Shortcuts often have a bad connotation. They get you lost for one and they have the implication that you are cheating or not doing the full job. Baloney! When you are writing a book, shortcuts can mean the difference between publication tomorrow or publication next year. I vote for tomorrow, how about you?
Take a look at these three 'legitimate' shortcuts.
Shortcut #1.
Have you ever written anything else on the topic you are about to write on?
Articles? Reports? Blog posts? If the answer is yes, grab that material. You can create a book from material you have already written. Not enough material for a 100 or 200 page book? You can still use it and supplement it with content you write or better yet, have someone else contribute to the book and fill in the gaps. A book written by you and contributed to by another expert in your field can hold significant weight in your industry and will still have all of the power to create a fantastic income.
Shortcut #2 - Hire a ghostwriter.
Seriously. There are really good writers out there that will not charge you $100/page. Before you hire a ghostwriter it is important to decide how you want to work with them. Do you want them to do the research and outline the book in addition to writing it or will you do the research and outline and simply have them fill in the content? Will you record your thoughts and have the writer transcribe them and polish them into a book?
Once you know how you want to approach your book project, you are ready to find your ghostwriter. You can post your project on Craigslist, check with your local chamber of commerce to see if there are any writers registered, and take advantage of the numerous freelance websites available online like Elance. These sites enable you to post your project and have qualified writers bid on it.
Shortcut #3 - Interview people.
No time to write? Schedule interviews with people who have something valuable to share on your topic and record the interviews. Of course, tell your interviewees the purpose of their interview and get their permission. You can then take the recorded interviews, send them to a transcriptionist and then either hire a writer/editor to smooth the content into book form or leave them as is (making sure all typos and grammar mistakes are corrected). You will probably want to add an introduction, conclusion and maybe some resource material at the end of the book to add value and continuity but that does not take long and you can hire that work out too.
So you see, writing a book does not have to be overwhelming. You do not even have to 'write' it. Regardless of how your book is created, you will see tremendous benefits from getting it published and making it available to prospects and customers. Writing a book will change your life.
Guide To Writing A Book
So, if you haven't started writing your book I have good news?
The fastest way to get going is to decide on your chapter topics/titles first before you try to figure out exactly what you want to say. If you have a problem figuring out what you want to name the chapters, just focus on the topic of the chapter and from there write a brief explanation or ?purpose statement? of the topic.
Here's a really simple way to do it:
Topic Example: Money Management Basics
Chapter Explanation Example: ?It's time to forgive yourself for all the mistakes you've made with money and learn some financial basics that'll put you on the path to financial fitness.?
This exercise will help you clarify what specific information you want to cover. It will also help you focus on the big picture rather than getting bogged down with too many little points you want to mention that don't warrant an entire chapter dedicated to them.
If you've already started writing your book, or just started to write out your ideas, another secret to creating your outline is to reread what you've already written and instead of editing the content, use what you have to create chapter headings that support the text. The goal is to see if what you have fits with the chapter title so that you will know exactly what needs to be added or deleted to make the chapter complete.
Next, you'll want to create subheadings. A subheading is an extension of the chapter.
For example, if your book is on Money Management and your chapter title is ?Money Management Made Easy?, then a subheading within that chapter may be, ?The 5 Things You Need to Do Right Now to Get Control of Your Money?.
This subhead allows you to expand on the topic of money management without having to create an entirely separate chapter to cover a small bit of separate, but related information.
Each chapter title or topic should have at least three (more if necessary) subheadings that are created as a result of asking the following ?writing prompter? question: "What do I want to tell the reader about...." (fill in the blank with your topic)
Writing Prompter Example: What do I want to tell the reader about Money Management?
Chapter Title Example: Money Management Made Easy
Subhead Example: Budgets Suck?How to Spend Responsibly Without One
Subhead Example: Avoiding Late Fees and Other Costly Money Mistakes
Subhead Example: Start Saving Now?Even On a Shoestring
Another quick writing secret is not to throw away anything that doesn't seem to fit in the book, instead create a document (in Microsoft Word or whatever application you're using) and title it "Extra Content" then cut and paste everything that doesn't seem to fit under a particular subheading or chapter in that document.
This will move it out of the way so you can focus your writing but will allow you to have access to it for future use as your book moves toward completion.
Can you see how simple the writing process becomes when you start by creating an outline?
An outline helps you to focus on what you ultimately want to tell the reader and the great thing about writing a book is that you don't have to write it in any particular order. In fact, I'd recommended that you write it out of order.
By using this simple writing secret, you'll create a book that your target audience wants to buy. But more importantly you'll cross over into an elite group of authors who are considered experts. After all you wrote the book!
In the endless quest to attract more clients and get more business; coaches, speakers and entrepreneurs sometimes forget that there are several other ways to sell your services.
Apply what you've read to create an outline for the book you'll write. When it's complete use it to introduce your services to new clients, get radio and TV interviews, and even share the platform with other authors.
Use your book as a marketing tool to add thousands of extra dollars to your bank account!
Both Bob Burnham & Sanyika Calloway-boyce are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Bob Burnham has sinced written about articles on various topics from Writing, Writing and Marketing. For Your Free MP3 (Value $97.00)How To Make A 6 Figure Income Writing & Publishing Your Own BookGo To: Bob Burnham. Bob Burnham's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Sanyika Calloway-boyce has sinced written about articles on various topics from Writing, Book Reviews and Small Business. Author of the popular e-book, ?7 Things You Must Know Before You Self Publish?, Sanyika Calloway Boyce will teach you secrets to write, publish and promote your book. Enroll in her complimentary e-course NOW at www.selfpublishingbasics.com. Sanyika Calloway-boyce's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
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