Write Your Book in 90 Days (or Less!)

Every time I release a new book, my emails and DMs get flooded with questions from people who want to know how to write and publish a book of their own. It’s like a script at this point. It always goes a little something like this…

“Hey Rosalyn. I have a book that I have been wanting to write for 10 years. I have some of it written down in a journal, some written down on pieces of paper. I just don’t know how to put it together and get started.”

I get it. You don’t know what you don’t know. But I’m here to tell you that writing a book is not as hard as you think. I always tell people that you have at least 5 different books in you at any given time. If you have lived, chile you got some stories to tell! As far as putting it together, it can be done, and it can be done fairly quickly. So for the next 4 weeks, I’ll be doing a blog series all about how to plan, write, publish and sell your book in 90 days or less! This week, we’ll start with the planning. Let’s get into it…

1. Who Are You Writing To?

You may already have a story or topic that you want to write about, but you need to know who your reader is. Think about who would benefit the most from your story. Even if it’s a fictional story, who would enjoy reading it the most? Who would the storyline resonate with the most? You have to understand your reader: What are their likes and dislikes? What are they afraid of? What lights them up? What kinds of things do they dream about? What are they passionate about? You have to be clear about all of this before you begin typing up your manuscript because it all will determine the tone in which you use to speak to them.

2. What Is Your Why?

When your readers read the last page of your book, what do you want them to walk away with that they didn’t have before opening your book? This is the best way that I can describe IMPACT. It can be educational, inspirational, or just flat out entertaining. Regardless of what it is, it’s really the overarching goal of your writing. It’s your WHY. Why did you even want to write the book? You need to know this because you will probably get to a point in the process where you either want to quit, or lose motivation and you’re going to need a strong WHY to stand on to keep going and to ensure that your readers get what they need from you.

3. Set A Release Date And Stick To It!

Listen, deadlines are my best tools for personal accountability. Picking a date that is attainable but also not too far out will help you stay on track with your progression and milestones. Make a checklist of everything that you need to do from writing the manuscript and getting it edited, to getting your cover art and deciding on your selling platform. If you don’t know what all to put in your checklist, you can have a copy of the one that I use. Click here to grab it, it’s FREE! It also contains estimated timelines for each task on the list. Once you have that, you can map out a timeline with a final release date. Stick to the timeline like your life depends on it. A few things might fall behind here and there but just keep going, do your best to catch up, and DON’T STOP!

4. Start Building A Community NOW!

The moment you decide to write and publish a book is the exact moment that you need to start building a community. Building a community is all about CONSISTENCY! I have succeeded and failed at this so many times and I’ve learned that building a community is just like building a relationship with a romantic partner. Catch their attention with content and in-person interactions that relate to your book’s contents. Then keep pouring that relevant content and information into them on a consistent basis. Engage with them regularly and surprise them with gifts from time to time. If you fall off, there’s a good chance they may not trust you with their time, attention or investments anymore.

5. Get Your Business In Order.

Go ahead and get all of the administrative tasks out of the way. If you plan to build a business and brand by writing multiple books, or by pursuing other ventures beyond the first book you’re planning to publish, then you want to go ahead and create your business entity, obtain an EIN number from the IRS, get a business bank account, etc. You want to put as many admin tasks as you can on automation so that when you do release and publish your book, you can focus your time and efforts on actually selling your book and scaling your business.

Bonus Tip:

When planning for your book, don’t overthink the process. It’s okay to fail along the way as long as you learn from it. I hope this helps! See you next week for the writing phase!