Every book starts with a blank page

Every author has to make a start and each writer has different experiences of getting their book out of their head and into a manuscript.  Even if you find writing easy, organising and developing a whole book can be daunting.  If you have lots of great ideas, but writing isn’t your thing then it’s probably like looking at climbing Everest in trainers and jeans.

I’m a bit of a systems freak – well, quite a lot of one really!  I love a good process and I’ve created a step-by-step process for getting your book out of your head and into MS format.  The system below is aimed at non-fiction authors.  Fiction is a different animal and, while some of these things will help, it’s a somewhat different process.

Step 1 – Allocate time in your diary

If you are serious about writing a book, then allocate time to work on it.  If you don’t and think you’ll do a bit ‘when you have time’, it will either never happen or will take much, much longer than you thought it would.

Block out time for planning – steps 2-6 – and for writing – step 7.  When you’ve completed steps 2-6 and written the first chapter, you should have an idea of how long a chapter takes to write and can adjust your time allocation to ensure you have allowed enough to finish the book.

Step 2 – Who is it for?

If you know exactly who you’re writing the book for you can keep them in mind while you develop it, so the tone and approach are consistent.

Step 3 – What is your overall goal/purpose for the book?

Another key thing to keep in mind to keep you on track.  

NOTE: I recommend writing both these pieces of information down and pinning them up somewhere you can see them while you write.

Step 4 – Create your chapter plan

This is where you identify what each chapter will be about.  At this stage you’re looking at overall subject, rather than the nitty gritty – that will come next.  

NOTE: I find using mind mapping techniques is a useful way to do this – I do one map for the whole book and then one for each chapter.

Step 5 – Develop your chapter recipe

What is a chapter recipe?  It’s a format that you use for every chapter.  For instance, if you start Chapter 1 with a quotation, then every chapter following should also start with a quotation.  If you have a summary at the end of a chapter, then all chapters should also have this.

Why is this important?  Because your reader will subconsciously ‘learn’ your format in chapter 1 and if chapter 2 looks a lot different, some people will stop ‘to get a coffee’ and never pick the book up again!  Your subconscious is a big fan of familiarity and likes things that follow a pattern.

Step 6 – Develop your chapters’ content

Now you’re getting down to the nitty-gritty!  This is where you map out each chapter:

• List all the things you want to cover in relation to that chapter’s main subject matter
• Find the quotations you want to use
• Develop any anecdotes or case studies you’ll be including
• Research or clarify models, charts, graphs, etc.
• Check sources for data

Step 7 – Write your manuscript

With a clear plan for each chapter, putting it together will be much easier than looking at a blank screen and waiting for inspiration.  Writing will take less time because you know where you’re going, effectively you’re just fleshing out the skeleton plan.

Remember that this is not the end of the process – your manuscript will need editing and, eventually, proof-reading before it goes to be published.  However, you will have scaled the first big obstacle, which means you can celebrate!

Is your website helping your reputation?

Keeping your business website up-to-date is important to preserve potential customers’ perception of your business.  Out-of-date website = outdated services (in their subconscious).

The regular tasks are things like ensuring the links all still work – that’s basic housekeeping, but there’s more to a website than being functional on a basic level.

First – it has to look good.

When a new visitor lands, do they think “This looks smart,” or “Hmmm, it’s a bit dated, I wonder what their service is like?”  

Websites go through trends.  In the early days  it was all left-hand menus and long copy, then it was banner images and more white space, then it moved on to centralised columns and hamburger menus – and that’s just the major evolution, there are subtle changes in fashion year by year.  So which era is your website reflecting?

Second – it has to be easy to understand

Your website is not the place for cryptic copy.  Clear headlines that tell people what they get is essential.  Given the reduced attention span the average visitor has in comparison with even 10 years ago, you need to get your message across FAST. 

Don’t expect people to make an effort to find things out for themselves, if it’s not served up front and centre, they’ll be off to something ‘easier’ that doesn’t strain the brain.

Third – it has to be easy to navigate

The latest ‘fashion’ is for long home pages that allow the user to scroll down (or use the menu to jump down) covering all the key subjects the website offers.  Yes, the home page serves as an ‘index’ with easy access to specific parts of the website, but infinite scrolling pages aren’t always serving you – or your visitor – best.

• Too many different subjects on a page and you’re shooting your SEO in the foot.  
• Some people won’t make the effort to scroll down to find what they’re looking for and will just go if they can’t see it.
• Long pages can take longer to load, especially if they have lots of images.  Slower loading can dislodge impatient visitors!
• If someone is looking for specific items and scrolls past them, it can be hard for them to refind those later – especially if they’ve left the site and come back.  They can’t bookmark how far down the page they were.
• What about if someone wants to get to the footer for contact info or T&Cs (yes, some people do actually read them)  – and they’re on a page with infinite scrolling?  They’ll never find it.

There are places where infinite scrolling works – social media, forums, product lists, etc., and people using a smartphone love being able to just scroll on down – until they can’t carry out a function they want!  

