Have you ever wanted to write a book? I started writing my first book when I was in 8th grade. It was a murder mystery. I got to chapter seven and then gave up because it was taking too long. That book never saw the light of day.

The second book I tried writing was around 2005. I was working as a Property Manager and worked 40 hours a week. The job really only took 25 to 30 hours a week, leaving me with 10 hours to twiddle my thumbs and hope the phone rang so I can answer questions. That left a ton of time on my hands. So I started writing my second book. It was going to be called “The Road Less Traveled.” I barely wrote a chapter. I spent most of my time trying to see myself through the eyes of my friends growing up so I interviewed them to gain perspective.I wasn’t exactly thrilled at what I found. And I certainly didn’t know myself well enough back then – I clearly needed to dive into personal development so I could get comfortable with my own thoughts so I COULD actually write. Because the truth is this: I was so afraid of what others would think of me, that I couldn’t follow through on the writing. Or even coming up with a concept to write about.I self-published my first actual book in 2011.How did I go from being afraid of what others would think in 2005 to writing my book, publishing it, and selling it in 2011? It took a ton of personal growth and development.People come up to me all the time and tell me they want to write a book. I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve heard say that. Or they say something like, “People always tell me I should write a book because I have so much life wisdom.”Writing a book is hard. And, no offense, but I typically don’t believe people when they say they want to write a book one day because the reality of writing it is harder than the romanticized idea of it. And the majority of people do not have the discipline to follow through.Now, that statement probably just turned a bunch of you off and made you feel like you can’t succeed so why even try. But for those of you that got CHALLENGED by that statement, hang on. This episode is for YOU: the one that really really really does want to write a book and is finally ready to start.There’s a difference between WANTING to write a book some day and already working on writing a book. Today’s episode is going to be a raw, no BS guide to what it takes to actually WRITE your first book. Not how to publish it. Now how to market it. Now how to design the cover and get people excited about it. No. How to write it. Because if you do all the other things but never actually write the content, you will fail. You will be living in a fantasy only. So I’m going to give you some tips to help you WRITE your first book, and some pitfalls to watch out for that will trick you into thinking you are writing, when you are actually…not.

TIPS TO HELP YOU WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK:

1. Journal daily.

Writers, write. Every day. And journaling is how you start. If you want to write a book about the lessons you’ve learned in life, you’ve got to get real with yourself and write it all in your journal first. You will never write a book if you can’t process your own thoughts and feelings.

2. Start a blog.

This helps you put content out there that connects with your potential audience. It gives you a chance to practice being judged by readers (you’ve got to grow a thick skin if you’re going to write a book), but it also helps you learn what your readers want to know.

3. Read a TON of books!

All kinds. Non-fiction. Fiction.