From a standing start writing a book seems like a marathon for most people. It requires lots of preparation and training, after all, you wouldn’t set off on a marathon without putting in the training, would you?
Writing a book is more like a marathon than a 100 metre sprint. It has many aspects, lots of different ‘conditions’ to prepare for and many milestones along the way. You need to develop a range of skills, let’s explore a few.
Purpose
You run a marathon for a reason – whether that’s to test your own physical abilities or to support a charity that means something to you or because you got talked into it by friends. Creating a book needs a purpose – or you’ll give up easily as soon as the going gets tough. You need to be clear WHY you’re embarking on this.
Pre-race preparation
If you want to complete your journey, you need to know as much as possible about the event. What’s the terrain like? How much of it is uphill or downhill? How many other people will you be running with and what will you need to do to deal with that?
Your book needs to be focused on the reader you want to reach – what do they want? What material will you need to cover to ensure they are keen to read it? Who else has written books on the subject? Who publishes this kind of book?
Training
If you don’t write much beyond an occasional one line social post or more formal business material, such as proposals, getting the writing habit will make a real difference. Set yourself some goals – like writing a regular blog post or thought-leader articles for the publications your ideal client reads. Try a shorter project, like writing an ebook to use as a lead magnet, it will hone your writing skills.
AI can be really useful in giving you feedback on your style and clarity.
Also, these ‘practice runs’ can be used for source material later in the book development process
Scheduling
Running a marathon means working up to long distances, and that means starting off by running shorter distances and gradually increasing, supplemented by other types of fitness training to ensure your body is fully prepared.
When you set out to create a book you need to make friends with your diary and use it to support you. Schedule research and information gathering sessions as well as writing blocks. If it’s in your diary, it is more likely to get done.
Race plan
When you start writing you need to have a finishing line to cross to keep you focused. That’s the date your publisher will need your finished manuscript, edited, proofread and ready to prepare for publication.
You’ll need to take into account your workload, holidays, other commitments and ensure that you build in some wiggle room for unexpected setbacks.
Team support
Your team will need to include a publisher, a copy editor or a development editor and a proofreader. Depending on how you plan to publish, you may also need a cover designer, a book layout artist, an agent, a PR consultant, a marketer. It’s not a solo activity!
Follow up
Once your book is published, that’s not the end of the road. After a marathon you’ll usually need to continue some kind of exercise regime and may need to put some serious effort into gathering donations that have been promised. After a book is published you need to continue promoting and marketing it, chasing people for reviews and keeping it in people’s awareness.
And, once you’ve done one, the next one is calling you!
