This is the second in a three-part series on the questions to ask before you begin writing your book. The first post in the series (covering Questions 1-3) can be found here.
Now, on to the questions … starting with Question 4:
4. Why me?
Why are you the perfect person to write this book? What are your credentials and qualifications? Books are a great way of promoting your credibility, true … but only if you have the knowledge, experience, and expertise to back it up! A general rule of thumb: you are most credible when you talk about something you know inside-out and backwards.
5. What’s my point?
You need to go beyond “I want to write a book” to “I want to write a book about THIS.” Whatever “this” is should be something you are passionate about, something that is compelling to your target market, something that meets a need, something that is different in some way from similar material already on the market. Consider writing an elevator speech for your book: what would you say to people to tell them what your book is about and why they should read it?
6. Am I willing to put in the time?
Books take time. I know there are “write a book in a weekend” and “the secret to breezing through your first book” seminars touted all over the web. I’ve written many books – spanning everything from a short 40-page ebook to a 400-page novel. Trust me: writing a book takes time. It takes time whether you write it yourself or hire a ghostwriter (since you’ll need to provide the ghostwriter with all the content, and read and edit the manuscript). So ask yourself: Am I willing to put in the time? If I want to write it myself, how good a writer am I? How fast do I produce quality material? How much time am I willing to commit? Will I put aside concentrated time to write my book, or do a little bit every day, or write when I have a spare hour?
Stay tuned … final questions to come in Part 3!
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