There’s lots of help available if you want to write a business book. You can hire help with research, writing, and editing and a host of other things. But there are five things that are up to you.
You need to make time to write.
Even if you outsource as much as possible you still need time to do your part of the work. You want blocks of ninety minutes or more so you can do serious work on a coherent manuscript. Where will you find the time?
Friends and clients have come up with many different answers. Some get up early or go to bed later. Some devote weekend mornings to writing. Others block out a single day a week. Whatever you try, you will be decreasing the time you now devote to something else. You will not “find” time to write, you will have to make it.
You need passion.
Writing a book is hard work, no matter how much of the writing you actually do. You need passion for the subject and passion for the process if you expect to produce good work and stay the course all the way to the end.
You need energy.
You can’t do good work when you’re half asleep or really tired. So pay attention to the things that give you energy. Get enough sleep. Stay fit. Eat sensibly.
And pay attention to the time of day. Some people who just can’t get good work done in the evening can do quite well in the early morning. And vice versa.
You need a process.
You need to develop a standard way for turning your ideas into finished words. It’s easier to get the work done if you’ve established a solid working rhythm.
You need privacy.
Writing is not a group event. You need to do the important work alone. Get rid of distractions. Close the door.
There are always exceptions.
You will be able to find examples of people who produced great work and violated one of more of these “needs.” They are few and far between, though, and you’re probably not one of them.