The Busy Woman's Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book

OTHER WORKS BY CYNTHIA MORRIS

Create Your Writer’s Life: A Guide to Writing with Joy and Ease

Creative Toolkit for Travelers

Leading Tours for Fun and Profit

Cross the Finish Line: Overcome the Hurdles to Completing Your Projects

The Graceful Return: Relish Your Journey After You have Come Home

Chasing Sylvia Beach

Visit Paris Like an Artist:

Have More Fun and Creative Adventures in the City of Light

Original Impulse, Inc.

Copyright © 2019 by Cynthia L. Morris

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019930161

ISBN 9780975922477 (paperback)

0975922483 (e-book)

Set in Hoefler Text

Designed by theBookDesigners

  DEDICATION  

Here’s to the people who are bravely bringing their words to the page. Keep opening your heart, uncapping your pen and sharing your brilliance. The world needs it.

  CONTENTS  

Introduction

PART ONE: DEVELOP YOUR AUTHOR MINDSET

Why You Must Write Your Book

Use a Notebook to Contain Your Project

Writing a Book Is Soul Work

A Book Makes You a Conversation Leader

Your Book Will Change the World

Seek a Publisher or Self-Publish?

Choose Which Book to Write First

Commit to a Monogamous Relationship with Your Book

Lack of Time Is Your Best Fake Excuse

Why It’s So Hard to Focus

Do You Have Space to Write a Book Now?

Befriend Your Inner Critic and Transform Resistance

Align with Your Inner Champion

Release Guilt About Taking Time from Other Obligations

Rally Your Allies

Deflect Your Detractors

Suddenly and Frequently Struck Clueless

Glean the Immediate Benefits of Writing

PART TWO: GET STARTED WRITING

Make Free-Writing Your Power Tool

Use a Timer to Stay Focused

Gather Your Project-Based Writing Prompts

Write in Short Bursts Using Your Prompts

Schedule Your Writing Time

PART THREE: DESIGN YOUR WRITING PRACTICE

Design a Sustainable Writing Practice

Become an Ardent Opportunist

Get Back on Track

Set Yourself Up for Productive Writing Sessions

Define Your Author Zones

Writing While Traveling

Deadlines, Goals and Milestones

Vital Practices to Support Your Writing

Don’t Let Research Hijack Your Focus

Build Deliberate Competence

PART FOUR : MANAGE YOUR CONTENT

Identify Your Reader

Delve into the Problems Your Book Solves

Choose the Software for Your Writing

Determine the Structure of Your Book

Mind-Map Your Topic

Make Your Outline

Organize Your Material with a Chapter Template

Draft Chapter Summaries

Get Help Shaping Your Material

Identify Your Book’s Promise with Cover Copy

Draft a Working Title

Write a Manifesto for Your Book

Manifesto for The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book

PART FIVE : WRITE AND FINISH YOUR BOOK

Write from Your Prompts

Free-Write Your Shaggy First Draft

Access Your True Voice

Speak Your Book

Is Your Old Material Useful?

Managing Tangential Material

Capture Promotional Ideas While Writing

Who Wants to Hear This?

Weave in Stories

Make a Punch List to Sort through a Messy Draft

Revise and Refine

Design the Feedback Process

Pay for Professional Production Help

Write Your Acknowledgments Page

Overcome Obstacles and Finish Your Book

Parting Note

Sample Punch List

Checklist of Exercises and Inquiries

Resources

Acknowledgments

Index

About the Author

  INTRODUCTION  

Hello! I am so happy you are reading this. It means you are taking steps to fulfill what may be a lifelong dream—to write a book. You have a message, work or story that must be shared, and you want to write the book that only you can write.

You are smart, you have something to say and you are ready to put it into form. And because you care deeply about your subject, you may be plagued with doubts and insecurities along the way. This happens to each and every one of us as we move closer to getting our ideas out of our head and onto paper.

You are also busy with your other roles. Chances are you are a mother and the head of your household. You run the ship—keeping food in the fridge, making sure everyone’s clothes are clean and presentable, ensuring that the bills get paid, the kids get to their activities, and that everything hums along seamlessly. If you aren’t doing all this yourself, you are responsible for hiring the help to make everything happen.

Perhaps you work outside the home. You are a career woman who has as many responsibilities at work as you do at home. It might seem impossible to write a book alongside all your other obligations. Yet you also know that it has to happen. Your big idea keeps pestering you like another child that needs attention.