Most business – brochure-style – websites need separate pages for dedicated products or services, which are optimised for that key word or phrase and turn up in search relevant results.

People want a small amount of written information, some useful images to help get the message across and an easy to follow call to action.

Ask a few people who may be potential customers to do a simple usability test – ask them to carry out three or four tasks and ask them how easy it was.  This might be to find out how to buy a particular product, to book an appointment, or to find contact details (phone/address?).

It will help you to tweak your website and ensure you’re keeping the majority of the people who visit your site.

When money is tight

I had a Yorkshire mother – and they can give the Scots a run for their money when it comes to being frugal.  She recycled and reused long before it was a thing and always found ways to make a little go a long way.  

Now we’re in a different age and sustainability is important because if we don’t pay attention our throw-away society will do the environment damage.  But the critical factor today is money.  

Prices are rising – energy, fuel, transport costs – and strikes for more pay have been popping up all over the place as people are desperate to be paid a living wage, not just barely enough to scrape by.  Inflation and interest rates are soaring – it all sounds like doom and gloom for business people.

Of course, your running costs will go up.  Even if you’re a home-based worker you’ll need to keep warm this winter and you need food to survive.  Business costs are going up too as part of this upwards spiral.  So practically, what can you do?

Audit your outgoings

Get a spreadsheet out and list all your business outgoings – monthly and occasional.  Do the same for your personal expenses.  Now you’ll have two figures – one for your business and one for your household.

• What are you paying for that you’re not really using?  Cancel those payments right away!
• What are you paying for and using, but may have a lower cost alternative?  Get on your research and make changes.
• What are you paying for and using, but you could use better?  Take action – even if it takes a little time to get it organised.

Review your income

With your new awareness of what you need for you and your business to survive, your next step is to ensure that income exceeds outgoings.  Logic, but something not everyone checks on regularly.  We’re not talking about the end of year balance sheet (although that can be useful), but a simple monthly check and balance process.

If you’re on a knife edge or not confident you can keep ahead of the game it’s time for action.

Think big

It’s not about expanding by 2-3% - you need to stretch your imagination.  So, for example, if you need £5,000 a month to pay all the business bills AND yourself enough to live on, adding an extra £150 to your income won’t make a massive difference and you’ll probably just do more of the same.  

Add a nought and you’ll need to think differently.  So if you want £50,000 a month – what strategies, plans and tactics will you need to achieve that?

Don’t worry about falling short of your target – as the saying goes ‘aim for the stars and you may reach the moon’.  It’s not about success or failure, it’s about thinking in a different way.

Things change

When was the last time you asked your customers (and potential customers) what they really wanted?  As the economy changes, what people value will change too.  Invite your customers to share their challenges with you so you can ensure that whatever you deliver to them ticks all their boxes.

There may be huge untapped potential you haven’t explored yet.

Also you may find it’s time to discontinue unprofitable products/services.

Even in the luxury market place customers’ expectations change – even when money isn’t an issue.

Think creatively

The secret of a successful business is diversity, flexibility and the ability to see what’s needed and lead the field.

Welcome to YouTube

If you’re thinking of putting video content onto your social media, don’t forget to upload it to YouTube.  

YouTube is often used like a search engine – if you need to know something people are quite likely to search YouTube directly rather than use their search engine.  There is a ton of learning, how tos, archive video that’s been digitalised from pre-internet times and so much more.

Also, because YouTube is owned by Google, content from YouTube usually ranks well on Google too.

What to post

Not everyone is comfortable in front of a camera, but you don’t have to appear in your videos.  You can use a myriad of different tools:

• PowerPoint slides – and you can narrate these and record an MP4 directly from PowerPoint
• Cartoon software like Doodly or Doodlemaker
• A platform like InVideo or Wave to create professional level video – with either backing music or narration
• Selfie video taken on your phone with a quick update

There’s no rule that says videos have to be any particular length.  Some people say keep it short – a couple of minutes – others say it has to be at least 8 minutes, but I think it needs to be as long as you need to get your point across.  I’ve watched some how to tutorials that are an hour or more – but packed with great content.

Do your preparation

You know the cliché 

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Guess what?  It’s true!

Time spent planning your content is worthwhile – even if it’s a few bullet points on a scrap of paper.

You should have a beginning or introduction, a middle and an end, ideally with a call to action.  

• Don’t let your intro become dry, use active language and signpost the big benefits your video will deliver.  
• Ensure there’s some value for the viewer in the middle
• Know what you want people to do when they’ve got to the end and ask them to do that.

Before you upload your video make sure you know what key words you want it to be found for.  Check out answerthepublic.com for your keywords to find out what people are currently searching for around that.  It’s a good strategy to name your video with that key phrase that people are searching for.

You’ll also want to add your key phrase to the file details (right click the file and check out Properties or Details) and ensure your title and key phrase are entered.

This key phrase also needs to be entered in the description when you upload the file to YouTube.

Professionally produced videos are great, but they also cane your marketing budget.  If you’ve got a big launch or something really important then it’s worth the investment, but for everyday video content, play with some of the tools and you’ll soon be able to create good quality videos yourself.