Me too. I’ve wanted to write a book ever since I was in school. Then I grew up and started doing adult things, but always in the back of my mind, was the idea that I was going to write a book.
Someday.
Then I realized there were more years behind me than I had left in front of me. If I was going to write a book, I needed to get to it now.
A special thanks goes out to my brother, Bruce, for giving me a kick in the pants to remind me that I had this dream. It had gotten lost in the flotsam of life until he helped me remember it. Love you bro.
Excellent. Now that I’ve decided THIS is the time to write a book, what’s the first thing I need to do?
Simple, I should read a book on how to write a book. That make sense to me. The only writing I’ve done since school (long, long time ago) was for business purposes. I started searching out the best books to help me learn how to write a book. Finally, after settling on the top 10 that interested me most, I was ready to learn.
First lesson was on creating an outline. For those that don’t know me, I am somewhat OSD in any new endeavor (or old), so I created spreadsheets and templates for developing an outline. I was ready to roll.
But wait. How will I sell my books? More research on self-publishing, more time spent reading author blogs, internet searches, checking out Amazon KDP, Smashwords, etc…so much information. OMG
What else do I need to know? What’s the difference between copyright and All Rights Reserved? ISBNs, what are they are and how do they work? Covers. I need a cover. Where can I get one? Everything says you need a beta team. Where do I find them? And a website. I’ll need an author’s website. How do I set that up? More research into domains, hosting, web builders. Oh no, I need a blog. I don’t know how to blog. I have almost zero social media presence, so this is a big one. How do I get going with that and ramp up followers? Oh, and I still have to write that book.
SO MUCH TO LEARN. IT NEVER ENDS!
Here is where I take a moment to acknowledge all self-published authors out there. There is so much work involved in going on your own and such a steep learning curve. Hats off to every one of the authors I know and the ones I have yet to meet. You’re all amazing and a true inspiration.
But wait, here’s another online writing course. I sign up to get basics on actually writing and developing good habits. Daily emails with lessons and encouragement. Awesome. Thanks Joe Bunting.
Then I read something that stopped me in my tracks. If you’re going to learn how to write, you need to write.
Let’s read that again.
If you’re going to learn how to write, you need to write. That’s it. Just start. Learn as you go. There is always more to study, but you need to start writing in order to grow
That’s when I realized, in all my planning and researching and creating tables, and learning about story arcs; everything that had taken weeks and weeks and weeks, if I wanted to publish a book…wait for it…
I needed to start WRITING A BOOK!
It’s so easy to get swept up in all the details, but at the end of the day, it all starts with writing.
That’s my story. I’m hoping to use this blog for updates to my plans, to write the darn book, to see how much I grow, and to hopefully find new friends in this new, wonderful, and amazing experience.
Just remember, I don’t know how to blog so this may not work out like I envision.
This is my journey and I invite you to join me.
Question for today. Who else has wanted to write a book? Does any of the chaos above resonate with you?