Publishing a book can add credibility to any business or coaching practice. But writing an entire book can feel overwhelming. It sounds like an incredible undertaking, one that will take some time. Luckily, writing a best-selling non-fiction book doesn’t take as much time as you think!
In fact, you can get started on your book in a weekend simply by repurposing your existing content!
If you have written content saved, you already have the basis of your book. Turning what you have into an informative and educational book is just a matter of curating and putting it all together! With this planner, you can help your clients take their expertise and experience and put it together into something that will help increase their credibility and their passive income.
The Step-by-Step Planner Covers:
- Step 1: Pinpoint the Perfect Topic to Showcase Your Genius
You’ve spent years following your passion, studying your chosen field, working with clients, and showcasing your genius. One impressive way to expand your circle of influence even more is to become a published author.
- Exercise: Brainstorm book ideas.
- Exercise: Research your topic ideas. Are there other books on that topic? Are there TOO many books about your topic?
- Step 2: Curate Your Best Content
Once you’ve decided on your topic, you do NOT have to gather up the courage to sit at a blank computer screen awaiting inspiration to write you first word. Why not, you ask? Because you’ve already written that first word! Most likely you’ve written many thousands of words on your chosen topic in the form of blog posts, videos, audio interviews, and more.- Exercise: Organize your list of published content that relates to this book topic.
- Exercise: Choose a way to organize your book information.
- Step 3: Craft a Title They Can’t Ignore
In the world of Amazon – and book publishing in general – your book title must grab the reader’s attention. Contrary to the old adage, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” readers do exactly that: They create a split-second opinion about a book based on its title and its cover. If it doesn’t grab them within 3 seconds of viewing, they’ve already scrolled to the next page.- Exercise: Brainstorm some ideas for your book title.
- Step 4: Create Clarity with a Solid Outline
Why use an outline for your book? You’ll avoid going off on tangents or adding in extra topics that don’t truly relate to the main premise of your book. Your readers are expecting certain information based on your title, so it’s time to deliver that info in a concise, easy-to-understand manner. Creating an outline first – and then following it – will allow you to write more quickly because you already know what topics to include.- Exercise: Create your book’s outline. Add the content links to each chapter they belong in.
- Exercise: Plan out your “special” pages and work them into the master outline. Decide who you will ask to write some of these pages.
- Step 5: Weave Your Content into a Killer First Draft
Just because you’re planning your book in a weekend doesn’t mean you’ll have a finished draft ready to publish in a weekend. If you want to have a bestseller that readers rave about, you need to put in a significant amount of time writing your draft and weaving your curated content within.- Exercise: Import your curated copy into your chosen writing tool. Read through each chapter as you go along and take notes about any “holes” you will need to fill in, either with other curated content or by writing original material.
- Step 6: Slide Your Words of Wisdom into a Sleek Layout
Now that your manuscript is just the way you like it, it’s time to format your book. A simple Word document without embellishments is plain boring but adding in too many design elements can make readability nearly impossible. Amp up the interest factor by creating a unique layout with some of your branding colors or other elements worked into the design.- Exercise: Brainstorm some book cover ideas. What do YOU want to convey in the design?
- Exercise: Create a pros/cons list to help you decide if you will hire a designer or do the interior/cover layout yourself.
- Step 7: Gather Feedback From Trusted Friends
Asking for objective input from outside sources may seem like an extra step in the publishing process but it’s a necessary one. When authors are SO close to their books, sometimes they miss simple mistakes, such as misspellings or grammatical errors. Some mistakes are more visible or prominent, which can hurt your credibility instead of building it up.- Exercise: Who are your trusted associates you can ask to preview your book and offer feedback?
- Exercise: Research copy editors and proofreaders who can give a professional opinion about your finished manuscript.
- Step 8: Get Excited to Send Your Book Out Into the World!
At this point you’re just about ready to launch your book…how exciting! Now is the time to start building buzz about your book (if you haven’t started already) because you definitely don’t want to have boxes of books sitting in your office with nowhere to go. Nor do you want your eBook to sit looking pretty on Amazon without a single sale.- Exercise: Decide how you will publish your book and review those guidelines.
- Exercise: Plan your marketing campaign for your book launch.
- Exercise: Plan a virtual book tour.
