Last year I wrote my first book. It’s called The Innovation Workout and it’s a best seller on Amazon. It’s for anyone that wants to improve their innovation and creativity knowledge and skills.
When I tell people I’ve written a book many people say that they dream of writing one but don’t know where to begin; so this blog is intended as a quick guide, based on my experience that will help you to get started.
- First be really clear on why you are writing a book. It’s bloody hard and takes up an incredible amount of time. So you need to really want to do it. I was approached by Pearson to write a book on my specialist area — innovation and for me it was an opportunity to get all my thoughts and experience in one place. I was writing it for the learning experience and the benefits that being an author might bring to my business Lucidity. Be absolutely clear on your why before you write a single word.
- Know the point. Who is your reader and what do you want them to think, feel and do as a result of reading your book. Make a pen portrait of your target reader, spend time understanding what makes them tick. What problems will reading your book solve for them?
- Plan your structure. How many words do you want your book to be? For example a good size business book is 30,000 words or more. That’s 10 chapters of 3,000 words. Do you have that much content? Sense check this and challenge yourself as to whether a book is the best medium for your content. Would your content be more suited to a series of blogs or podcasts?
- Self publish or find a publisher. I was lucky to be approached by Pearson because of my blog track record. There are pros and cons to both which I’ll cover in another blog soon but in the meantime check out Pros And Cons Of Traditional Publishing vs Self-Publishing from The Creative Penn.
- Just start writing. Once you have your why and your structure just start writing. Take a ‘better done than perfect’ approach. Just write. You can edit crap copy. You can’t edit a blank screen.
- Expect your inner critic to show up. We all have an inner critic that tells us we are rubbish and that we will get found out. Expect them to get louder as you begin to articulate your ideas. Work hard to shut them up. Phone a friend. Go for a walk. Push on through. You will find a tactic that works for you - just anticipate the inner critics arrival and know that sooner or later that you will have to deal with it.
- Find your flow. We all have different biorhythms and times of day when we work better or are more focused or in the flow. Find yours and, if you can schedule your day around working at the times when you are at your best. I write best early morning and late at night. It’s an ineffective use of time for me to try to write 4pm. It just doesn’t flow.
That’s your seven things. If you have been toying with the idea of writing a book just make a start. Stop procrastinating. Carve out an hour or two. Switch off your devices and decide whether to do it or not. As Yoda so rightly said ‘do or not - there is no try’. Good luck.
You can buy the Innovation Workout here. Or if you’d like to try before you buy drop me an email lucy@lucidity.org.uk and I’ll email you a free chapter.