A Few Things to Help You Write Your First Book
Author’s Note: I originally published this article on Medium on December 3, 2015.
I recently finished writing my second book, which is based on my first book, The Quarter-Life Breakthrough, a guide for millennials to find meaningful work, which I self-published last year after running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The new edition will be published by Tarcher Perigee (Penguin Random House) in 2016.
Here are a few essential tips, questions, habits, tools, books, and resources that will help you write your first book. Obviously, there’s an endless amount of great book writing, publishing, and marketing resources out there, so I’ve tried to keep this cheat sheet as short as possible. If you think I’m missing an essential resource, please let me know!
A few writing tips
Don’t just write what you know. Write a book people actually NEED to read. Write a book that matters.
2. Deadlines = books
3. You’ll write when money is on the line
4. Writing requires extended focused attention
5. Know where and when you do your best writing. Know what’s present and what’s NOT present when you do your best writing.
6. Saying no to others= saying yes to your craft
7. Break your book up into small, manageable assignments
8. Friends don’t make good editors (hire a professional editor)
9. Confidence = words on the page
10. When one book ends, another begins (keep writing)
A few questions every author should ask
What is your book about (in 1 paragraph)?
What is your book about (in 1 sentence)?
What is your book about (in 1 word)?
What is your book about (in 1 image)?
Why are you writing your book?
Why are you the one to write it?
Who is your audience (in 1 sentence)?
Who is your audience (in 1 word)?
Who is your audience (in 1 image)?
Who is your editor?
Who is your Writing Accountability Buddy? What is their phone number?
At what time each week will your Writing Accountability Buddy call you for a progress update?
What types of bullshit excuses should your Writing Accountability Buddy expect from you?
What are your Weekly, Monthly, 3-Month, and 6-Month writing milestones that you be will held accountable for?
When (specific date) will your book be finished?
A few writing habits
-Write first thing in the morning, before checking email
-Write at the same time and same place every day (ritual)
-No email/phone/web use while writing
-Always carry a small Moleskine journal to write down ideas
-Always be reading one fiction and one non-fiction book
A few writing tools and resources
Self-control (app that blocks websites like Facebook and Gmail)
Medium (hey!)
Scrivener (software for writers — I actually don’t use it , I’m old school and just use Microsoft Word— but a lot of my friends seem to love it!)
Out:think (website offering great resources to build your author platform — sign-up for their email newsletter)
Jeff Goins (author who offers great resources on writing and building an online audience — sign-up for his email newsletter)
Recommended books
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Walking on Water by Derrick Jensen
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed
Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl
APE: Artist- Publisher- Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch
The Unconventional Guide to Publishing by David Fugate
Recommended blog posts
How I Wrote My Manuscript in 3 Months by Smiley Poswolsky
Should You Self-Publish Your First Book? by Smiley Poswolsky
This is a Community, Not a Book: How I’m Marketing The Quarter-Life Breakthrough by Smiley Poswolsky
The Right (and Wrong) Way to Market a Book by Ryan Holiday
Behind the Book Campaign: How to Sell 30,000 Copies in Six Weeks by Ryan Holiday
Jesus Marketing: How I Sold 5000 Books in 4 Weeks as a First-Time Author (With Less Than 700 Email Subscribers) by Taylor Pearson
How to Self-Publish a Bestseller by James Altucher
How to Write a Bestselling Book This Year by Tim Ferriss
Author’s Note: I originally published this article on Medium on December 3, 2015.
