“Are you sitting down?” asked my agent.

“Oh good grief, just tell me,” I said, not only not sitting down, but breaking out in goosebumps and hating the sound of my cracking voice. And when had I started wringing my hands?

My scream of triumph just about shattered the library. I didn’t care. I couldn’t. Gotham Books had purchased my book. They’d publish it in 2013.

At that point I had written five chapters in order to sell the memoir. I would only need to write eight more to be done. I laughed when they told me they would give me a year to do it. I had enjoyed the process so much I thought I could probably deliver it a week later if they asked.

And so it was that after calling everyone I knew, I went into the land of literary bliss. The life of the Author, finally with a capital A.

Oh, how I would love to write “The End” after that sentence.

Fast forward to March of 2012 and a conversation with my editor. She had just returned from instructing a gaggle of writers at a workshop. “Do you have any questions about anything?” she asked before we hung up.

“Yes,” I said. “What do you tell your authors when they are suddenly, oppressively, sick of what they’re writing and what they’re writing about?”

“So you’re sick of yourself?” she asked, laughing.

“Yes!” That was exactly right. “Of myself, and of the book, and of writing.”

“That,” she said, “is when you know you’re a writer. Everyone – and I mean everyone, editors and authors alike – hits that wall at least once. Some people hit it on every single page! And memoirists seem particularly susceptible to it. You’ve earned the right to hit it. You’ve been at it for a long time.”

That made me feel better. It didn’t make the writing any easier, however. It was specifically one chapter that had me all stymied and sweaty.

Up to that point the writing and even the revising with my editor had gone easily. Then this chapter… 241 pages in, and wham!

I hit my writing wall.

The subject matter of the chapter was difficult – I didn’t want to focus on it – but that wasn’t anything new. Even the most emotionally challenging parts of the book had flown by without much effort, at the great pace of about 30 minutes a day.

But now I didn’t want to write. And when I did write, it was dreary and took way more energy than made sense.

This was something new to me. I love writing. I look forward to it every day. There is nothing worse than having the joy sucked out of something you love.

Here are a few things I’ve learned from hitting that wall:

• If this has happened to you, don’t be too hard on yourself. It doesn’t mean that what you’re doing isn’t worthwhile or that you’re a crappy writer or that you’re an ungrateful buffoon. It means that marathons aren’t easy, and you’re crazy to expect projects of great length to be easy every step of the way.

• If I hadn’t been under contract, I probably would have just tried to wait it out. I would have focused on the blog, a journal, or the short stories I’m always messing with. But I couldn’t.

• If you try to wait it out, set yourself a date: I will try again on this date. It’s too easy for days to become weeks and months.

• Just because the writing feels hard doesn’t mean you’re not doing a good job. I look back at pages I wrote when I was miserable, and they’re some of my favorite parts of the book. If I didn’t know better, I’d have no idea which pages I wrote under duress and which were a breeze.

• My editor would tell you that my humor and lively style are the strongest parts of my writing. I have no idea if she’s right, but I know there’s nothing harder to do than sit down and try to be lively and funny when you feel like crap and don’t want to write. But it’s possible.

• On that note, just showing up to write every day has been way more useful to me than any talent I naturally have or have cultivated on my own.

• In the beginning I was committed to a word count of 1000 words each day, no matter what. It worked until the wall happened. I’ve made my peace with it. I touch the work every day, but that touch might mean a flurry of 3000 words or it might mean that I revise a page or trim the fat off of a paragraph.

• It’s never going to be perfect. If my editor signs off, I stop when the mysteries of a chapter no longer sustain me. If I’ve answered all of my own questions about the material, at that point I’m just moving stuff around.

• If I can’t make the pages I’m writing cohere, I’ve started thinking about the process as simply “collecting pages.” I’ll figure out if they go together later. Or I’ll beg my editor to do it.

• It takes me about 20 pages of writing to find 10 that are salvageable. I’ve had to make my peace with this. I will probably write nearly 800 pages to get the 350 page book. If I try to make it too perfect as I go, I freeze up and overthink.

• I can write on anything. My phone, laptop, pen and paper, or an iPad. The available tool never gets to be the excuse for not producing. I could write a book with a crayon in my mouth if I wanted it bad enough.

• I’m very happy that I don’t have to write a book with a crayon in my mouth. I prefer to work on a laptop.

Here’s the answer to just about every question about writing, whether it’s writing a book under contract or trying to grow a blog:

Keep writing.

Keep writing whether you enjoy it or not. You’ll get better at it.

