Do you have a book in you?

Mar 4, 2013 | Writing A Book

Do you have a book inside you? That’s where it will stay unless you take action to get it out. The way to get it out is to write it.

Thinking about the book is not writing it. You may feel good. It may be fun. But when you’re done, that book will still be inside.

Research is not writing the book. You need to do research for your book, but not at the beginning. That’s because you won’t know what you don’t know until you start writing.

Outlining is not writing, either. Outlining may help you organize your thoughts, but outlines leave too many gaps and leave out too many important details.

Only writing is writing. The best way to start writing your book is to start writing it. Start writing the whole book, not just notes. That’s called the zero draft, the one before the first draft.

Bottom Line

You’ll write a better book faster if you start with a zero draft. That way you’ll learn what you don’t know and what needs to be explained better. That way you’ll have the material to make your first draft the first draft of a great book.