Write Your Book: 7 Steps and 7 Secrets for Finishing Your Nonfiction Book Sooner Rather Than Later

by Pete Nikolai, Amelia Nikolai

Have you started writing a nonfiction book that you are struggling to finish? Do you have an idea for a book but don't know how to get started? Now you can start and finish your book sooner rather than later following an easy 7 step process that forms the foundation for the way most nonfiction books are written. This insider's guide starts by helping you find the time to write your book and then walks you through creating your proposal, developing your writing plan, and writing your first draft. Along the way you'll determine when you could finish your book based on your personal writing output and the time you have available to write. You'll also discover the 7 secrets to finishing your book sooner rather than later including how to transform your dreams into your vision and how to establish the goals and action steps needed to make your vision a reality. Writing a book is similar to taking a journey. Having a plan and putting in the necessary time gets you from where you are to where you want to be. This book takes you step-by-step through the process of developing your plan and following through to write your book sooner rather than later. If you're ready to finish your book and to begin to see the impact it has in the lives of others then read this quick guide and take the steps to make it happen!

Genres: Writing

108 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2014

About the author

Pete Nikolai has been in the book publishing business for over 25 years, working in a variety of roles including sales, product development, and management for Thomas Nelson Publishers (a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing). He is the Publisher of WestBow Press, the self-publishing services division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, which he has managed since overseeing its launch in 2009.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Succinct and useful.

[Marc Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been written as a no nonsense guide to writing and completing a non fiction book. I received it in a Goodreads First reads draw. I entered the draw as I am currently developing my writing and editing skills.

I work as a teacher and lecturer, currently write a blog and after some struggle have recently passed my M.A. dissertation, but still find that I can delay and prevaricate before publishing my blog posts.

This book follows the processing of writing from beginning to end. It starts off looking at what stops most writers writing, whether it be usual distractions such as T.V. or internet browsing to having a perfectionist streak which prevents you putting anything on paper. This latter point is very common as I have found out when my students put off submitting their essays to me.

The book cuts out all superfluous information, anecdotes and focuses on what is needed to get the job done. It looks at the best ways to write the first draft without worrying too much about editing, that comes in the second draft. It looks at how to assess your target audience, how to make sure your material is unique and addresses areas in the market that are not yet covered, how to structure your work and how to approach editing (vitally important, as I found out to my cost when having to resubmit my dissertation).

The workbook is simple, easy to read and understand, providing exercises to help you develop more clarity about your work and to schedule your tasks. The book encourages you to focus on your current task in hand and not to read ahead until the current task has been completed. Writers are often known to be notorious perfectionists who constantly go back and 'improve' chapters. One technique publishers use is to set deadlines to submit chapters and not allow any more changes. This gets the job done.

This book follows similar principles, it is solution-focused in its approach, namely, anticipating the obstacles and developing solutions to these rather than dwelling on the problems. I am pleased to now have this book as a companion for my writing. I have a friend who has just been commissioned to write his second book and will show it to him as I think it would be useful even though he has already been through the process.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Write Your Book:7 Steps and 7 Secrets for Finishing Your Nonfiction Book Sooner Rather Than Later by Pete Nikolai is a short simple guide for the novice author. The book is a mix of motivational, organizational and structural tips. It also is part workbook in that there are over 50 questions scattered through the book with spaces for written answers. The questions force you to think about your audience, the marketability of your book, your productivity, and help you work through setting goals.

As the title says, the book is focused on helping you finish your book. If you're looking for a book that will also help you publish your book, you won't find it here. But I believe the novice author who is struggling to find the time, energy and devotion to finish their book will benefit from the way the book makes you think about the writing process and the motivation aspects of the book.

One further aspect of the book that I was impressed with was that the author is donating all royalties from the book's 2015 sales to the Reading is Fundamental children's literacy nonprofit organization.

[J.V. Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be encouraging, inspirational, and with good sound advice. I enjoyed the questions. They really make you think about staying organized and on task. A super helpful read for the writer struggling to finish their book, but also helpful for those who are more organized.