Writing a book

[kevkos]

I have an idea on a "how to" book and I've written 21 pages of it. Now I'm kind of stuck. I don't have writers block, but my confidence and motivation are lacking to write the next 7 chapters. I think I can write parts of the rest of it but feel that I need help. How do ghost writers work? I've never thought about using someone like this until now. I am the expert on the subject so it feels strange to hire someone to do it, but isn't this what Tim F is suggesting?

Thanks for any help!

Kevin in CA

[kamakiri]

Here is a short list of the steps I took to write my first book:

1. Make a blue print
Outline what you plan to write about
Make sure you have at least one interesting main point in each chapter
2. Set up the order of the chapters correctly
Make sure that stuff you are building on is placed in the right position
3. Plan the size of your book.
Sounds obvious, but having an idea of the number of pages and words per page will really help you get a handle on things.
4. Go back and come up with 20 points you want to convey to the reader for each chapter.
If you can't come up with that many, then grab a piece of paper, and number it 1-20 for each chapter. Go through each chapter once and write down as many points as you can. Then go through it again when you hit the bottom. You will find that the process jogs things in your mind, making it easier to come up with more stuff.

By this point, you should be well on your way to expanding the points form #4 into paragraphs with supporting information, examples, or colorful anecdotes, and 90% of the way to your goal.

[kevkos]

Here is a short list of the steps I took to write my first book:

1. Make a blue print
Outline what you plan to write about
Make sure you have at least one interesting main point in each chapter
2. Set up the order of the chapters correctly
Make sure that stuff you are building on is placed in the right position
3. Plan the size of your book.
Sounds obvious, but having an idea of the number of pages and words per page will really help you get a handle on things.
4. Go back and come up with 20 points you want to convey to the reader for each chapter.
If you can't come up with that many, then grab a piece of paper, and number it 1-20 for each chapter. Go through each chapter once and write down as many points as you can. Then go through it again when you hit the bottom. You will find that the process jogs things in your mind, making it easier to come up with more stuff.

By this point, you should be well on your way to expanding the points form #4 into paragraphs with supporting information, examples, or colorful anecdotes, and 90% of the way to your goal.

This sounds like a good plan. Thanks for your advice!

[BrettnAustin]

If you really have a hard time writing consider using a dictation software like Dragon Naturally Speaking and record yourself talking into a digital recorder.

Some times books sell much better when it seems the author is speaking directly to them.

It makes it more personal this way, don't you think?

Ok, so do that and you'll save yourself a bunch of time thinking and spend more time doing. Hope that can help.