HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK (PART TWO)
HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK (PART TWO)
Whether you plan to self-publish or seek literary representation via a literary agent, you still need to treat your writing as a business.
Welcome to the 28th issue of The Aim and Soar Life, a weekly Christian personal growth and lifestyle newsletter that provides actionable, relatable, biblically rooted content to help you live abundantly and GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Hey Fam!
Last week, I wrote about how to write your first book because a lot of you reached out to me about the whole process of authoring a book. Although I plan to teach a more in-depth book writing and publishing class in January, I wanted to give those who are interested a jump start. Hopefully, this past week you started writing what might be the next best seller!
SEE YOUR SUCCESS
You’ve chosen a title, you’ve completed an outline, and you’ve started writing. Now what? I mentioned last week that having a title can be instrumental in helping you to stay focused. I also want to let you know that having a visual to remind you of your project can serve as a motivator.
Vision boards are all the rave these days, and for good reason!
Visualizing your dreams and goals is inspiring. Viewing your dreams and goals in color or black and white regularly can be the creative kick you need when you feel frustrated and unmotivated.
1. Choose a “cover image” inspiration for your book
You can Google the sort of image you would like on the cover of your fiction or non-fiction book. There are a lot of free stock images online to choose from. When you are close to finishing your book, you will need to secure a professional graphic artist or book designer to bring your ideas together and design a beautiful cover that will make people pluck your book off the shelves.
Your book cover is such an important part of the book publishing process that you don’t want to try and do it yourself. The image you choose now is for the purpose of reminding you of the goal at hand: you want to write and publish a book. Place the image in a place where you will see it every day—a few times a day if possible. Just like a vision board, your cover inspiration image will be a concrete reminder of what you are working to accomplish.
2. Mind Your Business
If you are writing, you are already a writer. Take your writing seriously and mind your business by establishing an LLC. Whether you plan to self-publish or seek literary representation via a literary agent, you still need to treat your writing as a business. When you begin to hire professionals to provide book coaching, edit your writing or design your covers, you need to be able to write those expenses off on your taxes.
You can’t do that if you don’t have an LLC established. And trust me, it can become very expensive—especially if you decide to self-publish. In that case, you will be responsible for all the heavy lifting (cover design, editing, marketing, etc.). You need all the tax breaks you can get.
3. Mind Your Money
Once you have established an LLC in your state, you can then secure a tax ID/EIN number from the federal government. This is necessary to open a bank account (that you will certainly need for all your royalties!). You need to have an account separate from your personal bank account so you can properly maintain your financial records. You can get a tax ID number for FREE. Don’t be fooled by scams. You don’t have to pay any money.
STAY FOCUSED
I’ve given you enough homework 😂to get you started! It is not my intention to overwhelm you but to make sure you have the tools you need to get started on the right path. Remember, you must write! You must make it a priority. You must be consistent.
If you need help, search for a writing coach to give you the assistance that you need. Don’t worry about naysayers and those with negative opinions about your dreams! Keep moving forward. Keep visualizing yourself at book signings, on talk shows, and most importantly, see yourself doing the work God has called you to do!
Happy Writing!
Meet on the web:
email: sherrhonda@sherrhondadenice.com
Until Next Time,
GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Sherrhonda😍