10 Tips for Aspiring Authors to Finish Their Book

As I navigate publishing multiple books—I’m working on number 7!!—there have been more questions from colleagues on the whole process. Here are ten tips to help other professionals bring their books from idea to reality!  Don’t forget to check out the videos of these tips on our Aspiring Authors playlist on YouTube!

1.     Identify Your Gift

You’ve heard this idea woven in other content from me, and it still rings as true as when public speaker coach Mari Geasair first presented it! Ask yourself, “what’s the gift I’m giving?” What do you want your reader to walk away with? What idea or concept can they learn from you? What is the call to action after reading your book? What do you want them to feel?

2.     Do your Research

First, researching other books out there that are similar to yours is important. Is your idea different enough to interest your audience? Do you have a new spin on something that folks would find valuable? Second, how old are the books out there? Is the market saturated with books on your topic, which wouldn’t bode well for a successful launch? Are the books available ten or twenty years old, ensuring your content would be well received by filling in the gaps? Is there an absence of information, which would motivate you to get your book out there as soon as possible?

3.     Make an Outline

Just like in elementary school, having an outline organizes your thoughts before putting pen to paper. It can help you start to see where information would be housed in sections or chapters, creating an intentional flow to your work. Additionally, an outline is oftentimes what a publisher wants to see included in your book proposal to consider your book and a possible contract. So although an outline may feel less than exciting to complete, consider it a roadmap of what you are writing, while also helping others see where you are headed in your book journey in order for them to give you an enthusiastic yes to publishing it!

4.     Create a Ritual

A personal favorite, what rituals can you create that you associate with writing? Are you wearing a particular outfit or pair of pants? Do you write in a specific spot to help your mind drop into the task of writing? Do you treat yourself to a coffee or listen to certain music when writing? Consider all five of your senses and how they can support a ritual that gets you into the groove of writing regularly.

5.     Set Time Blocks

What amounts of time do you need to write? Do you need several hours in one chunk? Do you need more breaks, like 30 minutes on, 10 minutes off? If you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen, so experiment with blocking out some times that are labeled “writing” or “my book” to see how that can motivate you.

6.     Talk About Your Book

I have had such valuable conversations when talking about my books to others. Notice their responses. Listen for their questions and assumptions, which could be transformed into content within the book. Odds are that if they have a question, so would your readers. So talk about it! It will help you flush out more things to include within your pages.

7.     Interview Other People

In alignment with Tip #6, interviewing folks can bring content into focus. Are there any themes or concepts from interviews worth capturing in your writing? Is it about highlighting a person’s perspective or experience, with their consent? Maybe you are trying to explore the lived experience of others, in comparison to your own experience as the author? Either way, I recommend interviewing folks to further clarify what content belongs in your book.

8.     Tell Stories

My favorite part of writing these days is the stories. Weaving them into each chapter can build trust and connection or teach a skill. Stories can illustrate concepts you are introducing to your audience, encourage ah-has, or be a reference point for later reflection as the reader. People remember stories and they like them, so it’s worth considering how you can use story within your book.

9.     Write the Easy Parts First

Aspiring authors can get tripped up on the idea of writing their books in order. Chapter by chapter, beginning, middle, end. This can lead to writers block if you start feeling stuck on one particular section. How about writing the “easy” parts first? Or the parts that bring you joy in the moment? The parts that feel more clear or the ones that are on your mind when writing this week? By giving yourself permission to write the easy parts first, you are also giving yourself permission to write things out of order, knowing you’ll piece it back together as an additional step later.

10.  Read It Out Loud

Some of you may cringe at this idea, but I promise you it’s an important tip for authors! Not only does reading it out loud help you check for grammar, punctuation, and flow, it also helps you check out if the content sounds like you. As an author, you are your brand. By reading it out loud, you get to ensure that it sounds like you and holds the tone you want to convey, especially if your aim is a conversational instead of academic voice. A bonus? Reading it out loud prepares you for any audio book recordings you may feel compelled to complete after the book launch! Audio books remain a popular option for readers, so having the practice of reading it out loud gets you one step closer to recording.

