You may have more than one book in you. If so, choosing which one to write first can be challenging. This choice is something you will have to decide for yourself based on a number of factors:
- Your hopes/dreams for monetizing your book.
- The type of book you are writing and its length.
- How your book fits into your business or career goals.
- Whether an agent or publisher has expressed interest in your book.
- Your gut feeling, or instinct, about which book you want to write first.
Do a free-write to get deeper into the answer about which book you should write first. I always suggest free-writing as a way to get clarity for yourself. It’s amazing how much more insight can come through free-writing as opposed to just thinking or talking through the issues.
There are many types of books you can write. Your book might be a blend of your own stories and some guidance. In her book Soulful Simplicity, Courtney Carver shares both her personal journey and specific guidance on how we can simplify our lives for more satisfaction. Her tagline and Instagram account are called “Be More with Less,” and that’s the basic promise of her book. We all want to be more, right? But how to do it with less stuff and less activity, that’s new.
In Your Story Is Your Power by Elle Luna and Susie Herrick, the authors help the reader excavate their stories and live in new, empowering ways as a result of knowing and owning their stories. The exercises in the book are fabulous, and the stories the authors tell to accompany the exercises help make them sticky. While the book isn’t personal essays or memoirs per se, a little bit of this kind of writing blended throughout makes the book more powerful. The colorful illustrations add a lot to the book as well.
It may take time to choose which book is first. This is something only you can decide. Use your intuition and your instincts alongside your intellect to choose the book to dive into first.
Inquiry
What book will you start with and what makes that a good choice for you?
This is an excerpt from my book, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. If you’re ready to write your book and want support along the way, this is the guide for you. Available wherever books are sold in paperback, e-book and audio book. Get your copy now.
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