Do you have an idea for a book or article? Many people dream of writing a book, but they don’t ever start.Starting is probably the most important thing to do! Get started writing a book..
Follow these steps:
- Open a document in your favorite program, or buy a notebook and start writing with pen and paper.
- Backup frequently
- Make backups
- Back up your work to several places – google, email, a secondary email – and do this frequently. If writing on paper, make digital copies and save those.
- Do you get the idea you should back up your files?
Set a goal
- 500 words a day is a good goal (many documents will give you a word count)
- 500 words a day x 5 days a week = 10,000 words a month
- 500 words a day x 30 days a month = 15,000 words a month
- 1,000 words a day x 5 days a week = 20,000 words a month (possible short book in one month)
Don’t worry about editing or proofreading
- This will come later
- If you have a website, post each day’s writing as a blog post.
- Post your “chapter” with a picture on social media. This will allow you to start receiving feedback from others. Just be careful about advice from Big Bertha.
If you follow these steps, you will be well on your way to writing your own book.
***James Divine is an educator, speaker, and author of 5+ books. Find his course Get Started Writing a Book here. Find out more about him at www.jamesdivine.net.