Confessions of the laziest writer in the world.
I have several books on Amazon, all non-fiction. Fiction is 10X harder! At one time I had a goal of writing a murder mystery (my favorite genre to read) but now…I’m not sure.
Recently I was asked, “What’s your process?” I hadn’t thought about this, but I realize I do have a process.
I am very lazy. If I were a hard worker I’d have a dozen more books on Amazon.
I don’t decide to “write a book.” The book demands to be written.
My books grow out of articles and coaching sessions. By the time I decide to turn the material into a book, I’ve got lots of material all ready to go. I don’t start with a blank page.
Usually, I write articles or coach clients well before I decide to write a book.
Then I open up Notion software, the free version, or Google Docs. I have one page that becomes an outline. Each element in the outline links to a page, or chapter. I especially like Notion because I can move the chapters around. When I’m ready to share I switch to Google Docs, because sharing is easy there.
Each page (or document in Google Docs) becomes a chapter.
I look through the articles I’ve already written and published. Some of them will be chapters. Some of them will be parts of chapters, with or without editing. I slot the articles into the appropriate page.
I make sure the book has a theme or thesis.
For instance, in my book about moving, the theme was “moving changes your identity.” For my book on intuition for business decisions, the theme was “Intuition has a code. You have to know how to crack the code.” And my first book on storytelling: “Stories are strategic.”
My forthcoming book is called “Your Mess Is Not Your Message.” First, I tossed out the title as a line of copy. One person said it gave her goose-bumps. Several people urged me to write it. The theme is, “Service-based solopreneurs can’t brand like the big guys. Here’s what they can do instead.”
No point of view? No theme? There’s no book. It’s that simple.
I write to my reader.
There’s a lot of bad language in the book on aging because younger generations swear. If you read the book, you know it’s NOT an age thing. My generation swears. Some people don’t understand the concept of “bad language.”
My business books are super-professional. Not a swear word in sight. I may change that in future as some career books have titles that get them almost-banned from the library.
I edit a LOT.
Some people write like they’re taking dictation. They plan their book so thoroughly the words seem to emerge effortlessly. They don’t need much editing.
I’m not like that. I have to write and write to know what I want to say. And I rewrite. And edit.
I test the book — or individual chapters — with people I like and trust. They’re people who will tell me bluntly if I’m wrong.
I had planned to have a thin pamphlet for my non-business book, When I Get Old I Plan To Be A Bitch. But I showed the draft to people who urged me to flesh it out and make it bigger.
That book was unusual for me because I don’t usually write about non-business and non-career subjects. I didn’t have articles or consulting sessions. Instead, I used “bits” from situation comedy.
When I showed my forthcoming book, “Your Mess Is Not Your Message,” to Alex Hillman, he said it was a “breezy read” and the best of my books so far. He wrote the Introduction.
My friend and neighbor liked my “when I get old” book…but she was horrified at the typos and mistakes. She is very blunt and she offered to proof my next book. I took her up on it. This way she can’t make snarky comments about the typos.
Have fun with the cover design.
Recently I tried something new. I created a mockup in Canva and then gave it to a designer on Fiverr. I would not turn a cover designer loose with no guidance.
The cover reflects your theme.
My cover for my non-business “when I get old” book is supposed to represent the reader. She’s young and cool; she has bright red nail polish and a small tattoo. She’s holding a shirt with the title printed on it. The symbolism is, she’s young but she’s thinking about getting old.
My cover for my forthcoming book, Your Mess is Not Your Message, features a mess. It’s about branding when the brand is YOU, a service-based solopreneur.
Many of those business owners have been told they should “share their mess.” They should be vulnerable and share their toughest stories. For 90% of solopreneurs, that advice is dead wrong. They don’t understand vulnerability and they over-share.
So I knew the cover would have to feature a mess…a likeable mess, an understandable mess, but a mess! I drew the design in Canva and the designer totally transformed it.
Some people get the cover done early and use it as inspiration to finish their book.
You don’t have to write a book.
Sometimes I feel that I *ought* to write a novel…specifically a murder mystery. But I know there are thousands of good mysteries out there.
I am SO glad that Antonio Manzini decided to write the Rocco Schiavone series. (They’re on PBS as Ice Cold Murders, Italian with subtitles. The English translation of the books is just OK; if you can, read the French translation or Italian originals.) That series has been a joy to read and re-read.
I also loved the works of Margaret Maron, Marcia Muller, Margaret Maran, Dick Francis, Robert Parker, and so many more. I’m glad they forged ahead and wrote.
But does the world need my writing?
You don’t have to write your book. If it’s not a labor of love, don’t bother.
Many business owners on the Internet — especially the solopreneurs I write about — do very well without a book. I once had a lawyer client with great stories to tell; he talked about writing a book but he never did. That’s OK.
Many, many authors buy books about how to write a book. Thankfully, most never follow through. We don’t need more bad books.
Don’t worry if your first book totally sucks.
That said, many many successful authors have their much-rejected first book in a drawer somewhere. If everybody hates your book, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. A good writer can write a bad book, easily. Everyone writes garbage sometimes.
It’s just not that big a deal…or it shouldn’t be. Remember…the first rule of writing a book is, Do it because it’s something YOU want to do. Not because you feel you should.
Sorry, no special place in heaven for book authors. Not even the successful ones.
