Business Book Writing – 6 Super Tips to Kickstart Your Ideas
You know that business book idea you’ve been playing around with? Well, now it’s time to get serious. Let’s talk about how you can turn your book idea into reality and put a smile on the face of all those potential readers who are patiently waiting to hear about your book.
#1 How to Start Writing Your Business Book
If you’re thinking about writing a book for the first time, you’ll have heaps of questions whizzing around in your head. So today I’d like to share a few tips to help you start to write your business book/non-fiction book.
No doubt you’ll want to know how to write a book, how to start writing a book, how to begin to write, what to write about, and/or you might even be thinking… should I write a book?
When people hear that I work in self-publishing and am slightly obsessed with all-things-word-related, they usually tell me they’d love to write a book one day. When I ask them what they’re waiting for, it’s usually the same response. They don’t have time to write, don’t know how to get started, or have too many ideas and don’t know what to do with them or which book to begin writing first.
So to those people (and you, of course!) I’d like to show the easiest way possible to start writing your book.
Buy a Fluffy Flamingo Notebook
Time to buy a new notebook, lovely! Here’s mine, isn’t she gorgeous? You don’t have to have a fluffy flamingo one, but I’m sure there will be one in Paperchase that speaks to you, just like this gorgeousness spoke to me. And you will need to name your notebook, too, because it’s important to build up a strong, emotional connection with it so it’s never cast to one side and forgotten about. Make it precious!
This new notebook is going to be solely for your biz book notes, outlines, doodles and ideas. No shopping lists, phone numbers, to-do lists. This is your precious notebook and its purpose is to bring the first stirrings of your book to life.
Why a notebook and not simply a Word document?
- Writing by hand boosts your memory and has many other cognitive benefits – https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/16/cognitive-benefits-handwriting-decline-typing.
- The act of writing sparks an emotional connection, and this emotion/passion is what will see you through those early days of starting to write your book.
- There’s something about holding a pen and writing on a clean page that’s so liberating. A Word document doesn’t have quite the same impact as the act of creating patterns, swirls, shapes, doodles, letters and words on a page, using different coloured pens and highlighters, and flicking through them whenever the mood takes you.
- Writing with pen and paper keeps everything lovely and raw; in its natural state – you’re not able to press the delete key and cut out words, sentences and phrases that don’t feel right at the moment but could be slotted in elsewhere at a later date. In short, this initial raw state is captured onto paper, and could prove to be the energy which drives your first draft right to the end.
#2 Commit to One Idea
If you love writing and/or your head is a constant explosion of ideas (not just book ideas, I’m talking about your business too) then you’ll find it easy to procrastinate.
“I’ve got too many book ideas… I don’t know which to start first… What if I start writing this one and it doesn’t come together… I don’t want to waste time writing this book if really it’s the other one that’s going to be better for my business…”
Any of these sound familiar?
Solve your quandary by committing to one book. That’s not to say you should shelve all the other ideas, though because they will come in handy in the future. So either start a new notebook of ‘book ideas’ or create a Word document and pop them all in there.
If you’re unsure which book idea to commit to, ask yourself:
- Which book is going to be the quickest and/or easiest to write? If you’re pulling together a series of blogs for your book, then obviously this is going to come to life much faster than a book you’re starting from scratch. And to be honest, if you’re making your author debut, getting that first book out there as painlessly as possible is the trick. This will motivate and inspire you to keep going because you’ll feel a sense of achievement once that first book is finished.
- What type of book are my clients waiting to read? If your clients or social media followers have already asked whether you’ve written a book which teaches them x, y, z (ie what you specialise in), or you’re in the throes of creating it, then this is the book you need to write first. Think of the questions you’re asked over and over again, and write a book about them.
- Do I want to write to make money for my business? Or is it just a hobby? If you’re serious about making money from your books, and you know they’ll help grow your business then let this be the catalyst that fires you into action.
And if you still can’t decide after you’ve gone through these questions, brainstorm all your book ideas. The one with the most ideas, or the one which gives you goosebumps is usually the one you’ll need to start with.
#3 Unleash Your Book Ideas
Once you’ve chosen your gorgeousness, sniffed the new pages and chosen your most special pen, it’s time to unleash your ideas.
So grab yourself a brew, switch off your internet, close the door and free your brain of all those brilliant business book ideas. Write down every single one – from the book title concepts and the jacket cover designs, to who’s going to write your foreword and your chapter headings, leave absolutely nothing out. Not a sausage.
No editing. No crossing out. Just write, in your raw, natural state because that’s where all the good stuff emerges from.
#4 Leave Your Brainstorm to Brew
Just like the best cups of tea, you have to let your book brew.
Once your first idea-emptying session is complete, take a breather for the rest of the day. Sleep on it. Don’t even look at it again until at least tomorrow.
BUT… don’t go anywhere without your notebook because now you’ve emptied your brain of business book ideas, you’ve made space for even more to jump in. Round two will saturate your brain cells so fast that you’ll need to grab your gorgeousness again and again as you get on with your normal day. So be ready at all times to capture these new ideas before they vanish into the dusty nooks of your busy mind.
#5 Embrace the Beginnings of Your Book
This notebook of yours is bringing your book to life. The ideas you’ve written down are bringing your book dream closer to reality. Seeing just how many ideas you have helps you realise that you do have enough valuable content to kickstart your book. It gives you a reality check that, actually, you do know a lot of stuff about your Mastermind subject. So all those weeks, months and even years of doubting you were good enough/smart enough/knew enough to write a book should slowly start to dissolve.
#6 Keep Your Notebook Close
Every time you clap eyes on your notebook, thoughts of your business book will be triggered (and in a good way). So keep it near your workspace or in your handbag (if you’re taking the kids to a soft play area, for example). You need to love this notebook so much that you can’t resist the urge to pick it up, flick through your ideas and add a few more when you have a spare five minutes (much better for the soul than snatching a five-minute Facebook fix).
This completely shifts your mindset from one of negativity, pressure and stagnation. You’ll go from thinking: (‘Oh, I don’t know why I thought I could write a book… it’s going to take forever… I can’t even get started…’) to (‘I can do this! Look at all my ideas… I’m sure there are another two books in there once I’ve written this one…’) and it’s the biggest confidence booster and game-changer you could ask for.
Are you ready to get started?
Fantastic.
Good luck!
Michelle
Self-Publishing Services for UK Independent Authors
If you’re keen to get started (and finished) then take a look at my 30 Days to Write Your Biz Book programme. It could be your best chance yet!