Writing a book is one of the fastest ways to boost credibility and gain visibility, but most people who start writing a book never finish. In fact, 97% don’t! And only 20% of those who actually finish writing a book publish the book. My experience is that would-be and newbie authors get bogged down with the process. So, here are five simple steps you can use to write your nonfiction book.
1. Determine Your Why
Ask yourself: Why am I writing this book? Determining your why sets the foundation for choosing your topic and narrowing down your target audience. You’ll also bounce what you keep and what you toss from your book based on your why.
Your why should address the pain points of your reader, the problem it will solve, and why you’re the expert to solve this problem. This seems like a tall order, but it’s not as complicated as most writers make of it. Nonfiction books are written from personal experience—whether that is something you went through individually or a deep dive you took into a topic.
My book, You Turn, resulted from major shifts I was making in my own career…and the fears and excitement I was experiencing from those shifts. As I talked to people, I realized I wasn’t alone. My why was helping people navigate huge career changes, and I summed that up with the dedication at the front of my book:
To those in pursuit of a career that lights them up: Who you are is so much bigger than the title on your business card or the number in your bank account.
2. Outline the Structure and Main Points
Once you’ve got your “why” locked in, it’s time to map out your book’s structure with an outline. Think of your outline as the GPS for your writing journey—it keeps you on track and shows you the best route from start to finish. Break your main idea into a few key sections or chapters that focus on a specific part of the solution.
Within each chapter, jot down the main points or ideas that come to mind or that you want to cover. Don’t worry about perfection—just focus on creating a clear roadmap to guide you in your writing.
If you’re a visual person, use Post-it notes in one color to write out the chapter titles and a different colored Post-it for the main points. Post your entire outline on an empty wall. The Post-it note method is a big-picture way to see your entire book. It allows you to easily move topics around within your book, add or remove chapters, and modify chapters and topics to create a book that smoothly moves from beginning to end.
3. Do Your Research
There are two parts to research: finding supporting documentation for your topic and ensuring there is an audience who wants to read about your topic.
- Find your audience. Scroll social media to find people who are talking about the same issues you’re solving. These are your readers. What pain points are they describing, and what are they asking for. Search Amazon for related books to your topic. Are those books selling? What specific topics are they covering in their book? What do the reviews say? You can get a lot of information from reading book reviews…pay close attention to what people wish was in the book.
- Find supporting data. You want to establish yourself as the expert, and one way to do that is to find facts or evidence to back up your opinion or experience. Piece together the puzzle using facts to punctuate the main points of your book. Use LinkedIn to find experts to interview. Search Google Scholar for reputable sources or studies to back up the information you discover.
Be careful you don’t get lost in research. You’re just substantiating your why and determining that you have a big enough audience you’ll get book sales.
4. Write the First Draft Without Self-Editing
The first step to writing is writing. As elementary as this sounds, most people fail to set up a writing routine. You don’t have to lock yourself in a room and force 2000 words onto a page before you let yourself out. You just need to find what works best for you. As your book starts to take shape, you’ll likely find you’re writing more. But you’ll never get there if you don’t start.
Begin freewriting your first draft without editing. You’re just trying to get words on the page to build momentum. There’s no need to go in order. In fact, sometimes, writing the easiest chapters or sections first will give you the confidence to tackle the tough sections.
If you can’t help yourself, write an entire section or paragraph before you edit. You want to give yourself creative freedom to express yourself freely. You also want to silence your inner critic—who often attempts to sabotage rather than encourage!
Pro tip: If you use a program like Grammarly, disable it while writing your first draft. There’s too much temptation to correct as you go!
5. Edit, Refine, and Publish Your Book
Once your first draft is complete, it’s time to edit, refine, and publish. Depending on your budget, you can turn the entire thing over to an editor or proofreader, or you can make the first few passes and then hand it over.
If you’re going to tackle editing first, make one pass for grammar and spelling. (Psst…now is the time to use Grammarly!) This AI tool can help you quickly edit your entire book without actually reading the book. Once the basic editing is done, read for content from the beginning to the end.
After you’ve edited for spelling and grammar and made the first pass for content, hand it over to an editor or proofreader. Get a second set of eyeballs on your book to offer an outside perspective and identify gaps in your manuscript.
Lastly, you will publish your book.
When writing your first nonfiction book, be gentle with yourself but diligent in your efforts. If you’re planning to self-publish, you will write your book in its entirety. If you have a publisher or want to publish through a publisher, you’ll shop your book before it’s written.
If writing a book is on your to-do list but you simply don’t have time, hire a ghostwriter. Ghostwriters can do everything from helping you brainstorm and refine your ideas to writing the whole book for you in your voice.
