Before Your Pen Hits the Paper

You're excited about the book project. You have a title and idea for your book! You've even started writing. You're desire to write the book is more than fantasy. You've thought about writing this book for a long time. It's your godly-given assignment. However, you couldn't finish the thought - page, topic, chapter. Your project came to an abrupt halt. Your forward movement hit a roadblock and now your project is on hold.

Build a Solid Foundation

Questioning yourself - confused and overwhelmed. What just happened? I had it all figured out but lost it. Yet, you won't abandon it. Therefore, we're still at the beginning of your writing journey. Before your pen hits the paper reflect on building a solid foundation.

How do we start a project of this magnitude? Where do we begin?

I know one thing for sure - don't start writing your manuscript in chronological order. The challenge of writing your book from A to Z in order will devour you whole and you'll beat yourself up for not finishing. This daunting task will surely overwhelm you and make you leave your book unfinished. Instead redirect your focus onto developing book goals.

Developing the Book Goals

What are book goals? They are your objectives, the book's arguments, and reader takeaways. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of my book? What do I want the reader to learn? Answering these questions will provide the basis of your book and enable you to create a lane for yourself. Stay in your lane by narrowing the objectives.

Jot down those topics you're an expert in and want to elaborate. Brainstorm a list of related topics you won't cover. Limit your book objectives. Be specific with your goals. Identify two to five key points. Pinpoint the reader takeaways.

Conclusion

Whenever starting a book project begin your journey by identifying book goals. What is the purpose of your book? What will you discuss? Now let's get busy but don't speed ahead! Next, jump-start your outline. Then officially begin writing your draft.

Comments

Tackling the Introduction

What is the purpose of your reading? Why select your copy? What promises will you deliver? These are some of the pertinent questions you will answer in your book’s Introduction. Go Harder The Respect Institute is a public speaking program I partook in. I recall the instructor demanding that we create a strong Introduction and Conclusion. They emphasized the significance of producing a hook to entice the audience, and Conclusion to thoroughly wrap up the talk. Avoiding Common Author Mistakes After publishing seven books, I’ve learned from my mistakes and matured in book development. My experience and direction will undoubtedly support your publishing endeavors. Working with In Her Own Ink will validate and reinforce effective strategies to build your manuscript. I discuss practical tips on the building blocks of writing an Introduction in my book, In Her Own Ink: Strategies for Creating from Author to Author. I drill authors on t...

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

You’ve started writing your book and the motivation drops as well as your progress. How do you stir your passion? How can you rekindle your flame? When I hit a roadblock, I’ll do one of these three activities or all of them. Reflect on my reasons. Revert to my writing ritual. Review the list of questions my reader may have. Proven-Strategies for Creating In the beginning stages, I’ll jot down my reasons for publishing. Five or more reasons I deserve to publish. I keep this note in the miscellaneous section of my binder. I discussed these tasks in my book, In Her Own Ink: Strategies for Creating from Author to Author. The writing ritual is where motivation meets discipline. What motivates you into action? Which song, quote, or image gets you moving? Generally, I watch a couple of performances on YouTube that spikes my professional keenness, and produces passion. I do this repeatedly, prior to diving into the mental work of my book development...

Speaking their Language

In my book, In Her Own Ink: Strategies for Creating from Author to Author, I discuss the importance of meeting our readers where they are. Opposed to using expert jargon, incorporate layman’s terms. A book for therapists will largely differ from a book for the general public. Use Appropriate Language I have a friend who is a children’s book author. She shared with me how she discovered her book’s terminology, and length of storyline was not a good fit for the age range she targeted. She only discovered this concern after researching her competitors. Researching Competitors Depending on the type of book, you might research competitors to determine whether your level of dialogue is ideal. It is a great idea to review competitors’ work, however, I encourage you to do this prior to starting your manuscript. Whenever I’m working on a book project I avoid looking over competitors' narratives to avoid being heavily influenced by them and becoming a copycat. Conclusion Unless you'r...

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