Are you feeling ready to write your book? Check out these additional tips from our ten amazing mental health professionals turned authors from our Virtual Book Fair this month!

Five Tips to Help You Write One Book a Year

Courtesy of Canva.com

As an author having just submitted my sixth book to a publisher, I’m being asked the question of “what’s your process?” What makes it possible to write and launch one book a year, as I’ve done since 2019? Although there is no ‘one way’ to do it, I have learned a couple things that work for me and could work for others too!

Tip 1: Identify the gift your book gives others

Most of us start with a book idea. Perhaps it came to you at 4am or while talking to a close colleague. Maybe you realized from your client work that you have a message to share with a broader audience. Similar to a TEDx talk, asking yourself “what is the message worth spreading” can help you get clear on why you want to write this book in the first place. Identifying your gift also reinforces the bigger vision and audience of your book, which comes in handy as you decide to either self-publish or pitch your work to a publishing company.

As an example, let’s take a look at the ideas behind my books over the years:

1)    The Empowerment Model of Clinical Supervision (2019)-- introduced a new model of clinical supervision for mental health leaders.

2)    Perfectioneur: From Workaholic to Well-Balanced (2020) (English, Spanish, and Workbook)--offered 22 concrete tools to support driven professionals who struggle with self-care or burnout.

3)    Helpers with Hashimoto’s (2021)--explored an idea that professional helpers are more suspetible to thyroid conditions due to compassion fatigue, trauma, chronic stress, and the desire to help others at the risk of their own health.

4)    Estrangement Energy (2022, coming soon)—identified a clinical gap in representation of adult women who make the difficult choice to estrange from their mothers.

Tip 2: Create a book outline

I know, I know, this is reminiscent of high school English class where we groaned at the extra work of an outline. However, an outline helps you organize themes or concepts you want to highlight within your book by making them into chapters, allowing an easier flow to your writing. An outline serves as a roadmap to your writing process while taking readers on a journey with a cohesive beginning, middle and end.

Tip 3: Set a time to write, preferably daily

This can feel daunting but necessary. As a new mom in 2022, I knew if I didn’t carve out the time (after putting baby to bed) the book wouldn’t be written within the deadline that was set. Think about a 1-2 hour chunk of time at most. I gave myself weekend nights off to rest my brain, but felt it was important to at least revisit what I last wrote or complete a few sentences every night to keep a sense of momentum. Consider designating a place to write in order to condition your body to recognize that being in that space means it’s time to focus and get to work!

Tip 4: Embrace strategies for writer’s block

When feeling stuck in your writing, consider any of the following strategies:

1)    Revisit what you wrote and revise as desired. Sometimes just re-reading a section gives you a new idea or helps flush out a concept that previously had you feeling stuck.

2)    Brainstorm with a family member, friend or colleague to see what they’d want to know about your topic. This is immensely helpful in adding more content to your book or outline.

3)    Read other books on the subject to generate ideas and/or formulate possible new perspectives regarding their content. You may have a different spin or perspective to offer in your own book that is revealed by reading what others have to say.

4)    Pace as you brainstorm. The movement helps get creative juices flowing.

5)    Sleep on it and take notes if you wake up with a new idea, allowing yourself to capture the idea before resuming your sleep cycle.

Tip 5: Talk about your book

Just the act of talking about what you are writing can hold you accountable to getting the book done because sharing it with others keeps it fresh in your mind. Not only can talking about it keep you emotionally invested in your writing, it can help you identify a list of folks who want to know when the book is published because they’re excited to read it!

So there you have it! Five tips that have worked for me as a published author who averages one new book a year. Additionally, check out my on-demand self-paced course Professional & Published, which takes you through the process of writing, publishing, and marketing your first book. I hope these tips can help you on your journey to becoming a published author!