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Seven Boons of Writing a Book

This is part of the Claim Your Authority series.
I’m standing in front of a crowd at the Boulder Bookstore. In my hands is my novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach. The heady brew of emotions that swirl in me include joy, wonder and a huge whoosh of gratitude.

Speaking at the Boulder Bookstore for Create Your Writer's Life

The combination prompts a sense of overwhelming joy that makes my knees buckle. Flush with gratitude, I share the story I’ve worked on for more than a decade.
Even in my imagination, this emotional cocktail is potent and unexpected. When publishing a book, you’d imagine a lot of happiness and celebration. What’s surprising to me is the profound amazement and wonder that infuses me.
It makes all the work and sacrifice that I invested in this book worthwhile.

What will writing your book bring you?

When I coach people, I help them cast their sights to the other side of the process, to imagine and see what’s possible after the long, quiet hours alone working on the book.
Bringing a work of art into the world will yield a blend of internal and external rewards. There’s what you gain from bringing the work to fruition and what you will glean from how others receive it.
It will be different for everyone, but here are seven possible boons that await you when you claim your authority.
1 Be a finisher. So many of us suffer at the hands of our inner critic who loves to point out how often you abandon things. Here’s your chance to finally prove to yourself that yes, indeed, you can finish something. This engenders huge reservoirs of confidence that can extend to future projects.
2 Know yourself and your material on a new level. You get to experience your work – whether fiction or non-fiction – in form. Having a tangible expression of what’s meaningful to you reflects you back to yourself in ways that empower deeper explorations and satisfaction.
3 Start global conversations. All art and writing that makes its way into the world initiates dialogue with others. How people respond is a fascinating process that allows what that they feel, think and believe to interact with what you’ve shared in your book.
4 Elevate your status. Having a book means you claim a new position both in the eyes of the world and for yourself. Imagine for a moment that you’ve written your book. How do you perceive yourself differently?
5 Earn money. Most of us don’t get into writing because it’s such a lucrative field. But more money can be earned from a book than from a cluster of ideas that merely perambulate in your head.

Seeing your book on the bestseller shelf at the bookstore...

6 Invite unforeseen opportunities. This is the best part. An idea for a book niggles at you. Speaking about it to others will likely bore them. But a completed book generates excitement in your audience and prompts opportunities you can’t even imagine. If I show up to do the work to write, publish and promote you book, something absolutely amazing could happen.
7  Give a gift to your readers. All of this is well and good for you, but what about your readers? We have a variety of motivations for writing, but many of us hope for a powerful impact on our readers. My non-fiction books are designed to both inspire and instigate action. I write them with nothing short of the lofty intention of changing people’s lives. And they do.
I can’t predict exactly what awaits you when you claim your AUTHORity. Everyone’s path is different. But I do know that every book we write works us in some way.
Our job is to heed the call to write our book, to get our words and ideas out of our head and onto paper so others can experience it too.
What do you imagine your AUTHORity will do for you? How do you want being an author to change your life?
 Download a pdf of this post. 

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Seven Time Management Tips to Write Your Book

This is part of the Claim Your Authority series.
I’m having coffee with a friend, chatting. He makes a declaration of desire to write a book, met by my great enthusiasm.
And then the backpedaling ensues. He pulls out everyone’s best fake excuse.
“I don’t have time,” he claims. But a thread of doubt haunts his statement.
I stare at him, unblinking. My look tells him I know he’s full of it. He squirms. Finally I speak.
“Time is all you have.”
He shrugs and resumes the litany of things that occupy his day, desperately shoring up his excuse for why he’s not writing a book.
I listen, hoping that hearing his own excuses will show him that they’re not truth, but choices. Is that you, clinging to this common excuse?

Lack of time is your biggest fake excuse

I have been coaching creatives on time management since 1999. I know how valid this excuse seems. We believe lack of time is the reason we’re not doing our work.

When we pull this out, everyone nods and commiserates because we’re all victims of the ticking clock and our propensity to fill our time with activities.

