Everyone has a book inside them, or so the saying goes. But few people get that book out. Often it's because of lack of time. So, how can you get your book written inside a week or two?
I was talking to a friend yesterday who complained they couldn't find time to write their book. They had an idea, but could never find the time. They wanted to know how did I manage to get books written so quickly - was there a magic formula I used. So I told him my story and thought I'd share it here.
I've written 27 books which have been published by traditional publishers, plus I have written five books which I have published myself. Not one of these books has taken me more than two weeks to write. And, even though one of them is 12 years old, it still continues to sell well in seven different countries in five languages and is one of the most borrowed books in libraries (according to my PLR statistics). So, even though it only took two weeks to write, it can't be that bad!
Here's my 'trick'. When I get an idea for a book I get a ring binder and label it with my book title. Then I chuck into that ring binder some blank paper and a few plastic punched pockets to store things in. Then as I go about my work over the coming days I'll just scribble down on the paper in my folder any ideas I get which might be useful for the book. Also if I see any articles in newspapers or magazines, I'll rip them out and place them in the plastic pockets in the binder. Similarly, if I see a web page which might have some value to my book, I'll print it out and shove it in the binder. I do not make any value judgements, I do not try to put things in order, I simply chuck everything that might be useful into the ring binder. I also jot down questions that people ask me that are related to the book subject and I try to come up with my own questions which the book might answer. Anything and everything is collected into the ring binder.
Once I've got a reasonable collection of material, which might take days, weeks, or months to accumulate, I'll then go through it and start to put it in order. I'll use the list of questions I've written to help guide me in this and then I'll use the sorted piles of information to help me come up with chapter headings. This might take me a day, but by the end of that day I'll have a complete, detailed outline of my book - plus all the associated background information which will help me write it.
Then I can start writing. To do this I often go away from home. In the past I used to hire a holiday cottage somewhere idyllic. Nowadays I go to my own holiday home down near Bognor Regis. But it means I can write without the distractions of the office. If you have a book of, say 30,000 words to write, that's only 5,000 words a day for six days. That's one chapter in the morning and one in the afternoon. Or, put it another way, you need to write around 750 words an hour - or one word every five seconds. Now that's not many is it?
It might sound a daunting task, but with a detailed outline and all the background information already prepared, it is actually quite straightforward. I'm convinced that people who can't find the time to write their book haven't actually formulated their ideas fully or got their information collected. Once you have down that, the writing is relatively straightforward.
So, in short, getting your book written in record time is easy if you follow a 'system'. Mine is:
* Collect any information that might be relevant
* Write down any idea which might be relevant
* Sort through all the information and ideas you collect and put them into an order
* Write a detailed outline of your book - chapter headings, sub headings etc.
* Take some time off from your normal work - a holiday away for a week, say
* Set yourself a daily target of words to write
Barbara Cartland used to write 10,000 words every day. You might not like her work, but there's no denying she was successful at what she did. Being organised and having a target to reach is the only way to get that book written. Your book will never get written if all you do is wait for 'enough time'.
Graham Jones is a psychologist who has specialized in the way we use the Internet. He is an expert on information products and runs Infoselling.com where you can get a FREE report on how to sell your own infoproducts.
http://www.infoselling.com