Try these 9 simple steps:

I’ve heard this many times and in almost every instance, my suggestion is as follows:

1.  Decide what you want your book to be about (we could have a whole course on just this topic alone!)

2.  Get a heap of index cards

3.  Write one thought or idea per card – for example, one woman I’m helping is writing a story about finding the son she gave up for adoption 35 years ago.  Rather than try to put all that down at once, she has one card that simply says “found out I was pregnant” – another card that says “told my boyfriend” etc…

4.  Keep writing one thought per card until you’ve pretty much run out of thoughts (don’t worry, you can add more later)

5.  Take your now very large stack of cards and spread them out on the floor, putting them into some type of order – for this woman, it would be like a timeline – yours may be subject-based…

6.  If you find any ‘gaps’, just add more cards

7.  Taking one card at a time and with a recorder (you can even use one on your phone) simply ‘talk’ your story – most people are better able to speak what they want to say rather than type it…

8.  When you are done, find a transcription service (there are many online or you can find someone on sites such as elance or fiverr) and have your audio files typed up

9.  Then it’s down to editing and other tasks such as cover art etc…

So, next time you find yourself saying, “I want to write a book but I don’t know where to start”, reflect on some of these tips.

If you would like assistance with your book, please contact me.  I’d love to hear from you…

~ Bella

Ms Bella St John – Founder, The Write Success