How to Get Started Writing a Book

According to Savi Sharma (bestselling author), “Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone is a writer, some [stories] are written in the books and some are confined to hearts.” However, while everyone has a story to tell, as Savi Sharma so greatly articulates, not all great books are written. The biggest challenge first-time authors face is the fear of the uncertainty that comes with putting their thoughts on paper, and even more daunting, having others read them. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right tools and knowledge, you can go from ideating your book to publishing it. Here’s how:

#1 Eliminate Your Fear

Fear is the main thing that keeps so many of us from reaching our full potential in life, or at the very least, prolongs the process of doing so. It is such a broad concept since fear derives from various places, ranging from the fear of failure to fear of success, but it is completely normal. This is no less true for an amateur writer as creating a book for the masses is entering new territory. As such, this can bring on fears such as fear of the unknown and fear of judgment. The latter, being the number one fear on earth, can be so destructive to one’s hopes and dreams. If we can remove this fear in particular, we can change our entire lives.

At a time that I really needed to overcome my own fears, I came up with a framework that I call the ‘7 Simple Steps to Break Through Fear.’ These steps comprise of questions that can be applied to absolutely any fear that you may be experiencing and are as follows:

1. Will it adversely affect my life one year from today?

2. Will it adversely affect my life six months from today?

3. Will it adversely affect my life one month from today?

4. Will it adversely affect my life one week from today?

5. Will it adversely affect my life one day from today?

6. Will it adversely affect my life one hour from today?

7. Will it adversely affect my life right now?

In this instance, a writer would ask themselves ‘if I publish this book right now, will it adversely affect my life one year from today?’ and so on. This helps to put things into perspective and ultimately conquer any fear that is affecting their growth. This graduated process of asking yourself the above questions in full every day will also allow you to move from a position of anxiety to one of logic.

#2 Find Your Why

Now that you’re ready to move beyond the fear of getting started, it’s time to figure out why you want to write a book. The purpose of the book, therefore, needs to be determined, as well as the kind of audience that will be targeted. This is because, before putting ink to paper, a writer must understand what they want to achieve through their work and identify what the book will be used for. Clarity in these areas will set the perfect foundation for getting started and make the thinking/writing process a smooth-flowing one.

A book is a huge credibility piece and can be used to serve multiple purposes. Many use their books as a marketing tool, thus placing significant weight on their work and the success of their accompanying business. For this reason, it is important to think about how a book’s message is going to encourage the reader (your ideal client/customer) to take the kind of action you want them to.

#3 Establish Your Niche

As previously alluded to, every successful writer has initially spent time thinking about their niche and, thus, developed methods to narrow their area of focus. This in turn allows them to figure out their target audience and know how to market their product once published. Certainty of the genre that you wish for your book to be categorized in, its purpose and the audience that you aim to attract are also all key in preparing you to actually start writing an amazing book. Writing with these things in mind are prerequisite steps that will definitely prove helpful in acting as a north star in the long-run.

#4 Prioritize Getting Started

When it comes to the idea of writing a book, many struggle to simply start. It may be that the thought of writing even those first few words for the opening chapter creates a daunting feeling or, once again, that element of fear (to express yourself to the world) causes procrastination – preventing your masterpiece from coming to life. This is why having a strong ‘why’ is so important. It can serve as a reminder of what you want your book to achieve; who you want to help, and how they’ll feel reading your words. Doing these things will surely get your adrenaline going and motivate you to start writing. The true test, however, is to commit to continuing this process until your book is complete so that the people who are meant to benefit from it are able to.

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