Do you have a book in you?
Well, I feel that everybody has a book in them. It's just a matter of when you're going to write it.
Do you have experience or expertise in some particular area? What about all your work/career experience, personal relationships, spiritual searching and studies, all the knowledge, all your life experience, the things that have helped you in life?
Perhaps you're a computer programmer, you're a single parent, you've been in sales, you know how to open a restaurant or a hairdressing salon. You know what NOT to do in relationships etc which mean you know what to do J! Right? Well, I feel that everybody has a book in them everyone has a story to tell or an experience to help people.
Perhaps you have a how-to book in you or it could be an audio program or video/DVD. It's such an AWESOME way to help yourself have PR for your life's work and/or business. Also having written a book will bring you 110% more credibility in the marketplace. So let's begin ...............
How do we write a book Michele????
This process I am about to share with you is so simple and so much fun. My friend Wilma McIntyre and I wrote "Conversations on Money, Sex and Spirituality in just 3 days using my method. I have been using this method now for over 12 years. I made it up because when I wrote my first book I could not type. This process you can also use when you are going to create a motivational audio program or even a video. (Unless you can adlib to perfection. If you cannot adlib without um thrown in KEEP readingJ) As this method will help you become very clear and totally professional.
Even IF you do not think you have a book in you, writing out the following exercises will help you gain so much clarity on what you do want to do.
I have had MANY people complete this section at my live events, really not thinking they had a book in them and some ended up writing books very quickly with more enthusiasm and passion then they ever knew they had.
If you are reading this now because you DO wish to write a book, I have some GREAT and yet simple examples to help you get started OR to quickly improve the writing you are presently doing.
First of all, make a decision on what it is you choose to write about. For example, if I was in network marketing and I'd been in the business for a while and had success, I know that having a book on how to have a successful network marketing business would be tremendous for adding publicity and credibility about who I am. This can be handed out and also sold through your own Website, or other websites including Amazon.com, and through many other areas. If you do choose to self-publish your own book, which I believe is a wonderful, freeing way to begin a writing career, we'll be covering that topic in another one of my articles on in the "How to Self-Publish." For now let's get the book written.
Further down, (print out the article) write down areas of experience in your life. List six areas of experience you have in life. For example:
· I have studied many spiritual books and been to many seminars and feel that I have a great metaphysical self-help book in me.
· I have experienced a great deal of success in sales, and would like to write a book on sales.
· I have a great deal of experience on how to bring up children as a single parent.
These are just a few examples to get you started, because starting is what it is all about. Go ahead and fill in six areas that you have experience in from career related experience to your personal and home life.
AREAS OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
Now that you have listed the areas of experience that you have, write the top three areas that you feel the most desire to write about.
TOP THREE LISTING FOR your Book, Audio Program, Product IDEA:
Next, pick your number one area.
NUMBER ONE AREA I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT:
Okay, now you have the area you would like to write about. Whether it is fiction, non-fiction, a how- to - book, or a workbook, an audio program or even a video/DVD, next you are going to write down some ideas for your title. It makes it very, very easy so please do this with an open mind. Write down five ideas now, just off the top of your head. Don't get too much into your left brain. Let the ideas flow through your right brain, and just write down anything you think of.
· How to Bring up Children as a Single Parent
· How to Increase Your Sales
· How to Eat a Healthy Diet in the Fast-Food Lane of Life.
Okay great!! So now you have some ideas! These are just working book title ideas; they are not in stone, they are not it yet. (Or one may beJ) This is just to get your juices/passion up and your creativity flowing. Later, you will come up with a great subtitle. These days, you can have quite an esoteric book title, but have your subtitle let the reader know what's in it for them, what the benefits are.
For example, you will notice that all my MusiVation(TM) products have a very dynamic subtitle. In my audio program, Be Your Perfect Weight, the subtitle is Dynamic Psychological Breakthrough in Weight Control. As another example, the title of my 6-tape audio program is Affirmation Power, and the subtitle¾done as a top of the title subtitle¾is Be A Magnet to Success through [then the title] Affirmation Power. My best selling book I wrote with Rock Riddle How To Be A Magnet To Hollywood Success, is subtitled Your Complete Step-by-Step system to making it in Show Business. My book I co wrote with Wilma Conversations on Money, Sex, and Spirituality is subtitled How to Attract Multi-Dimensional Abundance in Your Life.
As you can see from these examples, if you show the people what's in it for them through a well defined simple descriptive subtitle, then they know they are going to read a magnetic, powerful book before they've even started reading it.
Some of my titles are what's in it for them, as well. For example one I wrote with Bob Proctor, Be A Magnet to Money is the title, so that's basically telling them what's in it for them. And then our subtitle is Dynamic Psychological Breakthrough in How to Attract Money. So having a double whammy in two very strong areas is very powerful.
Number one, your book title is telling them what's in it for them, and Number two, your subtitle is telling them what's in it for them.
However, that is simply your title. Now for the exciting part! You are now going to write out your table of contents.