But I’ve coached everyone from extremely busy executives to retirees to working mothers, and here’s the truth: you can make time for what’s important to you.

Seven strategies to become a superhero at time management

1. Get real. Disengage from the notion that you do not have time to do what matters to you.
Be a hero, not a victim of your creative impulses.
2. Get clear. Return to your original impulse for writing your book. This is your stake, your driving motivation. If you don’t know this in one gut-vibrating sentence, you will easily blow off your writing sessions for laundry, dates with friends, shopping, whatever.
Use this original impulse as fuel to stay committed to being an author.
3. Get brief. We imagine we need long, uninterrupted hours to do our writing. And while that may be nice, chances are that perfect getaway isn’t the answer to our time dilemma.
Brief writing sessions – 15-30 minutes – add up over time.
4. Get it on the calendar. This is so dead simple, but frankly, most solutions are ridiculously simple.
Block out time on your calendar at the beginning of the week and stick to it like glue. 
5. Get focused. When writing a book, some things need to fall away temporarily. To be a creator, you need to reduce your consumption.
No need to become a hermit; just reduce your time-consuming news, tracking social media, watching TV or movies.
6. Get still. As we spend more time bouncing around online, it gets more difficult to quiet ourselves and focus on the deeper work of writing. Extroverts may find it difficult to step away from the roar and clatter of life, but remind yourself that the pause is only temporary.
Distinguish between these two kinds of attention – fragmented and ‘out there’ and focused on your topic. Balance time between the two.
7. Get support. We tend to honor our commitment to others more than our own self-commitments. Honestly, accountability is one of the main reasons people hire a coach to help them write their books. It’s not that I have such brilliant advice – it’s all pretty simple, as you can see.
We value what we pay for, and if we pay someone to help us, we’re going to rise to the occasion to get our money’s worth.

I know these things work because my clients practice them with great success.

I, too, have to deal with making the best choices with my time. It’s not always easy to step away from the bustle to go into the writing cave, but it’s always, always satisfying.

And it’s these strategies that have allowed me to publish a book, five e-books, hundreds of articles and my novel, Chasing Sylvia Beach.

I want this authority for you. Try this:

Throughout your day, notice the choices you make about how you spend your time.
Notice when you could choose to draft your book instead.

Notice the thoughts or feelings that arise when you consider writing. That – the fears and insecurities – is what is really in the way, not lack of time.

Claim your authority over your time. Watch how your authority grows when you honor your impulse to write your book. 

What choices are you making with your time? What helps you claim your authority so you can write your book?

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Write Your Book More Easily with a Manifesto

This is part of a series: Claim Your Authority to write the stories only you can.
I knew what I wanted to say. When I talked about my book idea with my colleagues, I felt the fire and the passion of what I want to share with my readers.
This was followed by the impulse to write an introduction, a ‘what this is about’. I wanted to write something that rang true, that would incite joy and possibility and empowerment.
But when I sat down to write my introduction, the idea of drafting something that big and meaningful hindered me. My writing felt stiff and formal.
Does this happen to you? Here’s my solution: write a manifesto for your book and work instead of your book’s introduction.

A manifesto is easier to write than an introduction

A manifesto is about what the impact you’re committed to having for your audience. Thinking about what you want for them will help you get away from the work being about you.
An introduction is an explanation of what is to come. You may not know what exactly will be in your book, so it’s better to write the introduction after you’ve written the book.
A manifesto is a stake – what you’re taking a stand for. It can be used for your work outside the book, if you do workshops or book tours, for example.

Speak your intention

Okay, even though the difference between a manifesto and an introduction is clear, it can still feel difficult to sit down and draft your manifesto.
Try this exercise that I use with my clients and that finally worked for me to carve out what I wanted to say.
(Note: if you have stage fright or dread public speaking, imagine that for the sake of this exercise, you are released of that fear.)
Imagine that you’re in a room full of the people you wish to reach. You’re on stage, looking out over your audience. They’re smiling at you, sending love and appreciation. They are eager to hear what you have to say.