For over two decades, I have been helping women just like you bring their books into the world. I have written eight books of my own and coached hundreds of writers to find their seat and write their words. I know the challenges you face to carve out time to write. Even though there are days when it seems your book is as far away as the summit of Mount Everest, I am certain it’s possible to write the book that’s inside you. Here’s what I know for sure:

If your idea persists beyond your objections, you must write this book. The pain of hoarding ideas and never executing them is soul crushing. It’s better to give things a try and see what happens than to always wonder if you could have written that book.

Your book doesn’t have to look like others’ books. It doesn’t have to be long and big. It just has to convey your message in your way and in your voice.

The process of writing your book has to suit you, your life and your needs. Whatever you commit to has to ultimately be connected to you and why you care. Part of the job is learning how to trust yourself and commit to your process—because if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work.

The work we do works us. We become something more when we dedicate ourselves to completing projects. Writing your book will transform you in ways you can’t imagine now. The process of writing your book will help you develop your voice and your confidence. Your rewards will be profound and will empower your other projects.

Writing a book takes time and it takes depth. You will be called to write from your truth and your experience. You have been building up to this, and you are ready. Your efforts will be rewarded.

Believe it or not, you have plenty of wisdom and skills that you can apply to writing a book. I am here to help you structure your time, focus and energy so you can get your book done. You don’t want to waste time, and you want to know where you are going with this. My intention is to help you:

Quickly target your ideal reader.

Clearly lay out the essentials that must be in your book.

Develop a writing practice that works for you to get going.

Navigate the challenges that will arise throughout the process.

Finish your world-changing book!

I will ask you to adopt new perspectives that will serve your writing and build your confidence as an author. I will challenge you beyond what you think you can do because I believe you can write your book—if you stick with it. It’s worth the time and effort.

Why do I care if you write your book or not? I have loved books for as long as I can remember. As a girl, I would bring home stacks of books from the library every week. I still do! Books have taken me places and introduced me to new ideas and people. The books I have written have changed lives, including my own. Books have inspired my imagination and grown me into the person I am today. I believe in the power of books to change the world, and I believe your book can change the world.

— HOW TO USE THIS BOOK —

This book brings together everything I know from coaching writers since 1996. It offers a road map to help you design, enjoy and thrive in your own writing practice. You will then be able to write your book, and others, with joy and ease. The chapters are short and sweet. Reading them will be like having me as your coach on call. The tools and strategies in these pages will help anchor the writing process and guide you to make it your own. You should be able to pick up this book, find an answer to your question and get to writing. No long-winded stories or research. Just straight-talking support for you to get your words out, your way.

Consider this to be a workbook that will guide you through the writing process. You will be invited to do exercises like free-writing and to answer inquiries to help you clarify and focus your process and project. You will see these invitations throughout the book. Take what’s useful for you. If it gets you writing, then it’s useful. If you are trying something and writing isn’t happening, discard that approach and explore something else.

This book is divided into five parts. Part one delves into the issues that most people face at some point in the book-writing process. Let’s face it: much of the work of writing a book is battling with ourselves. We like to think it’s just a matter of time, but in truth, the inner obstacles pose as much of a challenge as the outer obstacles. You can read part one all at once, or dip in as needed, like you would with a coach on call when problems arise to thwart your writing.

Part two gives a quick overview of how to get started writing your book. It’s for the impatient author who wants to leap in now! Or perhaps you are a seasoned author but feel stuck with your new book. Part two will give you new approaches to become inspired by your writing again.

Part three addresses how to make time and space to write your book. It’s where you will learn to set up a writing practice that you can consistently count on. You will begin to write in ways that work for you and your lifestyle.

Part four will help you organize your material. I cover what to write, how to organize the writing, how to structure the book and how to be sure your book is meeting your reader’s needs.

Part five dives into the writing itself. I address the specifics on how to work through writing, revising and finishing the book. At the end, I provide a checklist of exercises and inquiries that have been shared throughout the book. The checklist can serve as a coaching homework document, where you can easily see which activities you have completed and which need to be done. Feel free to jump around and use the exercises as you need them. Take what works for you, and then take action. It’s time to write your world-changing book.

  Part One  

DEVELOP YOUR AUTHOR MINDSET

Mindset is a trendy word these days—and for good reason. After many years of coaching, I know that the real game, the real place where change happens, is in our minds. At least half of my time spent with clients isn’t talking about what they are doing with their writing but how they feel and think about it. The way we frame our projects drives how we