I feel you. We all have done it. You have this book in you trying to get out. You’ve answered the call and started to write it, then you’re stuck looking at a blank page and, “Ugh,” you don’t write that day and you break your stride. If you only knew how to gain momentum in writing your book.
It’s like trying to ride a roller coaster that keeps breaking down throughout the ride. How much more frustrating could that be? Just get off the damn thing and walk away. And writing your book is a little like that. Sometimes you just have to get out and push your car up the next incline to get it going again.
You gain and sustain momentum more easily the more quickly you react when you feel your writing engine slowing down to regain your momentum.
That’s why this commitment to writing daily is so important. Some days will have you staring at a blank page, but you must push through these moments to keep the momentum going, or else you may not make it to your destination.
And what is your destination? Of course, your destination is to complete your book.
Book Cover Mock-up
I suggest that you make a mockup of your book cover. Maybe even hire someone on Fiverr mock one up for you. This does not have to be the final rendition of your book cover. Just enough to inspire you.
Want to up the ante?
- Post the cover on your website with the phrase, “Auth of the upcoming book,” (insert book title). Maybe add a tagline.
- Print the cover and put it in a picture frame and hang it on the wall, where others can see it.
- Paste it onto another book and leave it laying in the area where you conduct most of your writing.
- Let people that you know that you are in the process of writing this book, but make sure they are the kind of people who have your back and will be utterly supportive. If you falter and someone says something disrespectful like, “I knew you couldn’t do it.” Stop communicating with that person and never speak to them again or at least until you’ve completed your book. Maybe even kill them off, as a character in your book.
- Get an accountability partner. If you can find someone else to write with who is also trying to create their own book by writing every day. By doing this in tandem, you both can support each other through the process.
Just Write It
On those days that you are feeling less than inspired, just write anyway.
Let It Go
Let go of those things that will hold you back and keep you from accomplishing the task of getting to that completed first draft of your book.
Don’t Take It Too Serious
This is why I coach my clients not to take it so seriously. Yes, this is serious, but the importance of it can be so overwhelming that it makes the desperation of not being able to get the words out even more disabling. You’ve got to let go of that huge shadow of importance that may be looming over you every time you go to write.
Don’t Be a Perfectionist
If you are a perfectionist, I apologize, because that felt like I just kicked you in the shin, hard. Even so, you have to let it go for now. The goal is to get to a primary version of your book done so that you can get to the stage of refining your work later. Without the body intact, you are decreasing your chances of getting there. So, lighten up, and get those words out every day.
Don’t Be a Strategist
If you are, just let this go. I know, I get a lot of flack from writers who insist on writing systematically. They start with an introduction, then go onto Chapter One, successively working through the entire process. If you have written books before and this is how you do it, keep doing that.
If you have not written and published a book before, then don’t do that. My clients have far more success just writing every day about their topic, in no particular order.
Think of it like this
Write a page every day, just to get something done. Then, when you get time, you can sort the pages and arrange them in a 3-ring binder with tabs for chapters. As you go along, you can check the book and you can quickly see what chapters are weakest and focus more on those areas.
It all comes down to this
I am not a traditionally trained author coach, though I excel at getting the best completion rates from my coaching clients who get their books published in record time.
These are the biggest keys to unlocking how to gain momentum in writing your book and keeping it sustainable enough to make it through the process of writing your book as painlessly as possible. They are the very keys that have helped my clients to accomplish this feat. And hopefully, they will help you get your book done as well.