Eventually, the paragraphs will add up to pages. You’ll eventually have at least a book-length mess to work with.

Hitting the wall can teach you how serious you are about writing.There’s always a way to knock it down or sneak around it.

Now then, ask questions if you’ve got ‘em. If I can answer them, I will. If I can’t, I won’t pretend I can.

James, it’s always fun to be here, thank you.

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Post by Josh Hanagarne

To his constant befuddlement, Josh Hanagarne is an increasingly in-demand speaker and writer. His extremely strange memoir The World’s Strongest Librarian will be published by Gotham Books in 2013. He runs an online book club that’s picking up about 50 members a day. You can always ask him questions over on the blog or on Twitter.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
What to Do When You Hit Your Writing Wall first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

People often ask me this question, and it makes me grin every time:

“James, exactly how do you manage to write such massive quantities? Is there some magic switch we can flick on to write lots of articles?”

Now, sometimes I answer it’s jet-fuel-strength coffee that’s so black, it’s like ink. But the truth is that it’s not the coffee (though that helps) and it’s not a magic switch at all.

Then again, maybe it is…

A writing routine – a clear, set pattern of familiar, habitual activities – trains your brain to write on demand. When the routine begins, your brain perks and recognizes that this is the usual pattern of steps that lead to an outcome.

What’s the outcome? Train your brain right, and it’ll be industrial quantities of well-written words.

Robert Cialdini, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing (wow!), is famous for his book Influence (and if you don’t have a copy, get one now). In it, Cialdini explains a cool psychological response he refer to as “click – whirr!”

Our brains have built-in, automatic responses to fixed-action patterns activated by trigger features. That means if something triggers our pattern, we run through a sequence of behaviours as predictable as snow in the Arctic.

It’s like hitting a “play” button on a DVD. The movie plays out. You rewind it, hit play, and the movie plays out again. Rewind, hit play… you get the picture. Same movie, same ending, every single time. All you need to do is hit “play” – your trigger.

So if you’ve built a pattern of actions, you’re golden. Hit the trigger, run through them and the scenes unfold until you reach the end: you, writing.

Here’s an example: Every day, I follow the same, fixed routine. I wake up. I grab a cup of coffee. I sit at the kitchen island and read my email. I wake up my daughter and get her ready for school – iCarly, cereal, clothes, prepare her lunch, brush her hair, walk her to the bus stop.  I walk back, breathing deep, feeling grateful and thinking only about the writing task I’ve chosen to work on when I arrive home.

I refill my coffee, sit down and – “click!-whirr” – hit the keyboard.

This routine never changes. It’s the same, constant, predictable routine that happens every single day of my life (except weekends, of course). And if something happens that disrupts my routine? No coffee? We drive to the bus stop instead of walking? I get distracted by a call when I come home?

My “click-whirr!” response fails, like a record jostled nastily off the song. Scrrriiiitch!!  I have trouble writing, I can’t think easily, and my mind’s a useless sludge.

That’s where the game would usually be over, but luckily, I have a second “click-whirr!” routine I can set off to get back on track. I take a 30 minute break to dissociate from the mental sludge, trigger the new routine and soon I’m back to writing on demand. (And today I wrote 8,000 words – not counting client emails!)

So what’s your writing routine? Can you map it out as clearly as I did, step-by-tiny-step? Can you reinforce it? Make it more constant?

Or maybe you don’t have a writing routine established yet… no wonder you have trouble writing when you finally sit down!

Start building your habitual writing routine today. Get into the habit of a set pattern of predictable activities that never change and that end with you writing. And guard your routine fiercely. Let nothing and no one disrupt it.

Soon you’ll be able to “click-whirr!” with the best…and write on demand, in massive, effortless quantities.

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
How to Write Massive Quantities on Demand first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Get a pen ready. You’ll want to write this one down.

You’re writing a masterpiece. It’s going to be the best thing written, ever, by anyone. It’ll be epic and entirely original. Every sentence will flow with wit, while being as tight and crisp as the prose of Hemingway.

If world-shattering wasn’t a cliché, that’s what this writing would be.

“Eat this, Willy Shakespeare,” you’ll say when you’ve finished.

Every publisher will want a piece of you. You won’t have to do any marketing besides sending your finished piece to the first agent listed in Writer’s Digest, who will instantly recognize your genius.

You accept that a few publishers might reject you. This is the cross any good writer must bear, and it’s only fair. The first Harry Potter book was rejected 9 times before being published  Watership Down notched up 26 rejections. Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie, took 30 rejections before hitting shelves.

