Confessions of a Ghostwriter

ROXANNE MCCARTY-O’KANE CONFESSIONS OF A ghostwriter

Have you ever found yourself in a Mexican stand-off with your computer screen because you aren’t sure what to include in your book or even where to begin?

You’ve decided you want to sit down and finally write your book, but a million ideas are swirling around in your mind and you can’t make heads or tails of it all. The result? You are left frustrated by the blank screen and your book idea gets shelved. It may be weeks, months, or years later before you decide to begin again, but you find the cycle of frustration repeating once more. The solution is simple – your story needs structure.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS...

What is important in your life? What would make this a great year for you? What do you need to achieve your business goals? What’s the biggest obstacle getting in your way? What do you need to say no to, to make this happen? What is your business exit plan?

If you don’t know the answers or your accountant doesn’t ask you these questions, then it might be time to change accountants?

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By the end of this article, you will have a basic structure you can follow if you are writing your life story in the form of a memoir and another if you are writing a book for your business. These will give you the basic foundations to begin to shape your manuscript outline and write with purpose. When you are writing a memoir, you are choosing a single theme or situation in your lifetime and only writing about that. Powerful memoirs will include lessons the author has learned throughout the experience, making it the perfect candidate for The Hero’s Journey structure.

At its core, this starts off at a set point, covers a fall from grace and then how the author overcomes challenges to rise to greatness. When you break down Hollywood blockbusters, 90% of them would follow this formula. It is something we are familiar with and highlights the powers of resilience, persistence and strength – values we all admire.

Keeping this structure at the forefront of your mind as you begin to plan your memoir will help you to determine which events are relevant to the theme you are presenting to your reader. For a business book, there are a few popular ways you can structure your content. They include: • Running the reader through a framework or process, with a number of steps the reader can follow. • Presenting the reader with the best of the best of your advice or knowledge, like Top 10 Tips for... • Grouping like topics into chapter headings and discussing each point in great detail. • A listicle, like 100 Ways to... Of course, it is vital to ensure that even a business book links your personal experiences in so that the reader gains a better understanding and connection to who you are as the author and businessowner. That way, if your end goal is to convert readers into clients, they will already trust you and have a sense of who you are and what you stand for. If you were to follow one of the above structures, what would your basic manuscript structure look like? Send me an email at hello@roxannewriter.com.au as I’d love to see what sort of journey you will take your future readers on.

In the meantime, if you are ready to dive deeper and truly solidify your book structure, book your seat at the next Ignite & Write Workshop. After spending the day with me and three other like-minded aspiring authors in a hands-on environment, you will have greater clarity of your purpose for writing a book, you will know how meaningful it is to share it with the world and you will be ready to launch into a great future as an author. Of course, you will also get practical advice on how to get started writing your book as well as shaping up a manuscript structure that you will be able to take home and fill out with all of your experiences and knowledge. Just imagine... reaching that milestone of holding a physical book in your hands with YOUR name on the cover!

If this is something you want to achieve, head to www.roxannewriter.com.au/shop/ workshop/ignite-write-workshop/ to book your seat. a

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