A client of mine received a wonderful nudge from the universe a few days ago. She’d been writing her first few blog posts, but hadn’t posted any yet.
Somehow, she accidentally sent the post to her whole mailing list. “Yoo-hoo! Time to put it out there, ready or not!” (That’s her muse speaking.)
She also hasn’t put out her shingle as a coach yet, but friends sent two clients her way.
There’s no more time to hide behind self-doubt anymore.
How about you? Are you feeling nudges to take action on your book?
Often, aspiring authors feel the passion and excitement about writing. They write chapters in their heads or notes on scraps of paper, but that’s not how a book gets written.
How to Write a Self-Help Book or How-To Book
- Get in Touch with Your Passion: That’s where it all starts. Make a list of all the ways you feel excited about what can happen when your book comes out–what your readers will experience and what doors will open in your life. What is your book going to do for the world? For your readers? For you?
- Commit: Set a goal; schedule time in your calendar; say no to some things so you can say yes to your book. Dedicate space in your office or home to book writing. Put your commitment in writing.
- Develop a Plan that includes support, accountability and structure. Without those three, it’s much harder to stay the course.
Once you get on the horse with those first three steps, you can get into the finer details of envisioning the book. I recommend some soul searching and creative brainstorming before you begin writing, however. Get clear on your book concept before you actually start writing.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- What are my vision and goals?
- Who are my readers? What do they want and need?
- What is my book truly about? What is it not about?
- What features are going to make my book come to life for my readers? What will make my book stand out and be powerful and special?
- What’s the best way to structure my book?
I put together a very short ebook called, 5 Secrets to Bring Your Book to Life. It can help you get unstuck or restart, save time and stay on track. It’s a great starting point to write a self-help book or how-to book, and you can get it here for free.
Get it today and get started right away on your book. Have any questions about writing a book? Ask away. Or share as a comment what you need to get started.
Lisa, I really do have a book I know you hear it everyday. – best sexual abused by a nun and a priest starting at the ages of 5 -13 with the priest and 15 – 27 with the nun…the first person I ever told about the abuse by the priest. ” it wasn’t his fault,” she told me, “he was a sick man.” Then she took me under her wing and into her bed. The abuse was bad enough but the revictimization was worse, the revictimization from the Catholic Church. … everyone is talking about priest on boys, but no one’s talking about nuns on girls. But nothing was as bad as being shunned by my family. I need your help.
Dear PK, I am so sorry you had to go through that. I applaud your writing a book, which has the potential to help with the healing on a personal, community and global scale. I received your email and responded. I think you are right that this is a part of the story that is not being told (at least not in the media) and needs to be. I think your timing is good, too.