Not-So-Obvious Writing Options

Want to write a book but not sure how to get the job done?

There are different writing options for people who want to see their name on the cover of a book. Being an author doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing to every person.

Some people write a book to express themselves or to tell a story. Others write a book to help people out and to help solve a problem. Still, others write a book to establish credibility for their business or to make money.

There is no right or wrong reason to write a book, and your reason may help you decide how to approach getting your book on the store shelves – both online and off.

I had an idea I couldn’t shake for a helpful kids book.  I wanted to solve a problem!

What is your book writing motivation?

Option #1 Write Your Book Yourself

The first option is to write your book yourself. (actually, this one is pretty obvious!)

There are some pros and cons to this approach. The pros are that you are in 100 percent complete control over every single word in the book. You control the voice, the style, the language and more. And if you have aspirations to create a book and express yourself in a creative manner, then writing it yourself is a powerful way to achieve this goal.  Writing it yourself also costs no money, just your time and effort.  This is an important factor to consider if you indeed have no money.

The downside to writing a book yourself is that it can take time – a lot of time.

If you’re already working full-time and have a busy personal life, it can be tricky to fit in the time to write your book.  There are many ideas out there in internet land for how you can force yourself to write, how to carve out time, how to plan your day so that you write EVERY DAY (try this out), and there are also many books that have been written about writing FASTER! (Love Chris Fox’s books, if you want to check it out)  

If you have the will to write, you will find a way.

Option #2 Pay a Ghostwriter

The second option is to pay someone to write a book for you.

Ghostwriters can take your ideas and notes and write your book for you. (up until a few months ago I didn’t really even realize this was a THING!  How cool is this?!) The pros to this option are that you can get your book to market much faster. After all, a ghostwriter’s job is to write. They don’t have to balance a million other responsibilities. They only have to write your book and they should be able to get a timetable to you so you can prepare your marketing strategy and book launch.

The downside is that the ghostwriter may not be able to write in the same style and voice that you want them to. You may require a few revisions to get the book exactly like you want it to be. If you spend your time finding a good ghostwriter, you will be able to get a better product return. It will obviously cost you money, but you’ll make it back in book sales.  You should also consider the ‘after’ when weighing this decision.  When you are proudly telling people that you are killing it as an author, but then you also tell them you didn’t actually write the book! *awkward*

Option #3 A Combination Approach

Another option is to get help with your book.

Option one,  create a rough draft and hire a ghostwriter to polish it up for you. If you have an assistant you could ask them to do the research and outline for you and you can write the book yourself, or you can dictate the book and ask someone to clean it up for you. You can take after me for my next project, and co-author a book!  

There are a number of ways to get your book written. Decide why you’re writing a book and what your goals are. Then find a book-writing solution that fits your needs and goals.

I’d love to know!

 In a perfect world, how would you approach writing?

If money and time were non-issues, would you write your own work, or get help?  And in the actual world, where time and money ARE issues for most of us, what approach do you think you’ll take?