you can write your book.
You already have more information that you need, and you’re suffering from information overload. And guess what? It’s keeping you from writing your book. Right? You already know that’s not working, so just stop. I’m going to give you everything you need to write your book, right here, right now.
Stop making it so complicated.
I know. You’ve never written a book before. The deck is already stacked against you and you’re feeling like you want to do this, but for any number of reasons you don’t feel worthy, so you try to self-educate and look where that’s got you, nowhere.
Stop the negative self-talk.
Just let it go. You are your worst enemy, so stop putting yourself down or second-guessing yourself. This can be hard, but you can do it.
Look there is a book in you and it’s just dying to get out and if you don’t do this, that is exactly what will happen to your book, it will be dead. It probably will die with you, still in there. So, you just have to let go of those inner voices. I mean, you will still hear them, but you just have ignore them for now.
Make a 90-day Commitment
Put your inner voices on notice. You are going to make a commitment to write every day for 90-days. That’s all. Then we’ll deal with those inner voices then. Well, for a minute because there will still be some stuff to do to complete your book at that time.
Write 500 Words a Day
That’s all. Write every day. Write 500 words each day. Just use any document writing program, like Microsoft Word, or anything else you can get your hands on. A pen and a spiral notebook would be okay, just write the words. And you’ll be surprised some days you will be on a roll and the words will come easily, and on those days, you may find yourself writing 2,000 words or more, and not even notice.
Write in No Particular Order
Just make sure to write about your topic and remember who your audience is while you are writing to maintain a consistent tone. This is a very organic way to write your book, it’s like the words are allowed to flow from God knows where, and the book just builds as you keep writing every day. If you want, when you have a little free time, you can assemble your pages in a three-ring binder sorting them by subtopic or chapters. Don’t sweat this. It will all come together later.
Mockup a Book Cover
Make a fake book cover that has your book’s title on it and your name as the author. Use this as inspiration and keep it at your writing station, the place where you have reserved for writing your book, and make copies of it and place them around where you can see them. The photo above is a template that you can fill in and print (or pick from many others at mockofun.com for $3).
Tell People You Can Trust
Tell people that you can trust that you are writing a book so that they can inspire you, and you’ll be surprised at how much you will be inspiring them because they thought that writing a book was just as impossible as you did before now.
Get an Accountability Partner
Find someone who will check in with you regularly to keep you honest and true to your commitment and yourself.
After the 90-days
Now you will need to take a week, or more if you need to. I do this whole process in three days. Again keep this as simple as can be and try not to overcomplicate this. Once you’ve written these words, you need to get ready to publish, then publish your book. Then you can buy a copy to hold in your hands and realize that you have actually done this. This is for real.
Fill in Your Book Template
I’m giving you a free 6×9 trade book template for you to use to copy and paste your words into their appropriate chapters. Once you’ve done that, you now have a working manuscript. You will need to go through your book and write the additional words or tell the stories that tie all the pieces you’ve already written together.
Just fill in all the areas of the book template as you go. Once you are done, you are ready to publish and print your first draft.
Already? Yes, now. Don’t worry. This is your first draft.
Write a Brief Description of Your Book
We will use this in the next step which is the publishing process.
Publish on Amazon
Using this template, publishing on Amazon is the quickest and easiest way I know of to publish and print your book in a heartbeat. To start, you will need to go to kdp.amazon.com to log in, and if you don’t already have an Amazon account, you will have to create one.
Printed Book 6×9 Trade Format
Select publish a printed book in the 6×9 trade format which matches your template. Be sure not to publish a Kindle version of your book at this time. If you decide to publish in Kindle, Amazon’s proprietary eBook format, only do so if you are satisfied, then submit your edited version. Amazon will provide you with your ISBN number, as one of the first parts of the submission process. At that time, you can put the number they provide into that area of your book template and save it.
Fill-in the Forms
Keep moving through the process of filling in the forms with the pertinent data, including copying and pasting your description into the appropriate field.
Upload Your Manuscript
Upload your manuscript and use their digital previewer to see what the interior of your book will look like when they print it. You can repeat this stage as many times as necessary.
Get a Free Book Cover
Notice that I didn’t even have you design a book cover because one is not needed. Amazon provides some book cover templates to choose from in this submission process, use one of those. They even provide images that you have the right to use for their book cover templates. So use them.
You can change the cover later if you want to.
Price Your Book
Set the price for your book.
Publish Your Book.
Just click the button.
You will have to wait to receive an email from Amazon before you can purchase your book.
Buy Your Book
I suggest that my clients buy a book from Amazon at full retail because you will get that one in a few days. Then buy some author copies for yourself. The author copies are much less expensive but they take 10 to 14 days to get them.
Now you can show your friends your book.
Rewrite
When the author copies arrive you can enlist the aid of friends or hire an editor to edit your first draft.
After you’ve completed your rewrite, you can edit your previously published work, submit the revised manuscript and update the details and cover again, even change the retail price if you so desire.
I make this so uncomplicated for my clients that they can’t help but write and publish their books.
So, now you have no excuse.
Congratulations to you, in advance.
