How to write a book quickly and easily

I recently had a conversation with a lady who has started writing her book. But she got stuck after the first chapter and now struggles to find time to get it done.

I had another conversation with a client who – before meeting our team – had written many thousands of words, but they weren’t the right ones. And one piece of poorly executed feedback brought his writing to a halt.

Until he implemented this secret.

The secret that Librotas clients follow when they’re writing their book is that they start by mapping out their structure first.

And they get support from us to provide an objective view to what they’re writing and to help them to develop their framework.

• We help them to get clear about their topic, who their book is for, what their reader wants to hear from them and why they are writing it.
• They work on their story, their idea and hook, and then they create the structure.
• Then it makes it easier for them to find time to write it and use any pockets of time they have creatively and wisely.

When you have a structure or framework for your book, it will be easier to start and quicker to finish. The thing is unless you know what you’re writing next or where you’re going with your writing, then there’ll always be something else that’s more attractive to do instead. You’re more likely to face your inner critic, finding 100 reasons not to do it, blame lack of time, when it’s really lack of clarity and confidence that’s getting in your way.

So where do you start in creating your framework or structure?

There are no right or wrong structures, and our clients take many different approaches. With this in mind, I thought you’d like to hear from some of them, what they’re writing and how they’re writing their book.

The how-to book or self-help guide

Let’s start with Lesley Strachan. Lesley will be publishing her book, The Ultimate Guide for Parents next month with us.

Aimed towards parents who are supporting their teenagers to find the right path in life, Lesley’s book shares many of the strategies that she’s learnt as a Jack Canfield certified trainer.

Every chapter has a strong purpose with advice and guidance, and many activities and exercises for readers to action to get the most from the book.

This is an approach that many clients take. They have a step by step process or a series of steps that they take clients through, and this informs the direction of the book.

The best thing about this process is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You simply take what you know and then write about it, building on the content as you go to support the reader.

The memoir or autobiography

Next up, I’d like to introduce you to Steve Judge. After being in a near fatal car accident where his legs were crushed and he was told he may never walk again, Steve decided that he wasn’t going to accept this fate. He is now a two-times world champion para-triathlete and a sought-after speaker with an inspiring message to share. So it may be no surprise that he’s writing his autobiography.

When Steve started working with Sheryl and myself, we covered a meeting room full of post it notes to plan out his book.

The secret behind a memoir or autobiography is to map out your turning points and your story before you get started. Then each chapter has a purpose and ideally a hook.

Like many authors in this situation, Steve had plenty of notes about his journey, but not surprisingly it’s been hard to delve into those dark moments. So another secret is to be able to anchor yourself back into the present and remember that you’re not in that type of situation any more.

The bit of both!

And then there’s Claire Brumby, who is writing a book which spans both arenas – part autobiographical and part ‘how to’. Claire’s upcoming book, The Winning Mix shares Claire’s story of setting up and growing a food business.

The first part of each chapter talks about her story, the highs and lows and the lessons she’s learnt, then the second part tells you what you can do at each stage of growing your food business. She shares her pieces of advice – ‘her diamonds’ – and what she wished she’d known when she was going through that situation.

We’ve worked with a few clients like this and again the secret is having a structure that works. Claire has a solid eight step process that fits in well with her story. She shares the highs like drinking champagne with royalty, and the lows like the experience she had that led her to setting up her food business in the first place. Like many authors, this is the book that Claire wished she’d had when she started out!

So how can you write a book quickly and easily?

As you can see from the examples above, the secret is to start with a structure; a really clear plan of your chapter layout and an overview of what’s in each chapter.

Then it makes it easier to use the time you have to write. You’ll know what you’re writing next (rather than procrastinate and put it off until another day!) If you’re like one of our clients, Sarah, you’ll be able to dip into the chapter that you’re inspired to write and add in new content.

• If you’re writing your memoir, then what have been the turning points? What are the themes? Are you writing about your entire life or just a snippet?
• If you’re writing a how to guide or self-help book, what is your system or process? What do you talk to about with clients again and again and again? This should be the content for your book.

The secret is not to reinvent the wheel and come up with new content, it’s about exploring the content you have already and expanding on this in your book.

Then you can execute another secret, and that is to be able to expand on your content, so that your readers can take further action with you after you’ve launched your book if they wish to do so.

Lesley is planning her online workshops and her book launch.

Steve is working on his training programmes and workshops, alongside his high profile speaking engagements, and building his community ready for his launch later this year.

And Claire is going to swim the channel first(!) and then I know she has a programme in mind for when she launches her book in September.

What does your book look like?

What structure will it take?

What were the key moments or turning points?

We’ve all got a story to tell or a message to share – or both! What will you do next?

If you want help mapping out your process or working out your turning points, then please get in touch and we can discuss how we can help you. Here’s the link to arrange a call.

And if you haven’t yet downloaded the FREE Get Started workbook, then click this link to find out more about the other questions to ask yourself before you start to write your book.