Five Tips To Writing Your First Book in 2022
Perhaps 2021 wasn’t your year of choice. Pandemic-induced woes and a general global mood of soberness may not have given you the needed boost to make your mark. But with the glad passing of the old comes the expectation of the new. And this New Year holds the promise of finally taking one of life’s big steps. If it’s not getting married, retiring, having a child or climbing Mount Everest, then maybe it is the next logical thing: authoring your first book.
I didn’t start the last year with that expectation, admittedly. Yet somewhere towards the first quarter of 2021, the stars aligned to give me the opportunity to put fingers to keyboard to draft my own labor of love. Going through the rigors of drafting, editing, publishing and launching a book was not easy by any means, but I definitely derived both satisfaction and education through the process. With luck from above, we managed to have my book on career development published just before the year end and in time for those looking for advice for switching paths.
Rather than let these hard-learned lessons just float away, I would like to share with you some pertinent tips to those looking to make 2022 the year they can attach ‘author’ to their self-descriptions.
- Don’t Wait Too Long to Start Writing
The classic paralysis-by-analysis applies especially so to writers. Some would-be authors allow their ideas to stew in their minds so long that the notion of even approaching a keyboard to jot them down secretly terrifies them. Structuring your outline of your book makes sense, but even that requires you to get out of your comfort zone and begin to type.
Start writing your outline and then your draft. Make it a daily commitment. Don’t overthink and allow your mind to trick you into distraction. You will only begin to chip away at the enormity of the writing task through regular application. There will be plenty of headaches and heartaches like chopping your favorite bits and redrafting key sections to come later. But sometimes just starting is the hardest step.
I reserved the earliest part of my mornings normally for my own writing process. At times, I would literally have to force myself and write. I picked the morning as I figured I would less excuses to not do the work compared to later in the day.
2. Find a Book Companion
Writing a book can be a lonely business, but it doesn’t have to be. Realize that writing your first book in complete isolation requires deep reservoirs of self-motivation that can easily run out at the first obstacle. So reach out to a trusted other who can be the necessary guide/confidant/cheerleader in your writing process.
In my own case, I was fortunate that my first book project was a co-authorship, and the positive rapport built with my fellow author buoyed us through every writing challenge we faced. But even if you are flying solo, have someone whose opinion you trust be a sounding board on your ideas and if possible review and edits sections of your unfinished book for honest feedback.
3. Be (Somewhat) Mindful of Timelines
Life often has its own timelines outside of our self-imposed ones. It isn’t easy to gauge the length and breadth of the task of writing 30,000 or more words for a first-time author. Even for those writers for whom words flow from their fingertips like water from a fountain, there will be days when the spout runs dry, or when other pressing life matters call our attention.
This doesn’t mean that timelines are useless. You may impose external ones, such as committing to submitting a draft to a publisher by a certain date. Or it can be internal. But keeping a realistic timeline of a matter of months for the writing, editing and publishing is important to not allow you to abandon the project once the initial enthusiasm of writing wears off.
My own manuscript took roughly four months to complete, and I was initially happy at finishing this earlier than I had originally scheduled. Yet with the editing, cover design and self-publishing procedures we had to tackle later, it turned out that we were just able to squeeze the book launch before the end of the year, far exceeding the time I initially thought it would take.
4. Familiarize Yourself with the Publishing Process
I can’t recommend one way or the other when it comes to self-publishing or going through a standard book publisher. There are positives and drawbacks to both but it really depends on your personal context and the aim of the book. How much is the profit and royalty percentage a factor in you deciding to write? How much creative control do you wish to keep? Do you have time to source your own editors and designers if you wish to do it by yourself? Can you handle your own promotion and distribution?
What I suggest is to start early to understand publishing expectations as you are drafting the book. Not that it will necessarily change your content, but it may be helpful to open doors early to distribution options and at the very least to apprise relevant parties that your book is in the pipeline and of potential interest. While certain steps can only wait until a finished manuscript, there are plenty of advantages in being ahead of the curve. We learned the hard way that finding the right distribution option takes time, especially in a pandemic environment when printers may be shut down.
5. Embrace Criticism
As much as we dream of only glowing reviews and pure confetti after our book launch, realistically there will be shortcomings in our first try. Which is completely fine. Pithy and flimsy bits of praise are not worth as much as targeted criticism from readers who go through the content seriously. The latter shows a level of respect for our authorship compared to casual comments about our books.
We will always be somewhat sensitive to external voices picking at our most cherished ideas, but if we wanted no negativity, we wouldn’t have started on a book-writing journey in the first place. Accept that criticism or even indifference is part of the deal, but if you approach your readers with honest receptivity, your gains from being an author will be manifold.
Let 2022 be the year then when you can see your name on a cover and share your heart’s content!
