A-ha!

Writing Your Book: Begin at the Beginning

I've had a number of people ask me how to get started writing their book. For instance, a lot of people, when they find out what we do, say, "I've always wanted to write a book, but I don't know how to get started."

The easy way is... to start. The hard way is... to think about it day after day, and to put roadblocks up, like saying, "I don't know how to get started."

Truth is, putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard is the best way to begin. If you have the idea already, great. The words will flow and you'll have your introduction or chapter one in no time.

What seems to hold people back is the worry that - they aren't good enough to write a book. That writing a book is a hard task, or a long task, or an arduous task. In reality, it's a task. Much like anything else. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end. Just like the book... a beginning, a middle and an end.

Sometimes I suggest doing a little bit of research. Visit Amazon and see if there are millions of other books on the same topic. That will tell you to make sure you have a new approach or a unique view to write about - one that will set your book apart from the millions of others on the same subject.

Next, visit a Barnes and Noble store and look for books relating to your topic. Don't limit yourself to books about the actual topic - expand your horizons and look at books about relating topics, or books about the opposite topic. In other words, check out your competition.

Don't ever believe your idea is so original that you have no competition. Even Harry Potter has competition.

Do you know what that is?

Thinking you're so original, so unique, so special that readers will want only what you're writing, is a recipe for failure. The key is to write what you know, but also, to know who else is writing it.

So, get started. Today is the best day to begin...

Michael Drew and Publishing

Just stopped over at Michele Miller's Wonderbranding (stuff that's good for you) and found this exciting post on Creating a Bestseller.

She's writing about Wizard Academy partner, Michael Drew, and his new resource on the world of publishing: Beneath the Cover. I took a look at the site and it has some excellent content on it. (not enough women, though... Michael, call me... I'm ready to help out).

The likes of Bryan Eisenberg and Roy H. Williams are included in the contributor's list. There's a link for guest contributors, but the only one that I can see is David Meerman Scott. (the site is new... and the content is outstanding, so... they will likely add guest contributors in time)

Of course, they have a blog, Push the Key: Improve the Book Industry, While Improving You. It's off to a  good start. As with our blog, here at Aha! (authors helping authors), they seem to be focusing on education, not marketing.

It's important to learn as much as you can about the process of writing and publishing, if you really want your work to be a success. As Michael Drew says in his June 29th post, "Bestselling book promotion experts Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman suggest that you'll get the attention of publishers if you speak their language - and that's the language of profit and loss."

The title of the post is, "Publishing is a business"... which is exactly what we try to explain to our authors, time and again.