How I Wrote A Book in 19 Days Words:75 636 Pages: 322 Genre: Non Fiction
May 06, 2015
How I Wrote A Book in
19 Days
Words:75 636 Pages: 322 Genre: Non Fiction
I would never call myself a writer
I amazed myself when I wrote a book in 19 days
Here's how I did it
I took all of my blog articles (50 of them) and printed each out.
I read all of my articles and wrote at the top of each article which chapter heading this could potentially go into.
You don't have articles you’ve already written, you say?
it’s all good..
Use other people's articles on the subject. Collect as much information as you can. I am not advocating plagiarism here as you'll see in the coming slides
I then created a list of chapter headings I could write about and placed them in order based on what made sense at the time.
Then I took each of my 50 articles and picked one chapter heading each article could go into.
I took all my articles and placed them in a MS word document (I tried to find a better solution than MS Word but couldn't find one).
I listed chapter headings and placed each of the articles underneath each chapter heading.
This was the foundation of the book.
When all articles and chapter headings were in the word document, I had about 50 000 words - a book (a really crap book but a book nonetheless)
This was the No 1 reason I was able to get my book completed in 19 days.
Starting at 50 000 words and working down is much better psychologically than to start with 0 words and work your way up.
As far as I was concerned, I already had a book - it just needed to be a book that people actually want to read.
With a basic structure, I looked at each chapter
and deleted everything except the specific point each article was trying to make.
When I was done, the book was boiled down to around 12 000 words. I had deleted 38 000 words of 'fluff'.
Once I had my core, I then focused on expanding each point.
It was very important to me that there was no 'fluff'.
'Each chapter should be worth the price of the book alone' - best-selling author Tim Ferriss
These words became the over-arching goal for the book.
I then added case studies.
Then I added diagrams. Because everyone likes pictures...
I made sure to add humor and entertain my readers.
I already have a warped senseof humor.
I had to show my readers
To finish it off, I added a worksheet at the end of each chapter.
Voilla! A book completed in 19 days!
Other things that really helped me worth mentioning...
Coworking Space: As someone who has worked from home most of my self employed life, I tried out a coworking
space.
I joined Fishburners the largest Coworking space in Australia. The benefits were Huge.
I was inspired to do something worthwhile and 2 weeks after joining, I started writing this book.
Having a DeadlineI really wanted to have the book edited and finished bymy birthday.
This meant that everyonethat worked with me knew there was a deadline.
The book was completed at 6am on my birthday. An awesome birthday present
Having A Team of HelpersI could never have done this on my own in 19 days. Below is a small list
- People on Odesk to create illustrations. - I hired an Editor (developmental and proof-reader).
- I had an assistant that helped me do a poll for picking the best name for the book.
- I did a design contest for the cover art.
- I hired a print and ebook formatter.
But I’m A Fiction Writer, - How Does This Help Me?
Here’s how I would do it...
I would look at each element of my story (my characters, plots etc) and think about where I have seen/read something similar.
I would find material similar and add it to the text of my book.
Then I would change the writing to complement my own story.
The idea is to have the words already exist in your word document so all you need to do is edit your story into something different.
If you think your story is completely unique, you're lying to yourself.
Nothing is truly unique.
Every story has been repurposed in some way.
And that’s it!
It’s as easy as that
Whilst the book was not ready to publish in 19 days - my writing job was complete.
Important Fact To Note
The editing process took 2 weeks.
I also sent the book to some people for feedback and made some crucial changes.
Finally, the formatting, cover design and everything else was a b*#tch and took some more time.
Regardless, having a book complete in 19 days is no small accomplishment.
If anyone says you can't write a book in 19 days, you can now tell them - 'Bulls#*t - It Has Been Done!'
Damien Diecke Australia’s #1 Dating Coachon how he wrote his new book:
Sincere Seduction - Using Honesty & Integrity To Attract Women
sincereseductionbook.com