Books photo by Sharon Wharton

You have five minutes to tell them what you want to share. Answer these three questions to get to the heart of your work:

  • What do you want for them?
  • What must they know now?
  • What do you want them to do with the knowledge you’ve given them?

Imagine yourself speaking to your people, from your heart, as if this were your one and only opportunity to do so. The time is now. The need to share your work is urgent.
Feel free to speak it aloud and record it. You can play it back later. Use Dragon Dictation software or other recording device to do it. Or just speak it, then type like mad what you’ve written.
I believe that for this kind of writing, if you’re not crying or nearly crying, you haven’t dug deep enough to write what’s truly meaningful for you.
Imagining a direct and sincere communication with the people you’re writing for can lead you past insecurities that are common at this stage.

Draft your book’s manifesto now

Drafting your manifesto can help you focus on your work as a gift to your people instead of a reflection on how great you are. Your manifesto will help you get out of your own way and hush your inner critic.
This may take several drafts, and it may take time. Don’t worry about it. Get the gist of it out with your manifesto and keep going.
Have you written your manifesto for your life, work or book? How do you use it to fuel your writing? Share in a comment below.
Download a pdf of this article to make Claiming Your Authority easier.
Here are some resources for further exploration on how to write a manifesto.
Life Optimizer
Creativity, Creativity

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How Writing for ‘Nothing’ Can Give You Everything

As I unpack and move into my new home, I am faced with a decision: do I put my journals on the shelves or boxed in the closet?
Hundreds and hundreds of pages, billions of words. For what?

Stacks and stacks of writing

These 100+ notebooks full of free writing and journaling certainly aren’t interesting to anyone. They aren’t publishable and they haven’t brought me any money.
But these notebooks full of my scribbles form the foundation of my writing career. Without the pages and pages of meandering writing, I wouldn’t have built the confidence to dare publishable pieces.
You may struggle with being asked to spend hours wasting ink on pieces that will not be lucrative or publishable. Yet when I coach my clients past the initial hurdles of writing freely, they are amazed at how good it feels.
Here are three ways free writing leads you to achieve your writing goals.

Get focus and clarity on what to write 

There are so many ways to write and so many subjects to write about. Clocking these hours privately in your notebooks will help you decide where to focus your efforts.
Free writing can clear the confusion to reveal what you want to write next.

Write right past your inner critic to get at your gems

Free writing works for all levels and genres because it allows you to circumvent the uptight inner critic that’s always ready with a reason why you should be doing something ‘worthwhile’.

Enjoy a sense of surprise and discovery

Much of this will never be read by anyone, not even you perhaps. No matter. As Natalie Goldberg taught us in Writing Down the Bones, free writing is a practice that you show up for with little expectation.
Anything could be waiting for you in your pages. Great boredom or great discoveries, for the simple price of your pen to the paper. Allowing for the element of surprise lets you surpass your known limits.
This is where the fun comes into the writing process, when you allow yourself to be led by your pen instead of trying to control everything.

Writing for nothing yields everything

My novel, drafted with free writes

So you see, writing for ‘nothing’ can lead everywhere – more confidence, more self-knowledge, more clarity…more you.
Free writing can make a huge difference if you are a:

  • Professional writer accustomed to working for pay and deadline only.
  • New writer who wants to write but don’t know what.
  • Seasoned writer wanting to shift gears or start a new book.

I don’t need to have my journals in sight to continue gleaning the benefits from them. I’ve used free writing since 1994 and have written hundreds of words that have been read and paid for.
Putting the journals in the closet doesn’t change all the hours and effort I’ve banked by free writing. All that writing for nothing has given me everything in my writing career.
What results have you seen from free writing or from a regular writing practice? How does this kind of writing impact your other writing?

