I Couldn't Write a Book

If I can write a book almost anybody can

I'm not sure I entirely agree with my subtitle, the percentage of people who can write a good story in an interesting way and with good use of language isn't particularly high, however the actual physical process of writing a book can be achieved by most people.

I have the conversation with a number of business people who all have ideas and approaches they would love to put out there but don't believe they could ever write the book. My opinion is that there are 2 main factors that stop just anyone writing a book;

1. The discipline to put pen to paper - most people are afraid that they won't know what to write, of how they would structure a book, or even what needs to go into one, but also when would they have the time.

Writing a book is like writing an essay for school so here are my quick tips to overcome this fear;

• Start with a Plan - Who, what, where, when - title your chapters, think what elements you are looking to explore, break it down into bite sized chunks.
• Carve out 30 minutes to an hours every day/two days and just write - use your voice
• Don't set unreasonable targets - you don't need to have the book done in a week, you don't want or need one hundred thousand pages, most non-fiction books are around ten thousand words these days so keep it reasonable. When I started out it took me months to write a ten thousand word book, but now this blog will be 500-600 words and take me 20 minutes, practice will speed up the process.
• Have people read your work - feedback is how we learn, it makes you a better writer and will let you know what points need expanded on or reduced.

2. How would I publish it? The days are gone where you need to worry about what a publisher or buyer will say, there are so many routes to market that you can do yourself that not another person need read your work before you release it.

Quick tips to publish;

• Get yourself on Amazon - KDP is a very easy to use format for getting your book released digitally, it will guide you through the process easily and it is free.
• Research other digital options - Smash-words, WH Smith to name a couple, there are lots out there take a look.
• If you require paper copies you have other options, Amazon Create Space is good scheme where the book is printed to order when requested through Amazon. There are multiple pay per print companies out there, just do your research.
• Short run prints - There are a number of short run print companies that will happily take your money to produce tens to hundreds of copies for a price, but this is all pay up front so beware of the budget.

Writing a book takes discipline, start with a plan and go from there, you don't have to write Shakespeare, just use your voice, tell your story your way not how you think someone else would want to hear it. Writing can be fun, but you have to believe that you can do it or you never will.

Thanks for reading, please share your thoughts in the comments section below.