Have you considered writing a book?
Want to know how to get started?
Need some inspiration?
Lena Anani joins us on the Guided Goals Podcast, and we’re going to talk about writing a book. Lena has been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX for her work as the Intuitive Book Coach who works with healers, artists, and coaches and helps them to write, publish, and promote their magic.
Lena talks about “magic” and her writing recommendations, as well as what led her down this path.
Around 2003 Lena started a healing practice and wrote a couple books. When she asked he clients what they wanted to learn next, they asked her to teach them how to write a book. She refers to magic as the laws of attraction and that spiritual connection.
Why Write a Book
The common theme Lena finds with clients and authors she has interviewed on her podcast is they have a message or a life experience they want to put into a book. The sense of achievement and the desire to leave a legacy are other reasons.
Lena writes a lot of non-fiction. She likes to take what she has learned from challenging life lessons and put them into a book, so someone who is going through that experience can take what she learned and apply it to their lives.
Also, if you have a business, one of the best things you can do is write a book. Take the top ten pieces of advice you give people and turn it into a book. It becomes a really cool, thick business card, you can promote.
How to Get Started
The first thing, Lena says, is to think about your who, what, why.
Who. Who are you writing the book for? This is not who is your audience. Drill down and write the book for just one person you actually know. This helps you stay committed to writing the book and focused. You don’t even need to tell them. What happens is, when you publish the book, everyone will think you wrote the book for them.
Don’t try to write it for the masses, that just creates writers block. Don’t write it for a fictional person in your head. When you know someone personally, you know exactly what they need. And that helps you create your what.
What. The what is your outline for your book. People either don’t know what to write or have too many ideas. Think of ten pieces of advice for your who. And each piece of advice is a chapter.
It’s okay to write a concise book. Since we all have short attention spans nowadays, a concise book will get you far. Note: People are starting to recognize fluff, so be carefully. You want people to read your book cover to cover, because, if they finish your book, they are more likely to want to hire you.
Why. Why do you want to write a book? People write books to create more confidence, credibility and to get more clients. They are all awesome benefits of writing a book, but they should not be your why, Lena says. There are many other ways to make money for your business than writing a book.
If you have a calling to write a book, it’s because this is a project your soul wants to complete. We need to have a soul purpose why. It has to come from your heart. You need to meditate on it and find it. And once you do, write it on a post it note and put it in every room in your house. It will keep you going, especially if you know your who.
Mistakes
Mistakes people make include:
- Not hiring a coach. You need to have someone to hold you accountable and get through the hurdles.
- Not scheduling their writing time. A lot of people think they need to wait for inspiration, but of you do that, it’s not going to happen. Set aside writing time, even 30 minutes a day.
Additional Advice
Lena noticed a lot of advice out there suggesting people write the book cover first. Lena disagrees. While she is big on visualization, Lena has seen a lot of people who design their book cover first get stuck, pigeon-holed with what they are creating. Instead, do the who, what, why; create your outline; and write the book. Then have fun with the cover.
Work/Life Balance
Lena uses Google Calendar to make appointments for the gym, work, and fun time. So she schedules her balance. She is taking comedy writing and stand-up classes too.
Personal Goal of the Week: Take a class and do something fun that may or not be related to your passion project or your business.
Professional Goal of the Week: Figure out the who, what, why of your book.
Bonus Goal: Don’t just do research. Get involved in your community too.
Want to learn more about writing a book? Listen to the entire interview on iTunes or Stitcher.
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The Guided Goals Podcast gives you the tools, direction, and resources you need to pursue your passion project. Thanks for tuning in.
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About Debra: A project catalyst, Debra Eckerling works with individuals and small businesses to create a strategy, set goals and manage their projects. Follow Debra @GuidedGoals, Like Guided Goals on Facebook, Subscribe to YouTube.
