OK, you’re starting on your book. You know it will be challenging because writing isn’t your day job. You’ve also got family and community obligations to consider. Plus, writing your book is a long-term proposition. It’s going to take you a year or more of consistent effort.
You’ll get lots of advice about what to do. Here are five things to avoid.
Don’t plan to write every day.
Writing every day is fine for people whose job is writing up, but that’s not you. You have work and family obligations,
Plan to do something every day to move your project forward. That might be research, consolidating notes, or reviewing your outline. Don’t panic if you miss a day, but don’t miss two in a row.
Plan to write a designated number of times per week. You need an hour or more. Block writing time out when you plan your week.
Don’t expect cutting back on sleep to help.
When you’re writing a book, you need more mental energy and alertness, not less. Plan to get the sleep you need to wake up refreshed and maintain your thrust.
Don’t expect your plan to go perfectly.
If your plan must go perfectly to succeed, you will fail. We humans don’t do perfection well, and life has a way of intervening. Plans that require perfect execution are brittle. They shatter at the first contact with reality. Plan to make slow and steady progress and allow some time for surprises.
Don’t expect to write your book in snippets of time throughout the day.
Those snippets may be helpful but think of them as touching your project, not as a way to get serious writing done. Plan for relatively large chunks of uninterrupted time every week.
Don’t take the love and support of your family and friends for granted.
The people who love you will be excited that you’re working on a book. They want to help. So they will willingly and quietly put up with you when you don’t attend soccer games or cancel date nights. But they will only do that for so long. Plan to give your loved ones time and attention.
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I help mid-career authors create a business book they’re proud of without going crazy or shredding important relationships. Contact me if you think I might help you.
