Want to write a book? These three quick tips can help you get going.
1. Have a roadmap, but be ready for detours.
Outlines mean different things to different people. They can be very detailed; for example, the novelist Ken Follett typically uses outlines that run between 25-40 typed pages. He shows his outline to a number of people, including his editors and agent. These people read the outline and offer feedback, which Follett can incorporate as he wishes.
Outlines can be very simple; I’ve written technical documentation where my outline was scribbled on a 3×5 card. I’d begin the project knowing the main points, trusting that as things developed, the other topics would present themselves and I’d write about them.
In both examples, the outline is a road map to get started. But it’s inevitable that the outline will change as the book develops. This is a good thing. Let the book speak to you.
2. Little strokes fell great oaks.
Benjamin Franklin is famous for this saying, which is good advice to follow when writing books. To be sure, one can prepare a complete manuscript in a short time, even in a day. A voice dictation software could be used for dictating chapters. In their day, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, both noted authors aside from their political careers, dictated their drafts to secretaries. They reviewed the manuscripts and made the necessary edits before submitting for publication.
Writing a book is not simply putting words down and publishing. It is, as the author David McCullough said, an exercise in thinking.
Take some time each day, before the commute and the phone calls and meetings, to write part of your manuscript.
3. Know who your readers aren’t.
Know who your readers are, yes, but also know who they aren’t. For many writers, the Samuel Johnson quote that “No man but a blockhead ever wrote but for money” applies. Some write in hopes of becoming famous. Some want their book to win the praise of family and friends. Others want their book to get noticed from supervisors and colleagues.
To be sure, such approval is OK as far as that goes. But, chances are, these people are buying (but not reading) your book because you wrote it. They’re not necessarily interested in reading it for the subject matter. For example, if these people are all cat lovers, they might not be interested in your book about miniature pinscher dogs.
When you prepare your outline, show it to people who you know have either a strong knowledge of or interest in your subject for the best feedback.