Write freely in February

Join us in February for the Free Write Fling. Because everyone, no matter how busy, can give 15 minutes a day to write what’s inside you.
Sign up here.
Here’s what recent Flingers had to say:
“I am a happier person from giving myself this gift of writing for fifteen minutes in the morning. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for having completed it every day no matter what. I am more accepting of myself.
I don’t have to write an award-winning piece every morning. I just have to show up. This has taken a lot of pressure off me.
Thank you for providing a safe arena to explore what is possible. It has really motivated me to keep going.” Julia Atwood
“The Free Write Fling has been a wonderful experience for me.  I wrote every day for 31 days (hooray!), and looked forward each evening to it. The free writes became part of my daily comfort routine.” April Lee
The Free Write Fling starts today. Write daily, starting now.

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Triumph over Editing Despair

On Christmas Eve, I was nestling into bed after a day of play and feasting. While shutting down my computer, I saw the email I’d been waiting weeks for.
My dear friend and editor David Hicks, true to his word, was delivering his comments on my novel before Christmas.

Looking for the light...

I eagerly opened the document. The copious line edits didn’t faze me – I welcome ways to make my prose sing. It was the comments that made this Christmas gift a combination of coal and gold.
In over 300 comments, David pointed out issues both nitty and gritty. Consistency issues, abandoned plot threads, and confusing red herrings were all highlighted.
I quickly shut the document down and ducked toward sleep. Yet the feeling of despair had rooted in, and I spent most of Christmas day in a state of numb weightiness.
Why is revision so difficult?
With every draft past say, draft twelve, I’ve asserted that this was the LAST ONE. With every draft, I was sure I had reached the limit of my persistence. With every draft, I’ve spent at least a year doing the work to make this book not only readable, but excellent.
With a June launch date and plans well under way to get this novel into the world, the last thing I wanted to face was another deep revision.
I spent the last week of 2011 getting my head around this. Trying to shed the weight of the impending work, I turned once again to my coaching skills.
Little problems and big decisions
Sometimes another revision feels like a death sentence!

The thought of hours of wading through David’s comments induced a strong desire to give up and flee. Bleak moments.
But I’ve been here before, and this time I noticed what was below the bleakness: irritation.
I was seeing every comment as a problem to fix. The more comments, the more problems. The more ways I had gotten it wrong and the more work I had to do.
This insight helped me deal with the work ahead. I don’t like problems. I don’t like when things break down or need tending to. Understanding this helped me get a grip.
But dispensing with the little problems, there were now the bigger issues of plot and character. Things I need to think about and change. Make decisions.
Voila two things that I don’t excel at – enjoying solving little problems and making decisions. I can do it, but I don’t like it.
It’s never been more clear to me that how we do something is as important as what we do. I couldn’t do this final revision with this weight on me.
What shifts perspective?
Two things work for me: both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Deadlines and meaning help me triumph over editing despair.
Deadlines   
The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest is here again. The deadline is January 23rd. When I read David’s comments, I suspected I wouldn’t be able to finish the book until the end of February.
An January deadline is just crazy enough to jump-start my challenge value. Can she do it? is the guiding impulse here. I’m driven to expedite this revision, not just with speed but with accuracy – to write well and strongly.
An archetype saves me
Several times during the last week of 2011 the Chariot tarot card appeared for me. The Chariot archetype represents success and forward movement. Cheers to that – the novel moving on and into the world, and me with it.
But further study showed me that the Chariot also points us to manage emotions, using the fiery forces within to move forward, not get overwhelmed and stuck.
I need both of those concepts for myself – control over the emotional maelstrom in writing and a sense of forward movement.
Using this image and energy, I am driving toward a January 23rd deadline. I work every day on the novel. I have accepted most of the line edits and am moving through the comments.
I feel a great sense of purpose and commitment, like I am riding that Chariot, and it’s taking me where I want to go. I relish this, because I earned it.
I am grateful to have found both a perspective and a process that will allow me to do this final, final, final revision.
I am more than halfway through draft 16. At this pace, I think I can make the January 23 deadline.
What about you?
What do you find most difficult about the revision process? 
What perspective and process will you choose to keep going?
Take a second and tell us works for you to keep going in your creative projects.