I suggest you write ten areas, or ten chapters. This is a little more challenging if you're writing fiction, however, I feel that just writing down ten ideas for your chapters or your book topics to start with helps tremendously in getting the juices flowing and keeps everything in Divine Order. You will see this clearly later on, after you write your ten topics.
Go ahead now and write ten topics on the next page. For example, if you were to write a book about sales, you could start your topics with:
· Is Money Everything?
· Love Your Customers
· Have a Positive Attitude
· How to Keep Keeping On
· Look Ahead, Not Behind
These are just a few ideas of book/product topic contents. Write down NOW ten- twelve areas. Sometimes people find such a great topic idea doing this that IT ends up being their new title, straight from their table of contents. Now go ahead and create your table of contents!
The next suggestion I'm going to share with you on how to write a book IS so SIMPLE. It came to me when I was working on my first book. I just find it so EASY to write a book or an audio program this way. What I do, is so very easy and fun (because remember, writing a book is FUN J)
Write ten questions for each topic. With these ten questions, ask a friend to interview you and treat it as if they are, someone who is a TV or radio show host (i.e., Oprah, Michele J) who is really interested in that particular topic in your table of contents, especially if it's a how-to book or a non-fiction book. Simply write out the questions; these will be questions that you will answer for all areas that you already know about. Then, I suggest you start reading a lot of books about that particular topic and getting a lot of information into your mind.
You already have a lot of information in your sub-conscious mind that is just waiting to be released when it's needed. With these questions, get a very good friend to interview you. Pretend it's an interview show. Get a tape recorder, get them to ask you the questions, and then you just flow with it. Just answer the questions; don't be nervous--no one's out there listening to this! It's just you! Ask your friend to please be very focused and not agree or disagree, or say, "Oh, yeah, that happened to me, too." They are going to be a professional interviewer and simply be there, asking the questions. When you're finished with one answer, they will ask you the next question. Do this for each topic; it's so much fun! Next, type up what's on the tape for each topic (or have someone type it for you). Finally, take out all of the questions; then just leave your answers. Then you have a whole chapter or topic for your table of contents done. Do this for all ten areas. Do not edit as you go, just take out the questions.
Once all ten topics have been done, go back and start typing. Add areas that you may not have had handy when answering the questions, for example, you may want to quote a particular person in your book. You may want to speak of the story of a successful person in your book. You can add that in later. What is very important to remember, whether you use this interview technique or simply go ahead and just write, is that you go ahead and just write! Every time you give yourself time to write, it doesn't matter what you write, as long as you write. Don't edit as you go. The editing can be done later. Too many people will never finish a book because they feel each area or every sentence has to be perfect as they go. Again, I repeat, DO NOT EDIT until you have finished and you have all the information written. Now you have your story/product written! Then edit later. Don't even edit each chapter as you go. Just get every chapter written; finish that book. The editing can be done later, either by you or by a professional.
I also feel it's wonderful, if it's a non-fiction book, to write stories about how other people conquered those particular topics. Perhaps you can even interview some well-known celebrities. A lot of well-known, successful writers and entrepreneurs want extra publicity. And, it is free publicity for you. So, go ahead and contact these people. You'll be surprised who knows whom. Email out to a whole group of friends, "Hey, does anybody know Richard Branson?" "Hey, does anybody know blah, blah, blah?" "Hey, does anyone know Melanie Griffith?" You'll be surprised how many people will know someone who knows them. You know, they say, and I agree with this, you know who they are--they are us! They, which are us, say you are only four phone calls away from any person you would like to meet. And I do agree with this. Sometimes it may be five or six, but very rarely. Just take some action. That is part of networking, which is another chapter.
It is also a very good idea to write little example stories of the success of others or conduct a short interview with the actual people. You can mention on your book cover that these people are included. And then, at the end of the book, you can mention the person's book and their Website and their contact information. People love this; it's free publicity. I have been interviewed for many, other books. People always put my contact numbers; I love it! I would do it for anybody. If anyone wants to interview me, I do it. Anybody will do the same thing. It's a very rare person who won't do it. This way you also you get to be networking and meeting great people while you're doing interviews. Priceless!!!! Call some people you've always loved to meet. It's so good to always remember to be in the consciousness of the people who are already doing what you want to do.
If it's a fictional book you're writing, storyboard it. I suggest you create a mind map. Put a big circle in the middle and get all the characters written from that circle. For example, if it were Gone with the Wind, then "Gone with the Wind" would be in the circle in the middle. Then a little balloon off from that would be Main Character--Heroine. If you know you want a heroine, think of a name for your heroine. Offshoot that--what century is it written in? Is it Sci-Fi, or is it back in the history books of the 1400's?
Storyboard all your characters. What type of characters they are, their characteristics, what type of personalities and looks? Allow the story to take on its own vision and flow. When you storyboard, mind map a fictional book, and put it up on the wall, it really gives you access to great ideas, because you're mystically saying to the Universe, "This is what I want to write about--give me ideas." And it will come to you!
Michele Blood www.Musivation.com
