If you’ve always wanted to write a book but don’t know where to begin, you’re not alone. Here’s how to start writing your first book, overcome the fear of the blank page and finally turn your idea into reality.
It’s said that around 75% of people would like to write a book. Less than 1% ever do.
After helping hundreds of people become authors, I know this much…
Most people don’t fail because they haven’t got a good idea.
They don’t fail because they aren’t talented.
They don’t fail because somebody else got there first.
They fail because they don’t start.
If you’re reading this and you’ve been saying, ‘One day I’ll write a book.’ Let’s make the one day, today.
Why take my advice?
I’ve written 9 books, including a Sunday Times No.1 Best-seller, but one of the things I’m proudest of is helping other people write theirs.
Through my Write That Book programme I’ve coached over 1,000 new writers. More than 500 have successfully written, published and sold their books. They’ve written business books, memoirs, self-help books, children’s books and novels. Some have become bestselling authors and landed coveted book deals. Others simply achieved a lifelong ambition of holding their own book in their hands.
Along the way, I’ve noticed something. The people who succeed aren’t necessarily the best writers. They definitely aren’t the ones with the freest time. And they certainly aren’t the ones with the perfect plan.
They’re the ones who stopped waiting…
…and started writing.
That’s exactly what this article will help you do.
Why is it so difficult to start writing a book?
Before we talk about what to do, let’s deal with what’s stopping you.
When people come to me and say they’d love to write a book, they almost always follow it with one of these:
‘I don’t have enough time.’
‘I’m not a good enough writer.’
‘I don’t know where to begin.’ ‘I don’t know how to write a whole book.’
‘I want it to be perfect.’
Here’s the good news.
None of those are writing problems.
They’re all thinking problems.
And here’s some more good news. I solve thinking problems!
Start with what you care about
When I’m asked to coach someone who wants to write their book, one of the first questions I ask isn’t:
‘What’s your book about?’
Instead, I ask:
‘What’s your passion?’
There’s a huge difference.
Your book might be about leadership, customer service, gardening, your business, your life story or raising a family.
But beneath every successful book is something much more important.
A subject you genuinely care about. Usually:
Something you’ve experienced.
Something you’ve learned.
Something people naturally ask you about.
Something that makes you think, ‘I wish someone had told me this years ago.’
A story you’ve told a hundred times.
That’s where your book begins.
I’ve seen people waste months trying to come up with the perfect title.
I’d rather you discovered the right reason for writing.
Know why you’re writing
Writing a book is exciting.
It’s also a commitment.
Some days you’ll sit down and the words will flow. Other days you’ll suddenly decide the jumble draw needs tidying (2nddraw down in the kitchen – we all have one).
That’s perfectly normal.
It’s why your reason for writing matters. Which of these sounds like Goldyou?
You want to help others.
You want to establish yourself as an expert.
There’s a story only you can tell. You have an amazing creative brain.
Or perhaps you’ve always wanted someone to introduce you as…
‘Author.’
Every one of those is a good reason.
What’s yours?
When motivation dips - and it will - your reason is what gets you writing again.
Don’t start with Chapter One
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see.
New writers open a blank document.
The type: Chapter One
Then wait for inspiration for the perfect opening.
Who says you must write your book in the order people will read it?
Start with the story you know best.
Write the lesson you’ve learned.
Capture the question you’re asked all the time.
Write the memory you never want to forget.
Get your ideas out of your head while they’re fresh.
Think of writing a book like putting together a jigsaw. You don’t begin top left then place them left to right, top to bottom.
You turn all the pieces over.
You find the corners.
You start seeing connections.
Eventually, the picture appears.
Books are often written exactly the same way.
Give yourself permission to ‘write shite’
Here’s something I wish every aspiring author understood.
Your first draft isn’t supposed to be brilliant.
It’s supposed to exist.
I’ve never written a perfect first draft.
Neither has anyone I’ve coached.
The infamous ‘shitty first draft’ is where you discover your ideas. The editing is where you improve them.
Stop trying to write the perfect sentence.
Stop reading the previous paragraph every five minutes.
Stop worrying about what someone else might think.
Nobody else needs to see your first draft.
Just write shite.
And here’s the thing. It’s impossible to just write shite. There will be some gold in there. Gold that only comes to the surface if you do the work of an author and write.
Don’t wait until you have more time
‘I’ll write my book when life settles down.’
I’ve heard that sentence hundreds of times. Here’s the problem….
Life doesn’t settle down.
There will always be another meeting.
Another holiday.
Another project.
Another excuse.
If writing your book matters, it must become one of the important things you do. A job.
Put it in your diary.
Schedule and protect the time.
Treat writing time like an appointment you wouldn’t dream of cancelling.
The Secret of 17 Minutes
One of the simplest techniques I use with aspiring authors is also one of the most powerful. It’s called the 17 Minute Sprint and hundreds of authors now use it.
Set a timer for 17 minutes.
Then write.
No emails.
No social media.
No making another cup of tea.
No editing.
Just write.
You don’t need to finish a chapter or write a thousand words. You simply need to keep going until the timer beeps.
It’s amazing how much progress people make when they stop thinking about writing a whole book and simply focus on the next 17 minutes.
Your first writing challenge
Before you leave this page, I’d like you to do one thing.
Open a notebook. Or a blank document. At the top write:
The book I am writing is about (fill in your idea)
Now set your timer for 17 minutes.
Write.
Don’t edit.
Don’t stop.
Don’t worry whether it’s any good.
Just write.
ONLY When the timer finishes, stop.
You may have written a page. You may have written three paragraphs.
It doesn’t matter. Because you’re no longer someone who wants to write a book.
You’re someone who is writing one.
One day you’ll be able to answer the question, ‘How did you become an author?’ with…
‘I started.’
Michael Heppell is a Sunday Times No.1 best-selling author of 9 books including ‘Write That Book how to write, publish and sell your book.
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