How To Write a Book in 30 Days
Welcome!
Welcome to the How to Write a Book in 30 Days Coaching Course!
Is this the year you will become a published author? That’s what I want for you. Let’s begin at the beginning of the writer’s process and take you through to a finished book with your name on it.
“Write the best story that you can and write it as straight as you can.”
What to expect:
This course consists of:
- 14 learning modules with text, audio, and video resources.
- We will have questions at the end of each module and even a little homework!
- You’ll receive a short coaching email from me each day during the 30 days of the course.
I know it sounds like a lot, but remember that these resources will be here for you forever to take at your own speed and review whenever you like!
Welcome!
30 Days? Really?
The premise behind How to Write a Book in 30 Days assumes a few things:
That this can be accomplished in 30 eight-hour days, 240 hours. It may not be possible for you to commit 30 sequential eight-hour days in one chunk to this project. But you may be able to commit one eight-hour day per week for 30 weeks. You may be able to commit two hours per day for 120 days. However your schedule permits, know that this can be accomplished. I was a busy company executive officer when I wrote my first two books. All I had was very early morning hours and weekends. I was finished with the book in about three months (20 hours per week x 12 weeks = 240 hours).- You must write every day. Regardless of your schedule, you must develop the habit of writing daily. Writing, like any other habit, becomes easier the longer we stick to it. Even though I worked on my first book on the weekends, I wrote every day. If you don’t “have time” to write every day, make time. Writing this book could be one of the most important things you’ll ever do. It deserves time in your schedule. Most authors who live in the real world, which is all of us, find their daily writing time when no one else is awake. Either early in the morning or late at night, usually depending on the writer’s natural rhythm. If you can, give yourself at least two hours, uninterrupted, to write. I wrote the first draft of this Introduction (1069 words) in one hour and twelve minutes.
- Your book will be 30,000 words. It may be a little more or a little less, but your target is 30,000 words when you’re finished. Unless you’re a very prolific writer, you’re not going to produce a 60,000-word book in thirty days. One thousand words a day is the target for many successful writers, including W. Somerset Maugham, Sarah Waters, J. G. Ballard, and Holly Black. Ernest Hemmingway only wrote about 500 words per day. But he spent a lot of time fishing and drinking. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) averages 10,000 words per day, which is just bragging.
- You must know your subject matter. If you’re going to write a book in 30 days, you’ve got to already know what you’re talking about. My second book was about the story of discovering oil in Israel. My father wrote the book that started the story thirty years earlier; I knew the beginnings of the story since I was a teenager. I flew to Texas several times to interview the founder and management of the oil company doing the exploration. I flew to Israel to attend the “spudding” (drilling) of the first well. Then I sat down to write the book. Be sure that you are well-versed and experienced in your subject matter before you begin writing.
What you will learn
In this course. you will learn the habit of writing and the science of forming an idea into a book that will take your reader on a journey, from beginning to end. You’ll learn to think critically and linearly about creating a path, like flagstones through a garden, from the beginning of your story to its logical conclusion. You’ll discover that a book is complete in itself; leaving the reader satisfied and looking forward to what comes next.
This course will teach you how to become a better writer. Being a better writer doesn’t mean using bigger, more complex words and more of them. It means communicating your idea elegantly and with economy. Samuel Clemmons (also known as Mark Twain) once complained that he wished to write a short message but didn’t have the time to do it. Elegant writing is simple writing. It communicates your message clearly and completely in a way that captivates the reader.
This course will also teach you about your reader.
You are always writing to an individual, never to an “audience.” And, heaven forbid, never to “everyone.” Your words speak to a single person; it’s an intimate conversation. The magic of a book is that you can have this one-on-one conversation with a thousand, or even a million readers at a time.
Your book is not a “product” to be sold. It is a package, that delivers your message. Your message is the real product. In this course, you’ll learn how to build your book around the value you will be giving to readers. The people who will buy your book aren’t investing in a book; they’re investing in your promise that this book will educate, entertain, answer questions, or fulfill a need.
The How to Write a Book in 30 Days course will teach you how to assemble potential readers and enlist allies who are willing to help you share your message with the world. One often-asked question is, “When can I begin marketing my book.” The best answer is, Yesterday.” The second-best answer is “Today.” It takes a lot of time and effort to even make the world aware that you or your book exists. Sharing your ideas as you are developing them not only begins to create your potential audience, it helps you to craft your message to that audience as you build it.
Why should you listen to me?
I’m a writer and a publisher. I’ve written five books and our company has published more than 300 titles. We’ve sold more than a million copies of our books. The only people you should trust for advice about writing a book are writers with published books or publishers who published them. If you get both, that’s a bonus.
Most books about writing a book are written by writers. That makes sense. They (we hope!) have the experience of writing a book, or maybe even several books. That makes sense too.
There are authors out there who have sold more than a million copies of their books. I don’t know if there are any that have published more than 300 titles. Even if there were, those titles, created by the same authors, would most likely be similar in style, idea, and theme or genre. Every book that promises to teach its reader how to write books probably has advice worth learning. But that advice is coming from a writer’s perspective.