How to Write a Book

Now it’s time to write a first draft. You know you’re ready to write a first draft because when you look at your outline you can almost see each chapter in your head. You’ve already written much of what you’re about to say. It’s like you have a bunch of pieces of fabric and now you’re going to stitch them together into a quilt.

Write an outline for your book When I was in school. Every English teacher confused me. They would ask me to write an outline, then write my paper. I always wondered, how can I possibly write an outline if I don’t know what I’m going to write?

Loneliness is a good book about an important topic, written by an academic who has dedicated his career to studying that topic. But I bet the title holds back its sales. Even the author tells an anecdote about being embarrassed about reading an early copy of the book, which said “loneliness” on it, while on a plane.

Deep Work passes the “cocktail party test.” It feels cool to tell someone that the work you’re doing is “deep.” It makes you feel important. This is why “deep work” has become its own term people talk about in certain circles. Deep Work could have easily been called The Importance of Focus, and it wouldn’t be as sticky.

Here are some of these phenomena at work: Play it Away is a book about curing anxiety. Author Charlie Hoehn has said that he didn’t want anxiety in the title because it makes people less likely to tell a friend they are reading it. But, people who are looking for anxiety books (a more private activity) can find it while searching, because anxiety i

What keywords will people use to search for the book? How does it feel to tell someone you’re reading a book of that title? Is it an easy title to understand when spoken? Does the title sound cool? Does it have a nice rhythm that rolls off the tongue? What are secondary meanings of the words in the title? Does it conjure up imagery that supports or

This directly contradicts the previous mantra, but it has a different purpose. If you forget that your life is short, you can easily make excuses for not writing. Remind yourself, I won’t live forever. If you remember that you can die at any moment, it can give you the extra urgency you need to do your work while you’re alive.

Tell yourself, I am a bricklayer. You have a certain amount of bricks you want to lay each day, and after the job is done you can feel like you accomplished something.

We’re the harshest critics of our own work. This is especially true if you’re a perfectionist. Your ego wants to nitpick your writing because it keeps you from publishing it. If you don’t publish it, it can’t fail. Tell yourself, It’s better than you think it is. Even if it’s not that great, at least you get it out there, and you can improve the ne