10
things to remember
before
writing your book www.reillocpublishing.com
THE WAY YOU BEGIN WRITING YOUR BOOK HAS THE GREATEST IMPACT ON HOW & IF YOU FINISH www.reillocpublishing.com
HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN LOST ON A ROAD TRIP? Picture this - you are on your way to meet some friends from college for a special event. You are running late so in a mad dash you grab your keys, rush out the door and zoom away. About 45 minutes in you spot a detour and then it hits you. You left your cell phone on the kitchen counter. You don't have any maps and your old car doesn't have a GPS. Eventually, you find a gas station and get directions. However, by the time you arrive, it is late at night and you pretty much missed the entire event. Suddenly, you think of two simple words - if only. "If only I had remembered my cell phone" "If only I could afford a better car with a GPS installed. . . " This story illustrates how many people approach writing a book. It's all about rushing ahead, which leads writers to feel lost. It doesn't have to be this way. We put together this brief guide to help writers like you plan and prepare for the writing journey ahead.
YOUR BOOK IS YOUR BABY . . . It isn't surprising that many writers liken the process of creating a book to creating a life. A book that you write represents an intimate part of who you are. You worry about your book. You experience the guilt of not telling "your story" and then resign yourself to the thought that it might not happen when you thought it would. We want to help you ease some of that writing anxiety by providing honest tips to remember before you begin your book. This is by no means a definitive list of writing tips, but there are some valuable lessons here for you to heed. Think of this guide as a brief travel guide to carry along with you during the writing journey. If you hit any roadblocks or detours along the way, pull out this handy guide and reset your course. Remember: you've got this. Just relax, and let the words flow.
1.
PICK A BOOK TOPIC THAT WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME
Writers hear all the time to write about things they love, but that isn't the full picture. Sure, you might love talking to your friends about a tv show or new catchphrase, but do you want to write an entire book about those things? Your book topic should be something you won't mind talking about for the rest of your life. Too many people pick book topics based on temporary interests or trends. As human beings, we change our minds about things all the time. The thing is, once your book is in print, you can't go around the world and retrieve every copy because you don't like something anymore. Sure, you can always revise your book after publishing, but you can't change the topic without it being a different book. When picking a book topic, go with something you know well or you can see yourself wanting to research in depth. If you still feel like you have to write about your current interests, then a blog is a better option than a book for now.
2.
YOU SHOULD KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE BEFORE YOU WRITE YOUR BOOK
Write about things you know other people care about. Even if your audience is super small, you want to make sure someone out there wants to read what you wrote. Before you write your book, do a deep dive on Amazon. Don't look at only the bestseller lists, check topics and sub-topics that are like the book you are writing. Search Goodreads and other book forums - do what you can to find your readers ahead of time. Knowing who your audience is will give you an advantage in preparing your book so less revision is needed in the latter stages. When you find your audience, you can write with those people in mind, which comes in handy during the marketing and distribution stage.
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3.
YOU SHOULD NEVER EDIT AND WRITE AT THE SAME TIME
When you write, how often do you hit the delete or backspace button? One exercise we give writers is a timed freewriting session where they have one rule – don't delete anything. It is harder than you may think. The perfectionist in you wants to fix things, but when you edit and write at the same time this slows you down. In the end, your creativity suffers because it is competing with your desire to fix things. There is a famous story about Rolling Stones Guitarist Keith Richards jumping up out of a daze to record a fragment of a song that would go on to be "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." He didn't finish writing and editing the song in the same session. When a musician is working on a song, they go through the process of tinkering. They improvise with notes and sounds until something sticks. Then the musician will take all of those elements and turn it into a cohesive song. You should approach writing in the same way. If it helps, put a post-it next to the backspace button that says "do not use until after the draft is complete."
4.
BESTSELLERS ARE RARE (AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT)
Every day, people read blogs, courses, and books with a simple claim how to write a bestseller. The reality is that most books published don't sell millions of copies. Did you know that the average book in the US sells about 250 copies in a single year and a few thousand in total (source: BooksScan)? Hate to break it to you, but money, fame, and adulation should NOT be the goal when writing a book. At Reilloc, we know as a small indie publisher that bestsellers are not the goal, but we are still doing pretty good. In fact, there are many writers out there who you may not be household names but are successful full-time authors. If your main goal is to make writing your day job, then you should know that this is something you can do. As long as you make quality your goal instead of millions, everything will work out.
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5.
WRITING CAN BE AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE
The late Maya Angelou once said that "there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story within you." Sharing your story may be tough, but not sharing it can be detrimental. There is something deep inside of you that is driving you to write this book. Writing can be an emotional experience. It can draw things out of you, force you to confront things about yourself you didn’t know were there. Give your book its best shot by being open and honest with yourself. No matter what type of writing you do, you have the opportunity to provide a reader with genuine emotion. Don't hold back from experiencing the full wave of experiences and emotions when you write. It is a powerful tool at your disposal. At the end of this journey of writing your book, you may find that the act of creating something is healing. Writing is often used as a therapeutic tool because it is a way express the deepest parts of who you are on the page. Don't run from this emotional journey, embrace it.
6.
