7 Easy Steps to Write an eBook or Paperback in 6 Weeks
I’ve helped a few friends get through the book writing process with suggestions, emails, and phone calls, and they always say “You make it sound so easy! You should teach a course about this!”
There are plenty of articles and Udemy courses out there on the subject matter, but for the sake of sharing my own methods, I’ll break it down into 7 easy steps here:
- Get a notebook and jot down what you know about the topic. I have a thick notebook that I keep the various notes for all my books in. Whenever a new idea related to a book I’m working on pops into my head, I write it down. Once you get on a roll and have about 20 pages of your notebook filled, you’re ready to start the writing process.
- Organize the notes you’ve written. I typically separate my books into 3-5 large ‘parts,’ and each part has 3-5 ‘sections.’ Organizing a book this way will lead to less confusion as you’re trying to piece your ideas together. Be sure that the important ideas from your notebook are able to fit within the categories you’ve created (these will become the headings of various sections of your book); it’ll be like putting puzzle pieces together.
- Turn your notes into a book that’s an easy read. Many writers I’ve met, once they put their notes into the right sections, are able to turn two sentences worth of fleeting thoughts into 5-10 pages of book worthy, readable content. This is one of the rare lucky skills I also possess, but not everyone does. If you have a hard time, get that skeleton into place and do your best, then spend some time editing and working through ideas with a good friend or family member who’s a great writer.
- Write just enough content to make you feel comfortable. Your book does not have to be long (and your readers might not be interested in a very long book). I try to write around 80 Word doc pages per book (in Arial size 11 font, single spaced; that’s just my preference).
- Add 30-40 pages of extra content. I always include some pertinent blog posts from my website, and interviews with relevant people in my books to increase the content. As a reader, I enjoy hearing about other people’s journeys, and as a writer, I enjoy allowing special friends to share their journeys (it’s one of my favorite parts of putting a book together). The trick is to avoid phone interviews (then you have the pain of transcribing the interview, or having to pay a transcription service to transcribe it); I email my interview questions to about 20 friends/colleagues, who I’ve talked with in advance, and they simply send back their replies. It becomes a simple copy and paste job for me. Keep in mind, only about half of your interviewees will end up meeting the deadline (no matter how great a friend they are!), so err on the side of caution.
- Finalize your book (this includes finding a book cover, editing the content, and publishing it on Amazon). This is the hard part, or easy part, depending on how you want to go about it. I suggest going to Fiverr.com to do the 3 above-mentioned tasks. In the end, it might cost you $200-$300 dollars, but the freelancers on Fiverr.com are reliable and incredible. It might be worth avoiding the headache of reading eBooks on each of the topics, and then spending countless hours doing it yourself (note: this is always the most stressful part for me, and I dedicate about 40 hours a week for 2 weeks to ‘finalizing’ the book).
- Market your book. To market your book, read some eBooks on the topic, know who your audience is, be a guest speaker on some podcasts, write guest blog posts for various websites, and/or start your own blog. Be patient with the process.
In the end, your book might not become a bestseller, but you did it! How many people can say they wrote a book?
Realistically, with a little bit of persistence, you’ll be selling a few books each week for years to come. Not to mention, you might receive the occasional email from a reader across the country who thanks you for helping them during a hard time. How’s that for rewarding? I promise that sharing your message and making some small impact will make the whole process worth it.
Happy writing, and happy living!