But your writing? That book will be an instant, worldwide hit. Bookstores will be looted because of the words you’ve written.  You’ll need to open a bank account in Switzerland to cope with your newfound wealth. And you’ll need to flee to your European mansion to escape the media frenzy and find some peace.

The only trouble is that you haven’t written a single word. You’re a blocked genius.

The masterpiece is still in your head. You’re keeping it there in pristine condition. You haven’t yet wanted to dirty it with pen and ink, or word processors and typos.

One day you will.

You wish you could do it today. But you can’t.

Want the solution? Brace yourself; it’s only two words. And grab your pen to write it down.

Here it comes…

Stop it!

I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably not a genius. And if you are, you won’t become one by writing a masterpiece.

Write an article for a magazine. Write fiction. Write publicity materials for your two jaded clown-friends and their bankrupt Russian circus.

But please, put the masterpiece to bed.

Don’t try to write a tour de force.  Write an excellent, publishable article. Write horror fiction that gives you nightmares.  Write publicity materials so good that the two clowns become a sell-out act and can afford to employ a knife thrower, a fire eater, an acrobat, a juggler and a trapeze artist.

Forget the masterpiece. There’s no need to be amazing, unique or original. Just use what works.

Remember, Dickens didn’t write masterpieces. He wrote serialized fiction to entertain the masses. Dostoevsky didn’t write to get rich.  He wrote to pay off his gambling debts. And the Bronte sisters? They wrote because they just liked telling stories.

So stop it. And just go write something you enjoy, and write it well.

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Post by David Masters

David is a digital writer, storyteller, vagabond and dreamer based in Swansea, Wales. He traveled the world hunting for a damn good story and discovered brilliant stories are everywhere. To brighten your day with more storytelling goodness you can (and should) follow David on Twitter.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
The 2-Word Solution for Every Blocked-up Genius first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Let’s talk about your blog.

I know. It’s a painful topic for many of you. You don’t know what to write, you don’t feel confident about what you DO write, and frankly, you’d rather not be blogging at all. It’s nerve-wracking, stressful and not as much fun as you thought it would be when you started it. You’re behind on your blogging schedule… and it’s been a while since you’ve written a post.

It’s been even longer since you’ve actually ENJOYED writing a post.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Writing a blog post shouldn’t take days. It shouldn’t be stressful. And there are fun, easy writing techniques that can help you feel inspired, motivated and even electrified to blog.

One good blog post? It can bring in serious business results: More sales. More customers. More sign-ups.

That is… if you’re actually writing those posts.

Now, the Damn Fine Words writing course gives you plenty of writing techniques that help turn you into that confident writer. They’re insider secrets that probloggers like me use all the time – and we’ve been using them for years.

But today, I want to take a few quick tips from course lessons and share them with you, because I want to help you get back to stress-free, electrified blogging. Try these:

Capture your ideas. Many people have great ideas… and they don’t jot them down. They blame the idea for coming to them at the worst time, like when they’re in the shower or driving their car and nowhere near a computer.

15 minutes later? That idea is gone. Forgotten. Wasted.

Don’t be that way. Don’t make shower excuses. Use technology to your benefit: record a quick voice memo on your smartphone. Write yourself a text message or an email. Grab a pen and scribble your idea on the back of a receipt.

Yes, even if you’re all wet and dripping water on the floor.

Then when you have time, settle into your writing routine – the one you’ve built to train your brain so that it gets ready to write on demand.

Wait. You do have this routine established, right? You’re not coming to your writing cold, are you? That’s a common mistake many bloggers make – sitting down without a plan thinking they’ll smash out awesome posts just like magic.

Nuh-uh. You can’t build a house without a plan, and you can’t sit down to write without a plan either – one that goes beyond, “Hey, I think I’ll write about this today.” You could, but that blog post will be as shaky as that slap-together house.

So don’t do that. Plan your posts, and then…

Write a shitty first draft. I’m not kidding – forget perfection out of the gate. Shitty first drafts rule. You can edit and polish up your writing another time, but right now, get your idea down in a rough draft form so that you can improve on it later.

Start writing for the future, too. Write a bunch of shitty first drafts and build a collection of drafts for later. The more you have of these on hand, the more you’ll be able to grab your draft in a pinch, polish it up and scheduling it for posting.

Imagine having a year’s worth of blog posts, all ready to go. It’s an easy goal to achieve… with the right techniques guiding your way, of course.

