In my Author Fast Track book coaching program, I give clients a goal to write 600 words per day. If they consistently meet the goal, they will complete the first draft of their manuscript in about two months. These clients are usually super motivated. They have an urgent reason to get their book published such as an upcoming event where they want to offer the book for sale or as lead generation. In fact, I encourage clients to create an event such as a launch party to give them a sense of urgency and focus.
Maybe your book writing goal isn’t as aggressive, but you want to get published by the end of the year. How do you tackle your book project? I’m reminded of the old joke, how do you eat an elephant? The answer – one bite at a time. It seems so easy, most people discount the idea of taking baby steps toward the completion of their projects.
We’re conditioned to think the environment needs to be perfect before we can work on our goals. If your goal is to write a book, you naturally want a large block of time, sitting in the ideal location that’s conducive to creativity. If the perfect writing set-up isn’t realistic for you right now, don’t abandon your goal!
A few years ago, I signed up for an online certification course in copywriting. If I completed the course and exam in a specific time frame, I would get a rebate for a portion of the tuition cost.
At the time, I was still working a 9-5 job and had a full schedule. There was no way I could block out huge chunks of time to work on the course. I decided I could carve out fifteen minutes every morning before I left for work to devote to the course.
Fifteen minutes doesn’t seem like a long time, but you would be surprised how much you can get done if you’re consistent. I’m happy to say I got the rebate and I’ve used this technique many times since to read books and complete projects. The secret to success is to focus on the task at 100% during the allocated time.
No matter how busy you are, you can surely carve fifteen minutes out of your day to apply to your book project, whether it’s creating an outline, writing the content, or self-editing the manuscript. Even if you only write 100 words in those 15 minutes, it’s 100 more words than you had the day before and it’s 100 words closer to completing the book.
Get a writing app that allows you to save your manuscript to the cloud. That way, you can write whenever you have spare time without worrying about syncing up multiple copies.
If you’re writing by hand, put your manuscript/writing journal in a tote bag or briefcase and keep it in the car. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media posts while waiting for an appointment, do some research for your book topic or write a couple of paragraphs.
If you complete these baby steps consistently, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you can accomplish!
