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Is Your New Year’s Resolution to Write a Book?

Guest post by: Melinda Copp

Article Overview: Every New Year’s, thousands of aspiring business and self-help authors resolve to make this the year they get their book done. I’ve heard that 80 percent of people want to write a book-that’s a lot of people.

Is Your New Year’s Resolution to Write a Book?

Every New Year's, thousands of aspiring business and self-help authors resolve to make this the year they get their book done. I've heard that 80 percent of people want to write a book-that's a lot of people. But even if that figure is wrong, and, say, 40 percent of people have the goal of writing a book, that's still millions. However, fewer than 300,000 books are published every year in the United States (find more numbers on bookstatistics.com). That means there are a lot of aspiring authors out there who haven't reached their goal. So if you're one of those folks who want to get the book done in 2010, here are a few thoughts to get you going.

It Will Feel Really Great to Get That Book Done

If you've been thinking about writing a book for a while, then just think of how great it will feel to get it done. Imagine holding a copy in your hand and flipping through the pages. Imagine marketing your book and seeing the orders come in. Keep those images in mind when you write, and use them as a way to stay motivated. And by this time next year, you'll be able to say, "I'm an author," instead of, "I want to write a book."

Authoring a Book Establishes Expertise

One of the best ways to get motivated is to think of the benefits. Along with the personal satisfaction of completing your book, you can leverage it into new and exciting professional opportunities as well.

When you write a book, your status as an expert is immediately elevated. Why? Because you wrote the book! This higher level of expertise makes it easier to get booked for speaking engagements, opens up new opportunities for consulting, helps you get more publicity, and as a result of all these, brings in more income.

Write Often

Most people can't write a book in a month or less. Even two months would be really hard. If you can take time away from work and other activities to write your book really fast, then that's great. But most people can't-they have jobs or clients or other things that need to get done.

You'll be more likely to get your book done if you devote an hour or so a day on most days to writing. See where you can cut down on other activities, like watching television or checking e-mail or hanging out on Facebook. Make the commitment to write, and then do what you can to make steady progress, even if it's just a page a day. Once you start writing a little every day for a week or so, your writing time will become habitual, and your day won't feel complete without it.

Get Help and Guidance

Especially if you've never written a book before, it will help to have someone there to help you. Save a little money to work with a coach, or join a writing group that will help keep you accountable, motivated, and moving forward. This is a great way to get feedback and work through challenges that come up as you write. And everything is more fun when you do it with someone else.

You Can Write Your Book In 2010!

Not everyone who sets out this New Year to write a book will actually finish it. But if you really want to make it happen, and you're willing to do what it takes to get it done, then I know you'll be one of the few who becomes an author this year!

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Article Tags: book coach, book writing help, how to write a book, write a book, write nonfiction book



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Re: New Year Resolutions... - My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.
Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Alan Mater":2acona1t]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:2acona1t] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?
Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="Kevin Lee":398jg5d7][quote="Alan Mater":398jg5d7]My New Years Resolution is to be earning $500+ with my online business. This includes any freelance work that I do. I'm about half-way there now. Another Resolution is to look into selling more on eBay and maybe finding a reputable dropshipper that offers competitive pricing on high-demand items. I like eBay and the opportunity that it provides. I've mainly been selling personal items, but I'd like to start tapping into a larger market and making some significant income on eBay.[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Alan, Do you mean $500+ per month? And when you're selling items on eBay from a reputable dropshipper... do you think it's still important to pick a product you're passionate about (like what an entrepreneur would normally do when starting a business)? Or is it just about moving a popular item for profit on eBay?[/quote:398jg5d7] Hi Kevin, Yes, sorry I didn't clarify. My goal is to make $500+ per month. I would say yes, pick products that you have an interest in. That's the best option if you're going to like what you do. Hopefully you can find a balance between products you're interested in and products that are in high demand.
Re: Quote of the Day - "Have the courage to follow your heart an - [quote="GT Bulmer":102twzd2]Hi, Evan: I haven't yet managed to capitalize on the longings of my heart as successfully as Jobs did[/quote:102twzd2] Hi GT - I woke up thinking about this post and I have a challenge for you for May if you're up to it. Here it is: Write the blog post / article you were born to write. Write something that you can pour your heart and all your passion into. Write something where you can change the life of the person reading it. Write something where if you look back in 10 years you'll be really proud of what you created. Can you do that? I'd love to read it (and I bet a lot of others will too!)
My reading log - Hi OmnivoreInk, Before starting my business, I read the following books as research: -"The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki -"The AdSense Code" by Joel Comm -"Don't Think Pink" and "Mind Your X's and Y's" by Lisa Johnson And since then I've continued my "research" by reading (in this order): -"Technical Tennis" by Rod Cross -"For One More Day" by Mitch Albom -"The Twits" by Roald Dahl -"Little Black Book of Connections" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne -"The Profitable Retailer" by Doug Fleener -"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell -"Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis -"Little Green Book of Getting Your Way" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling And I'm currently reading and am in the process of finishing the following: -"There's No Such Thing as Public Speaking" by Jeanette and Roy Henderson -"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell -"The Book of Tells" by Peter Collett -"Little Red Book of Sales Answers" by Jeffrey Gitomer -"Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience" by Jonathan M. Tisch -"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity" by Julia Cameron -"The Inner Game of Tennis" by Timothy Gallwey


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