If you want to learn more about those techniques, then it’s time for you to get into Damn Fine Words, the writing course that helps you build the confidence you need to blog your way to better results. You’ll learn how to collect ideas and expand them into better posts, you’ll learn how to blog in a way that helps you earn business, and you’ll kickstart your blog back into life again.

And you’ll enjoy blogging – maybe for the first time in your life.

Registration for Damn Fine Words is open right now – and it closes in just a few days, so grab your seat now. Click here to learn more on how this course could electrify your blog, or click here to register now.

Soon you’ll be blogging like there’s no tomorrow!

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
How to Get Your Blog Back On Track first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Damn Fine Words is the writing course that changes businesses – and even lives. Students who’ve taken the course rave about how it’s opened up a whole new world of opportunities for them and how their perspective on writing for their business has brought them all sorts of fantastic results.

Now, that all sounds nice, but if you’ve never taken the course, you might be curious: what’s inside? What will you learn? What’s waiting for you?

Here’s your sneak peek inside Damn Fine Words.

You’ll learn the power of writing using just three sentences.

There’s a secret content-creation technique that’s extremely valuable for capturing your ideas so you can turn them into focused blog posts, full ebooks and compelling web copy – and all you need are three sentences.

Most writers don’t even know about this technique. And when they learn it, they’re suddenly churning out a year’s worth of blog posts in no time at all. Add this writing technique to your routine, and you’ll be ready to burn through all the content you need. Easy breezy!

You’ll learn to improve your writing – without writing a word.

There’s one easy way to take all those awkward sentences, unclear points and strange phrases and turn them into smooth-sounding writing that readers love – and you won’t have to lift a finger to find them, either.

Using the magic of human physiology (and a little fun science), you’ll discover how to write in a way that sounds so much like a natural conversation that you won’t believe it. Readers will think you’re talking straight to them – which you will be, of course!

You’ll learn how to get readers to take action.

A good call to action can help you get serious business results – and you can learn how to write a call to action that goes well beyond the usual ‘click here’ B.S. (I know you can do better than that.)

You’ll write calls to action that encourage readers to take the action you want, without sounding spammy or pushy. They’ll contact you, call you and buy from you more than before. (You might even want to test out your new call-to-action skills on your kids – maybe they’ll finally listen when you ask them to clean their room.)

You’ll learn how to get past the mental writing blocks.

A lack of confidence, writer’s block, getting stuck in the editing phase… these issues are common to people who need to write for their business. That’s why the course teaches several techniques that help you sweep away the obstacles in your mind.

Practice them, and you’ll never hold yourself back any more. You’ll be ready to write for results with stronger confidence and internal knowledge your words are just fine, thank you very much. No more stress and no more staring at the blank page!

You’ll learn to find your writing voice and use it loud and clear.

What the heck is writing voice? Do you have one? How do you find it? What does it sound like? Many people who need to write for their business get hung up on this one… and often get stuck in that stiff, corporate kind of tone no one likes to read.

That’s why you need to discover your writing voice and start putting it to work for your business – and with plenty of fun activities to help you learn what it is, why it works and how to make it happen, you’ll soon find the voice that sounds just right to you… and to your readers.

You’ll learn how easy it is to recycle for results.

That’s the beauty of this writing course. It doesn’t teach you just one thing you can apply in only one area of your business. It teaches you writing skills that you can recycle and reuse for any writing task, in any area of your business.

Throughout this course, your business will evolve – which is why different writing lessons become more important and relevant as your needs change. One week, you’ll appreciate lesson 5. The next, you’ll be thankful for lesson 16. And you’ll always be able to pick and choose from the lessons you need each time you sit down to write.

By the way, today is the last day you can register for Damn Fine Words and save $200 on the retail price of the writing course. This offer ends tonight at midnight. What are you waiting for? Go!

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
Your Sneak Peek Behind the Writing Course Doors first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Entrants fought hard to get into the Damn Fine Words writing course. Some posts were straightforward. Some were thoughtful. Some touched our hearts. It wasn’t an easy choice, and we wished we could offer everyone a place in the course.

After great deliberation, several shortlists, and many discussions, the judges and I narrowed it down to two lucky winners. Congratulations to:

• Scott Lesovic of Magic Bash
• Mary Ulrich of Climbing Every Mountain

Scott and Mary, you’ve each won a free membership to the Damn Fine Words writing course, where you’ll enjoy an intense learning experience that’ll change your business – maybe even your life.

