Writing a book is not always an easy process.

You have to be mentally prepared for the road ahead.  Before you start writing your book, you must be focused and confident about your subject matter.

Your creative juices must be flowing. You need to be in the right headspace to accomplish your writing goals.  Writing a book takes strategy and creativity, especially if you want to impact your readers and make a positive difference in their lives.
For this reason, I am sharing five ways to prepare to write your book.

1. Free Your Mind.

The first thing you must do in preparing to write your book is to free your mind. Free your mind of anything that is stressful or burdensome. Writing your book effectively takes purpose and clarity. If something is stressing you and taking up too much mental space, you need to remove it. A clear state of mind is essential to your ability to focus on writing your book. Being mentally ready takes strategic preparation. Maybe taking a brisk walk or jog will help clear your mind. While penning your future bestseller, get into the right headspace so your creativity can flow unrestrained.

2. Declare what you want to happen as a result of writing your book.

There is power in the declaration. Why are you writing this book? Knowing why you are writing this book will keep you focused and intentional at all times, especially when you aren’t racking up book sales.  Knowing your why will fuel your determination to stay on target, to keep marketing while seeking opportunities to share your message with your ideal target audience. State your specific goals and then create a plan of action to accomplish your goals consistently.

3. Remove all distractions.

Sometimes, you may not realize what things are distracting you from finishing your goal. Distractions can be noisy environments; even your family or friends can be a distraction. Some distractions are pleasant, and we don’t realize that they are causing us harm, like browsing social media.

  Although enjoyable at times, browsing social media for an extended period of time can be a big timewaster. You can be drawn in with the recent virtual sensations and rack up hours of unproductive time. That two hours spent scrolling through Instagram could have been used to write or outline your book. So, be very conscious of the things that can distract you from meeting your goals. Be very strategic and put a time limit on your Internet browsing.

  Set up a specific time to write, lock it in your phone and set a daily reminder to write. Quick tip: To limit your social media time, go into your settings on Instagram or Facebook, and set a daily time limit for browsing. When you receive the notification that you’ve spent over 15 minutes browsing, log off social media and work on your book.

4. Put your action plan in writing.

Create an effective timeline to help plan the completion of your book. Evaluate when you will complete your book. Figure out when you will complete the editing phase, book cover graphics and other creative aspects of publishing. Creating an effective timeline and staying on task will help you complete your book with less stress. If you are not sure where to start with your action plan, send me an email at hello@sharhalliburton.com and we’ll create a writing plan together.

5. Discover and embrace your new life.

There is life before the book and life after writing your book. Writing a transformational book can positively impact the lives of your readers. If you can effectively target and market to your ideal audience, writing this book will help you gain influence and credibility regarding your topic.

Writing a book that positively transforms the lives of your audience can pivot you into a position of authority and open up windows of opportunity. Penning your work of art can allow you to educate your target audience while building credibility within your niche. Not only will you stand out as an expert amongst a crowded marketplace, but it will also position and enable you to collaborate with influencers that may have products that align with your brand.

As always, it’s a pleasure to share with you. Please feel free to ask questions about the writing process or publishing your book. I’d be happy to assist you. Hit me up at hello@sharhalliburton.com!

Happy Reading and Writing!

Shar Halliburton