Books

It's never been easier to write a book than it is today. With the advent of print-on-demand and self-publishing, almost anyone can throw a book together ― a real bound book, with pages and everything ― for a few hundred dollars. This news is exciting and encouraging. There's no reason you shouldn't author the book you've always thought about writing.

The question, though, is whether it will be a book anyone other than your mother wants to read. Before undertaking a writing project, it's absolutely essential to know who your audience is and know why you're writing to them. We're all busier than we've ever been before, and information pummels us relentlessly from every side. The same is true for your readers and would-be readers.

Regardless of what you are writing, whether it's an e-mail or a novel, you must know two things: (1) that it's worth your time to write, and (2) that it's worth your readers' time to read.

Mistakes First-Time Nonfiction Authors Often Make

1.  Failing to determine who your niche audience is, and if/where they buy books. First, do you know who you are writing to? Their specific demographics? Next, do you know where they spend time, and if or where they buy books?

2.  Writing what you want to write, as opposed to what your market wants to read. Have you surveyed your market to determine that there is a need/demand for a book on your subject?

3.  Skipping the due diligence. What else is out there on this subject? How is your book different?

4.  Neglecting to create a realistic timeline. When are you planning to publish? What steps need to occur between now and then? Have you written them down? Scheduled them?

5.  Not understanding the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing. Have you decided which route you will take? If you're going the traditional publisher route, have you already secured an agent?
 

6.  Failing to understand that a book is a business. Do you have a business plan for your book, including a marketing profile and a complete budget?

7.  Forgetting to create a realistic budget. How much money are you prepared to spend to make this book a reality?

8. Thinking you don’t need an editor. Even Michael Jordan needed a coach. Do you have a skilled editor in your network? Do you know what to look for in an editor?

9.  Designing your own cover. Did you know the average book consumer spends just 8 seconds on the front cover and 14 seconds on the back cover before deciding to move on or open a book? Have you located a graphic artist who is skilled at cover design?

10.  Believing the book will sell itself. Do you have an inkling of all the work that goes into getting your book into the hands of potential readers?

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How a Book is Born

An overwhelming number of would-be authors have an incorrect belief: "I have a great idea, but I am not a good writer." I would first like to suggest that you are almost certainly a better writer than you give yourself credit for. Most of the challenge in writing any book lies in organizing the facts and determining how much to include and how much to leave out.

In my experience as a professional editor, most people tend to write way too much. The one genre in which I've noticed a difference is when it comes to personal memoir stories. Because personal stories often convey painful memories, most memoirists tend to include too few details to tell a coherent story. At Words Made Easy, our best skill is in helping our writers determine what to include and what to leave out.

Recent books we've worked on include a woman's story about her experience with infertility, the premature births of her twin daughters, and how she dealt with postpartum depression; and the story of a woman's experience of being divorced very young, finding the resilience to remarry, and then becoming a widow by age 34. Each of these books tells a very personal story, with a goal of sharing the life experiences that led them to become the people they are today as well as helping others who may share similar life-changing experiences.

If you have a story to share with the world, it would be our honor to guide you through the writing process.

Generally speaking, the writing process follows a timeline something like this:

• Completing an outline. This is often chronological, but that is in no way an absolute. Some memoirists share individual stories or vignettes from various parts of their life and choose to order them in ways other than along a timeline.
• Writing the first draft. This is the most laborious part of the process for most first-time — and many seasoned — writers. The idea is just to get it all out. It won't all make sense, and you won't wind up using everything you write in your book. You may even find that you have material enough for two books. But you must somehow capture the information and get it into words and then onto paper.
• Content editing to determine holes or gaps, continuity issues, character development, etc.
• Author's clarification on the editor's notes about the points and issues mentioned above.
• Second-round editing, this time looking more at technical aspects...word choice, tenses, grammatical issues, etc.
• Input from others. These others can be industry insiders or individuals familiar with the subject matter, personal friends, or others whom the author feels would offer valuable input.
• Writing the book proposal.
• Author's review of clarifications and feedback from early readers.
• Changes by the author based on readers' feedback; further research/rewriting.
• Third-round editing, this time looking at the story/work as a whole.
• Proofreading.

At this point, the book should be ready, either for self-publishing or for the author to begin the process of seeking a traditional publisher.

You may choose to incorporate as many or as few
of these steps as you feel necessary for your book project.

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The Role of the Editor

Like Michael Jordan, even the most talented writer in the world sometimes needs an objective eye to provide feedback, sharpen the focus, and make an already strong piece of writing a stellar piece of writing. Most writers are not Steinbeck, or even Mitch Albom. While they may have a great story to tell or have some fantastic information to share with the world, they also might struggle with getting their words on paper (or into their word processing programs). Perhaps they're great at outlining their overall concepts, but they need some help fleshing out the ideas, or finessing the language to make it as clear and compelling as possible. These are writers who would benefit from working with a qualified editor.

One mistake almost every writer makes ― even long-time, experienced writers ― is overwriting. That is, writing too many words. If there's one thing most good writing has in common, it's that its authors know how to keep it concise. Even with epic novels, detailed self-help books, or Web copy that goes on for screen after screen, if the language of each sentence, paragraph, and chapter is not concise and to the point, people will stop reading it. Precision with language is an art ― and it's a talent all good editors have. It's why writers hire them, in fact ― to help them get rid of the excess words and phrases that detract from the core of their message.

Here's a quick tip: The next time you write anything, get your piece polished and finished, to the place where you think it's perfect. Then go back and cut it by 25 percent. Really. It will improve your work immeasurably.

If you've got great content (stories, ideas, a message), the essential thing is to get it down! Use bullet points. Create an audio recording of your ideas and have someone transcribe it for you. Write it all in one gigantic 103-page paragraph. Just get it into words ― on the page. Then, find a qualified editor to shape it into something publishable.

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Your Investment

Your investment will depend on several factors. One is how comprehensive your contribution is — whether that's an outline, notes, or a completed manuscript — versus how much writing/interviewing it will take on our part to complete this project. Another is your time frame. How quickly you are looking to complete the writing portion of your book project? Lastly, do you have other unique or specialized needs, such as referrals for interior and/or cover designers, indexing, printing, distribution, or marketing? Because the breadth and scope of each project can vary so substantially, we do not work on a project fee, but bill hourly or by the page (for a completed manuscript). All work is billed hourly, unless you select the monthly retainer option, and we are certainly willing to work with you to reach a mutually agreeable payment plan. Please see our Payment Options for a full fee schedule. Then click this link to get started!