IT TAKES PHYSICAL PREPARATION TO WRITE A BOOK
Let's go back to the story at the beginning of this guide where the person rushed out the door to get to the event. When you rush to do things without planning, it creates a physical toll as well. Our bodies and minds don't like stressful situations. When you write without preparation, it is like telling your body to go into panic mode, and you don't want to do that. We tell all the writers we work with to physically prepare for writing their books. When you write, make sure you have a comfortable chair and a space that helps you relax. Don't sit and stare at a screen or pad and pen all day. Get up. Stretch your legs and walk every hour at least five minutes. Take in the fresh air, breathe, meditate. You want to create an optimal environment for your mind to wander so the words can flow. The process of writing doesn't seem as overwhelming when you prepare for it.
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7.
YOU WILL GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT YOUR BOOK
When people find out you are writing a book, you will get a lot of questions because most people don't publish books during their lives. It may feel weird talking about your book to friends and family, especially if you tell them to expect a book from you on a specific date. Any delays will feel awkward because you think your family and friends will assume you gave up. Send out a communication to your loved ones with an estimated date of when you will be publishing your book. Then you can send periodic updates as the date arrives. It is helpful to tell the people closest to you that you are writing a book because they will be your biggest cheerleaders. However, you want to make sure that you are not feeling pressure to rush the process. What you are looking for most of all is accountability. So if your friends and family reach out with questions, feed their curiosity so they can provide you with the encouragement and accountability you need to succeed.
8.
THE FAILURES ALONG THE WAY ARE SUCCESSES IN DISGUISE
Along the road of writing your book, there will be potholes and detours. You will miss deadlines, plots will get axed by your editor. Life is rarely a smooth ride along the complete journey, so why would you expect the writing process to be one? The great news is that as you survive these perceived failures as a writer, you become stronger. You grow and you adapt. You develop a resilient edge that sets you apart in a sea of cookie cutter voices. So the next time you feel like you have failed because of a revision or plot hole, think of this as a writing growth spurt instead. Always keep learning. When you flip the failure into a learning opportunity you see that it is not a failure at all. When you feel like giving up on writing your book, close your eyes and picture that book in your hands. Visualize your name on the cover. Remember that the momentary setbacks of today are the triumphs of tomorrow. WANT FREE WRITING RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EVERY MONTH? CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR LIST
9.
YOU ARE GOING TO THROW OUT YOUR RULE BOOKS
This next tip might surprise you, but we want you to throw out every step you read. Go ahead, do it. Wait - stop not yet . . . read on first and then throw it out if you need to. You see, here's the thing. Top 10 lists, templates, rule books, courses these things are great and helpful, but at the end of the day, there are no shortcuts to writing YOUR book. A guide can only take you so far by providing a structure for your book. Your voice and style are going to give a book its shape and form. If there was truly a one-size-fits-all step to writing a book that had a 100% success rate then everyone who has ever lived would be a published author. You shouldn't think that there is some secret formula you have to follow point by point, and anybody that tells you that there is a magic bullet that writes your book in easy steps is lying to you. What Reilloc tells writers every day is that their book can't write itself, even if they write with a partner to get the words down on the page. If there is something inside of you that wants to write a book, you have to show up for the process. This book you are writing is taking you on a unique journey, so buckle up, take a deep breath, and get in there.
10.
YOU HAVE TO EAT THE FEAR
Look . . . we get it. Writing can be scary. Whether it is procrastination, writer’s block, or a mixture of the two, it usually originates from the same source - fear. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a great joke on the fear of public speaking, where he says that some people are so scared to speak at a funeral that they'd prefer being in the casket to giving the eulogy. The sad truth of Seinfeld's joke is that there are people who leave this earth every day with books inside of them because of fear. Fear stands in the way of you being able to see the finish line. It is like a cloud that limits your vision. Fear is that constant voice in your head that tells you that writing a book is a pipe dream. The reality is that it has never been easier for you to write and publish a book than it is right now. You eat the fear when you make a conscious decision to use it as an energy source to propel you into action. When you plan and prepare for your writing journey, you are staring fear down and word by word you are unlocking the writer within. WANT FREE WRITING RESOURCES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EVERY MONTH? CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR LIST
ABOUT REILLOC PUBLISHING In 2013, authors Jim (Purpose, Passion, and Pursuit) and Lin (Essential Practical Wisdom for Seniors) created Reilloc Publishing as a way to help writers become authors. Reilloc Publishing's mission is to unlock the writer within by providing writing coaching and publishing services. Reilloc's writing coaching services are personalized and individualized with you in mind. Through private instruction, writers are taught to find the joy in creating a book. Every private coaching session produces actionable goals and assignments which work through every step of the book writing process. Reilloc aims to eliminate the roadblocks that prevent people every day from writing. As you progress through the writing journey, Reilloc is there every step of the way, providing encouragement and accountability. Once a draft is complete, we provide publishing services that enable authors to independently produce and distribute their books globally.
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Thanks for Downloading! We hope this guide has helped you in some way. We are rooting for you as you embark on your writing journey. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ for more information. and don't forget to subscribe to our writer's group list for free monthly resources delivered straight to your inbox.
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