Stop dreaming, start doing

I recently told you about the initial phase in the book writing process, and that’s the dreaming stage. From the messages I’ve received, I can tell that it’s resonating!

Many people go through this dreaming stage, and sadly very few make the decision to actually write their book.

That’s because the emotive stuff that comes up in the dreaming stage is very tough to overcome, before making the decision to actually write.

These are things like…

Money – the critic says ‘writing a book costs too much’, ‘books never make any money’, and ‘I can’t afford to write and publish a book’. You might wonder if it’s worth investing in a book, and you’ll be seeing all of the expenses involved rather than the benefits of writing and publishing it.

Time – the critic says ‘it takes too long to write a book’, ‘I don’t have enough time’, ‘it’s not the right time to write it, as there are other things to do first’. You’ll procrastinate over getting started, and it may well feel like a huge thing to do right now.

Not good enough – the critic says ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘nobody wants to read what I have to say’, ‘my grammar/spelling is rubbish and I can’t do it’. You’ll be thinking about all the doubts, worries and fears that will stop you from doing it.

Not knowing where to start – the critic says ‘I don’t know who I’m writing it for’, ‘do I know enough?’, ‘Is there more than one book in there and which do I write first?’ You may feel overwhelmed with ideas and starting feels really tough to do.

But in reality, if you always listen to that inner critic, you’ll never get anything done. 

If you never take a leap of faith and view the benefits of actually getting your book published, then it will remain a dream forever.

How would you feel if you never wrote and published your book?

How would you feel if in a year’s time you were still in the ‘I’ll do it one day’ dreaming phase?

It’s time to overcome that critic.

This is what actually happens when you write, publish and promote your book in the right way.

Money – when you write and publish your book you’ll develop more clarity in your message, be more confident to approach the people who need to hear it, and have the belief to charge what you’re worth.

There is an investment involved, but when you know how you can get that return on investment, it takes the risk away.

It’s not just about having a plan for your book but looking at how that book fits into the bigger picture of your business. This is where I can help.

I’ve got one client who struggled to find the money to write her book, but now she’s made the decision, money is starting to flow in. Being clear on her message means that people gets what she is saying and can see the benefits of working with her. And her book hasn’t even been published. Actually she only started working with me a couple of months ago.

Just by telling people you’re writing a book puts you into a different league from your competitors. I had another client last year who got a brilliant opportunity which she wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t been totally clear on the message she was sharing through her book – and told http://pharmacy-no-rx.net/cialis_generic.html people about it!

Time – we’ve all got the same amount of hours in every day, so it’s important to consider how you use your time, especially if you decide to write your book.

Of course it will take you time to write it, but when you put the right strategies in place to feed your book into your marketing, it will reap rewards in other ways.

What you’ll find is that everything becomes more aligned – your website copy will reflect what you really do, your lead magnet will feed into your book, and your products will build on your content. Actually you’ll waste time if you don’t focus on getting clear on your message before you do any of these things!

It will also give you rewards in the longer term. For example, when you’ve published your book, it will be easier to attract clients, as they’re more likely to find you – rather than you always seeking the next new client. You’ll also find it easier to say no to the projects that don’t support your longer term business goals.

I’ve got one client who had his first session with me at the end of April. Just by doing the plan for this book, he’s seeing a really clear path for his first product that will come from the book. This will allow him to do what he really loves to do every day and outsource the stuff that other people do better.

Not good enough – when you start your book, you’ll realise the wisdom and knowledge that you have and how your reader’s will benefit from it.

When people give you positive feedback on your work, you’ll realise your worth and how you can help more people with the stuff that you know already. And when you have the right team in place, it doesn’t matter if you don’t always put the right words down on paper!

Just believing you can do it does change lives – remember it’s not just your life you’re changing but those of the people who read your book too!

That realisation that you have something important to share is priceless.

Summed up by a client:

“There is something magical about the shift you make when you decide to write a book about ‘how’ you work. It forces you to listen to yourself. It forces you to have an opinion, to stand out and be okay with being different and that is a powerful and affirming place to be in business.”

Not knowing where to start – like anything in life, when will you ever be ready to write a book? It’s about making the decision to start with the right support in place to help you to easily make the transition from dreaming to doing. That’s why we offer one-to-one support and events to help you to write and publish your book.

One of my clients was stuck in this place for a while. Actually she had started, but it wasn’t the right book. Now she realises what she does, how she helps her clients, and it makes it easier to now structure her book.

Stop dreaming, start doing!