Clear, concise, easy-to-follow plan

FEELING OVERWHELMED?

Every writer feels overwhelmed at the start of a book. Successful writers take control by taking time to plan - and I'm not talking about making a creativity-sucking outline the way we were taught to do in sixth grade. I'm talking about looking at your project in a strategic way. I'm talking about knowing the answers to these critical questions.

Be honest - how many of these questions do you know the answer to?

• What are you hoping to gain by writing this book?
• What is your book really about?
• Who, exactly, is it for, and why should they care?
• What is the competition and how do you stack up against it?
• How will you reach your readers?
• What title/subhead will best catch their eye?
• How can you describe your book to close the pitch to agents/editors, or close the sale to readers?
• What is the narrative structure that best fits your material?
• What does your table of contents look like?
• How long will it take you to complete a rough draft?
• What help do you need along the way to achieve your goals?

FINISH A GREAT BOOK

Knowing and not knowing these answers can be the difference between finishing a great book and making excuses.

• I have a great idea for a book, but no time to do it.
• I have a great idea for a book, but am terrified of doing it.
• I have a great idea for a book, but don't know where to start.
• I have a great idea for a book - I think.
• I have a great idea for a book, but every time I start, I get stuck.

PLANNING CAN BE CREATIVE

The Book Startup creator Jennie Nash has written and published three memoirs and four novels, and each one took her many years to write because with each book, she didn't know what I writing - or why, or who it was for - until she was finished with a second or third draft. That's part of what makes writing a joy, but it's also part of what makes it so frustrating.

Jennie thought planning was somehow "not creative." She was wrong. When she began to teach other writers how to get published, she began to realize that every single writer needed to stop what they were doing and make a plan. No writer was exempt from taking this step, and yet almost all of them skipped over it. I began to develop a system for helping them, and it evolved into "The Book Startup." It's a comprehensive planning program that teaches you how to pin down your idea so it's no longer vague but clear, concise, and doable.

Planning, it turns out, can be very creative and it can save you literally years of effort. I've developed a program that has helped hundreds of students get the book out of their head and onto the page. Last year, I had seven clients land top New York agents; four of them have already sold their books to mainstream publishers. Other clients who chose to self-publish have won awards, made money, and established themselves as experts in their field.

TAKE YOUR WRITING SERIOUSLY

I know it's not easy to commit to writing a book because that makes it real, and real can be frightening. But here's a secret: The only way you're going to get your book out of your head is to write it.

You can't wish it away. It's there, and it will be there until you decide to do something about it.

Getting step-by-step professional guidance at the start of the project is a smart way to set yourself up for success. It's like buying a rocket-boost for your project.

THE BOOK STARTUP IS SIMPLE AND PROVEN

You don't need to have written or published anything before.

You don't need to have permission from anyone else.

You don't need anything more than a little time to think and a commitment to move forward with your book.

You don't even have to know if your idea is any good. This program will force you to make it good.

At the end of the program, you will have a clear and executable blueprint for a book. Follow it, and within three, six, or nine months (depending on how much time you have to write), you will have a complete rough draft that is ready for editing and feedback.

WHY CALL IT A "STARTUP?"

Because a writer who wants to be read is an entrepreneur, with the same "can do" spirit of someone with a great idea for a service or a widget, and the same fears, the same challenges. But one thing entrepreneurs do that writers often don't do, is plan — and I have found that this is often the difference between completing a book that someone wants to actually read and writing a bunch of pages that never see the light of day. Planning means taking this book idea seriously and creating a clear roadmap from vague-concept-on-the-back-of-a-napkin to finished book you can actually sell. Planning means making a commitment to actually doing it this time.

Think like an entrepreneur, and turn a vague idea into a solid executable plan.