10 Powerful Tips To Help You Write A Book When You Don’t Have Time
Everyone is busy with life. I don’t know about you, but in my life there is always something going on. Most people are either working (sometimes two or more jobs), dealing with family, and doing all the other things that are required to live normally.
We all have things to do, every day. Some of them are necessary, such as working. .Some just happen, as in accidents and getting sick. Others are avoidable. Some are merely excuses to keep from doing what we need to be doing.
Regardless, our time is always limited by 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. It’s impossible to literally make more time. But we can make the time we have more productive.
Many executives want to write a book.They understand that a published book about their expertise, unique story and value proposition will help them market themselves and their businesses. But they have companies to run and no time for writing.
I’m sure you heard many people say they’re working on a novel; in fact, they’ve been writing on and off for years or even decades. Most of them will never finish.
Given that writing a book is hard work and takes an immense amount of time, how can you get one done yet still work a job, have a family life, and maybe even go on vacation once in a while?
How can you write a book when you don’t have time?
If you can carve out some time to write, begin by following the tips below. If you can’t find any time, then proceed directly to step 10.
1. Block Out Your Time
It’s difficult to finish anything that is not treated seriously. Writing a book is no exception. You can’t work your job whenever you feel like it or between TV shows, can you? Treat your book the same way.
Block out time every day or on particular days to write. Let the family know this is writing time and stress they are to leave you alone. Be respectful but firm. They’ll eventually get the idea.
2. Outline Your Book
Some people sit down and just start writing. Occasionally this works out, but usually it’s a recipe for disaster. Using this method, you wind up writing yourself into a corner and then have to do massive rewrites to get you (and your characters) out of the hole that you’ve dug.
Instead, at least take the time to put together an outline of the major plot points in the order they occur in your book. This provides you with a blueprint for the remainder of the writing effort.
3. Write to Milestones
Milestones are tools used to mark points along your book project timeline. You might set a milestone to create an outline, then one per chapter, for example. These serve as specific goals to be met. By setting and achieving milestones, you set the tempo and pace for your writing.
4. Create a Mind Map
Mind maps help you visually represent your plot ideas and how they connect together. These can be complex or simple; it’s entirely up to you. Just express your ideas visually and connect them together in ways that make sense. This lets you pack a large amount of information into a small visual space.
How do you create mind maps? You can use any of the large variety of tools available on the internet (free and paid) if you want. I prefer to use a large piece of paper (poster size) and colored pencils. Others use crayons.
Keep it simple. Just sit down and draw out your plot points, using one or two words per box. Include whatever is on your mind, no matter how silly. Let the creativity run loose. Use your mind map to work out characters, the plot, interactions between characters, travel, and whatever else is needed.
5. Create a Comfortable Writing Environment
Create the perfect writing environment,You’d be amazed at how much a poor environment can get in the way of writing.
Set the desk and chair to the right height. The wrong heights can cause back problems and make it uncomfortable to write.
Use a quality, fast computer or tablet if you can. Make sure you keep regular backups. I recommend an online backup service called Backblaze that keeps copies of your files securely in the cloud.
Write in a good environment for you. Some people like to sit outdoors, others like to write in a room. Find the perfect writing space for you.
Surround yourself with things that make you feel good. I like the look and feel of books, so my writing space is surrounded by bookshelves. Whatever makes you feel like writing is good.
I like to write in perfect silence. Others prefer music or some other noise in the background. Set the sound to what works for you.
6. Turn Off The Phone and Social Media
Nothing breaks the writing mood like an interrupting phone call or text. Turn off the phone! You can check messages and voicemail later, after you are done writing.
While writing, stay away from the black hole of social media. You can’t get any writing done if you are looking at pictures, liking videos, and responding to tweets.
7. Do Not Multi-Task
Multitasking is when you attempt to do more than one thing at the same time.
For instance, the mail delivery person sorts the mail and inserts the envelops into the boxes for all the apartments in the complex. While he is doing so, he’s on the phone with contractors and others for his real estate business. This is multitasking.
In general, multitasking decreases overall productivity. it may seem like you are getting more done, but most likely all the tasks are being done poorly.
When writing, it’s vital to focus on a single task – your writing – at a time. Don’t multitask.
8. Get a Collaborator
Find someone to work on the book with you. Collaborating can motivate you to maintain your progress. It can also be quite fun from a social point of view.
9. Get an Accountability Partner
Make yourself accountable for your progress to a friend or partner. Set milestones with them, then ask them to nag you about achieving those goals.
10. Hire a Ghostwriter
These tips are all fine and dandy, but how do you write a book when you don’t have time? I mean, any time at all.
Busy executives and business people often know that a book is a great way to promote themselves. But usually they are just too busy to sit down and write it. Sometimes they’ve written some rough notes or an outline, but there are only so many hours in the day, and their focus is rightly on their business and career.
When I come across these executives, they’ll commonly ask how I can write them a book if their availability is low to virtually non-existent. After all, don’t they need to be interviewed and be involved in the process? Doesn’t that take time that they simply don’t have available?
A ghostwriter is the answer. Hire a ghost to write your book for you. You’ll still need to find time to do interviews and review the manuscript, but the amount of time can be greatly reduced. If you don’t have the time to write a book, a ghostwriter gives you the book without spending the immense amount of time it normally takes.
How I Write a Book When You Don’t Have The Time
My role as a ghostwriter is to write books, blogs and other written materials for someone else. I am never the knowledge expert, and sometimes, when I begin the project, I don’t know anything at all about the topic. This is normal for all ghostwriters.
When the project begins, I need to perform at least a minimal series of interviews to come to an understanding with the client about the topic, style, length, outline and so forth.
From there, I can do research and write the book, sending the client a chapter (or article in the case of a blog series) at a time to review. Their review is needed for subject matter and style. Does the chapter say what it needs to say? Is anything missing? Does anything need to be expanded or removed? Is the information correct?
Clients can generally review a chapter in one to three hours. An additional hour may optionally be needed to discuss the content.
My normal target is to complete one chapter, reviews, revisions and all, per month. Sometimes a client wants a book completed more quickly, in which case the target is two chapters per month.
Thus, one to four hours per month is about the minimum effort needed from the client to keep the project moving. In some cases, clients can delegate these reviews to other members of their staff, reducing their direct involvement even more.
At the other extreme, occasionally a client wants to be much more involved – from more interviews all the way to almost a collaborative process with daily working sessions.
The working relationship can (and often does) evolve over time. We may begin with daily collaborations then move towards less involvement from the client as their time becomes needed elsewhere.
Limited time is exactly the reason why most people hire ghostwriters. Don’t let your overflowing schedule stop you from accomplishing your goal of creating a book! The job of a ghostwriter is to take this task from you and get it done and to create the best possible book to meet your requirements.
Richard is the Owner and Senior Writer for The Writing King, a bestselling author, and ghostwriter. He’s written and published 63 books, ghostwritten 40+ books, as well as hundreds of blog articles.
