How to write a non fiction book in less than a month
So, you want to write your book: a Self-Help book, in order to promote your own practice globally. Let me congratulate you on such decision, because an online book is indeed the number one marketing tool you could ever have. Then, I want to assure you that writing a book, no matter what most people say and think, is quite easy. Really, it Is not difficult at all.
But you need three things to have in place to succeed in such a task, especially if you haven’t done it before, Here they are:
- Knowledge of your subject
- A plan on what you will write about
- Focus – concentration
If you are not really familiar with the subject you have chosen, I would suggest to skip it for another time in the future and find something that is very dear to you. It should be something that your clients have faced several times and you have helped them to overcome it, or something that you – yourself have been suffering from in the past. It is a very good idea to be honest and to also show vulnerable to your readers. They will instantly appreciate your honesty, they will relate to you easily and you will get their unconditional trust.
Of course, when I say you need to be familiar with the subject, I don’t mean you should not do any research beforehand. You may go to some of your notes and read them again, or watch YouTube videos etc. But don’t over do it.
Our intention for this book is to focus on only one type of problem and write a book really fast.
A book of this kind can be written in less than a week if you can focus enough. Here is how it is done:
Check your calendar and set aside 3-4 uninterrupted hours
in order to sit down and compose your “writing plan”. It is a very easy thing to do, but it needs uninterrupted time.
Take a piece of paper and write down what you want to talk about
in the book. Don’t be judgmental, write down whatever comes to your mind and write it in just words or very short phrases the one under the other: no explanation and definitely no paragraphs. Just point out the subjects on which you will build your book.
Get yourself a pack of cards approximately A5 size or a little less, and copy the titles
you have written on the top of each card. These should be the chapters of your book. If some titles seem similar or additional to others, put them as bulletins underneath one title within the same card.
Take again each card and point out words and small phrases that should be discussed under each subject.
These will be the themes of each paragraph.
When you feel you have written everything you want to write about, try to put your cards into proper order.
What will you discuss about first, what second, etc. If you want, you may copy the cards again to look clean and nice, or you may type them in proper order and style on your computer. This should last for about 3 hours, and you are done for now.
Call a friend of yours who is familiar with the subject
you are writing about, or whom you trust for his/her cleverness and good ideas. Send them the “manuscript” and ask if they think you should add some more “bulletins” in it, depending questions that might arise.
Check your calendar once again and try to find another 3-4 uninterrupted hours within the next 2-3 days.
Ask your friend if they can join you for this second phase of your book writing. If they can, that is wonderful. If not, it is still fine, you will do the job alone.
Get in front of you your notes and start recording yourself while speaking and explaining.
Start with each title, say something about it, then the bulletins, speak as if you really want to make someone in front of you understand about those ideas. This is why it would be great if the trustworthy friend is with you at that time. You will find yourself speaking fluently much easier if you really address to someone your ideas. Your friend can interrupt you by asking questions. This is a great opportunity for you to get more specific on your subjects. Please – make sure your recording device gets the entire conversation.
The recorded material can be transcribed
by you, if you have some extra time, or you can give it to someone else - to do it for you. You may find good professionals online:
3 hours of discussion can be about 70 to 100 pages which, after editing might be eliminated up to 30%... I would say that 60 pages for an e-book is quite enough. After all, you don’t want to write an entire PHD Thesis, you just want to create a “How-to-Book” for JUST ONE PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED. In that way, if you have more ideas about other subjects, great! You will write even more books!!!
Edit the transcription.
What you need to do is get rid of the phrases that totally look like chatting (the style should remain as a discussion with your audience, but not as a totally casual one). The first edit I suggest should be done by you, because by reading it again, you might want to add a couple of things, or to check your notes and books. Second edit, I suggest you can give it to a professional editor. You can go to peopleperhour.com and ask for someone UK native English speaker qualified for the job to edit your book. You can find for about 60.000 words edit for less than 100€, this price rocks. But still, if you feel you are very good in English and you don’t want to pay that money you can go to http://www.gingersoftware.com and download completely free a proofreading program that integrates perfectly with Microsoft word and other similar programs. If you like to write articles, this program rocks because it also suggests you how to write some things and it obviously finds and corrects syntax and grammar errors much more professionally than the word’s official tool.
...so, your book is done, written and ready. Now, you will need to see how to create a perfect cover, layout, and how to publish it on Amazon and Create space. If you need my help on that, check my Graphic design services.
What is your #1 reason for writing and publishing your own book? Please, comment below!