A lot of you have many ideas and a lot of desire to write and publish your book, but can’t quite get it done. So, I want to talk about some of the basics of getting your books started and finished.
The first thing I do when I’m working with a client, whether it’s one on one, in a group, or in a workshop, is ask: “Which idea that you have is the most important to you?”
Some people really want to write a business book, a novel, a poetry book, and a book about surviving a trauma. All those books are perfectly legit, and they definitely need to get out into the world. But I find that when people are trying to write more than one book at a time, they never get anything done.
I generally just ask them, “What do you want to most be known for in the world?” And there’s no right or wrong answer. I think it’s just important to know what you want to most be known for in the world.
If you’re a business coach and you really want to be known as the business coach for women who are changing their careers after the age of 40, then you want to focus on that business book idea.
If it’s really your heart’s desire to get your poetry book or your novel out there, then that’s what you want to do.
So, the first thing is to make a decision.
Some people come to me and they say, “Well, Stephanie, I don’t have any ideas.”
After talking to them for a few minutes, I find out that’s generally not true. It’s a mindset thing. They think that their ideas have to be something that’s going to win a Pulitzer Prize or the caliber of “War and Peace,” “Eat, Pray, Love,” or Anne Sexton’s poetry. Basically, they think that their book has to be the greatest thing ever written to be worthy of putting it out there to the world.
Again, that’s a mindset thing. That’s something that’s just not true.
So, it’s important to sit there and think about what’s important to you.
If you think you don’t have a book idea, that’s not true. I’ve spoken to thousands of people over the last 26 years. Nobody has something that’s not important to them.
If animal rescue is important to you, you could write a book to bring awareness to animal rescue or stories (sad and happy) of your experiences and animal rescue.
If art is important to you, you could have a coloring book made or a book of photos with some explanation through writing from one of your trips.
The bottom line is that everybody has many book ideas in them. It’s just a matter of settling on one.
Do you need support around picking your book idea, writing your book, editing your book, publishing your book, or marketing your book? Click the pink button on this website to apply for a free, no-pressure consultation!
