I just finished listening to the last of the author interviews on Chandler Bolt’s Self Publishing Summit, but I missed one of them. They were very well done and he asked each author why and how they wrote their first book, what happened after they did and what advice they would give someone wanting to publish a first book. Some of the authors had already been in businesses and the book they published came from what they were already talking and teaching and for others it led to speaking and coaching gigs. There was some advice they all gave and it was about creating a platform, “getting yourself known.” They all shared about how they generated followers through social media and grew email contacts. And they all said to the person thinking of publishing a book, “just do it.”
They shared their own personal struggles with self-discipline and how they discovered methods that worked for them. Some suggested getting up early and devoting the first hour of the day to writing. Some blocked out a day or two of the week to spend on writing. Some dictated what they wanted to say and had it typed and transcribed but did their own editing. Some had someone else edit their first efforts and checked it to be sure they agreed. Some worked with co-authors and each wrote a section. A couple mentioned writing in hotel rooms, one who travels a lot writes on planes and one women goes on cruises and confines herself to the cabin through the cruise to do her writing. It helped to focus in a different environment without the usual distractions they face.
I read a book in which the author says we get inspired when we are moving and I have found that to be true many times for me. I frequently get ideas while I am riding buses or trains. As for setting a schedule for my writing, I am not very successful with that. I often write late a night or very early in the morning, like I am doing now, but getting up early can generate ideas too even though I mostly write about what I would like to get done in the day, or what my scheduled activities are, or what I thought about the day before and do not spend it on what I consider “creative” writing. Often though I come up with a thought I will underline as something to go deeper into or use in something I am working on.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE! 