Here’s what judges had to say about the winning entries:

Mary has proven for years that she has the endurance and the commitment to be an active and valuable member of a community. She is consistently positive, helpful, and encouraging, and for that alone I’d be willing to give her a place in Damn Fine Words: she’ll be a smart and empathetic peer and work hard as a committed student. Factor in her ambition to help parents of autistic children like her own son, and it’d be an absolute crime to deny her the scholarship.

Scott is the winner for me. What stood out is how clearly he’s connected the dots between writing skills and his business bottom line. Scott is going to use his copy to expand his magic empire, booking clients and promoting his work… and that’s what I think Damn Fine Words is all about. I’m nominating him for the free scholarship, because I know he’s going to create real tangible business success with the skills he learns.

To all entrants, thank you for sharing a little window to your world. You made us laugh, smile, and wish we could take you all under our wing. Your posts showed talent, creativity, drive and determination, and you have our heartfelt applause for having put your words out there.

And now that you have, don’t stop. Keep learning, keep writing, keep believing in yourself. You can change your life, and you have everything you need to get where you want to be, right there inside you. Make it happen.

If you’re reading this post and ready to create lasting change by improving your writing skills, the Damn Fine Words writing course is now open to new students. Click here for more information … and get ready for a whole new level of business.

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
Announcing the DFW Writing Contest Winners first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Every single business owner, no matter what their industry, needs to be able to write well to be successful.

And if your business has a website, a blog, or operates online, then writing skills are crucial.

If you’re completely confident that your writing has never, ever lost you a client, then you don’t need to worry.
But if you know you’re not sure what to write in emails to clients, if you’ve ever thought your website copy might not be very great, if you’ve ever noticed your blog doesn’t get many comments or that your newsletters never really get opened much…

You’re missing out. And you need to improve a critical business skill: your writing.

Damn Fine Words is the writing course for business owners that teaches you the skills you need, gives you a safe place to practice effective writing and get feedback on your work, and encourages you to apply everything you learn to your business.

So you start getting results from your words.

Registration for the Damn Fine Words writing course is currently open, and for a very limited time only.

Click here to learn more about the Damn Fine Words course – and how it can change your writing, your business… maybe even your life.

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
Damn Fine Words Writing Course Open for Registration first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Did you know that roughly 20% of people might pay for a course and NEVER sign in?

That’s what happened to Jon Morrow with his Guest Blogging course. Roughly 2 out of 10 students paid $500 for his course and then flushed the money down the toilet by never showing up to it.

If you’re going to spend that kind of money, you should do everything you can to get the most value possible.

So to help you dramatically increase the value you get from an online course, here are several best practice suggestions:

1. Go Through ALL the Course Content

It never ceases to amaze me at how many people gloss over training materials they’ve bought. If a neurosurgeon only skimmed through his textbook on brain surgery, would you want him operating inside your skull?

I rest my case.

2. Do the Course Exercises

Good online courses include exercises and worksheets so you get hands-on practice. The exercises might seem simple, and you might be tempted to put them off until later – or even skip them.

But the combined results of reading all the material is compounded by doing the exercises. In fact, it’s powerfully compounded.

3. Take Course Notes

Writing out notes is a great way to reinforce learning. And writing notes often results in new ideas you hadn’t thought of.

Taking notes also enables you to build a custom implementation plan to integrate course concepts into your business.

4. Interview the Course Creator

Interviewing course creators helps you learn both how they succeeded.  You’ll get personalized advice on completing the course, and you’ll also have the opportunity to promote the course as an affiliate as well.

5. Interview the Most Successful Students

The next logical step is to interview the most successful students of the course.  Leverage the opportunity to find out what made them successful. Ask what they did in the course that worked, what didn’t work well and what they would do differently next time.

6. Participate in Forums

Forum participation is one of the most underused experiences. Ask any successful student, and they’ll mention the role forums played in their ability to get the most from the course. Forums are also a great place to connect with other students and share ideas.

7. Repeat the Course at Least Once

The first time you go through a course, you won’t absorb all the knowledge from the material.  Taking the course a second time with a clearer picture of how the pieces fit together lets you approach it with a more powerful perspective.

8. Create a Best-Practices Guide

If you’ve done all of the above, then you should have tons of notes. In fact, you’ll have all the material you need to put together a best-practices guide for the course. Imagine offering the creator of this course a guide that he or she can share with their students!

If the guide is good, you’ll get credit, traffic and people looking your way.

9. Start a Mastermind Group

While some courses include a mastermind group, starting your own could make a big difference.  It gives give you the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss challenges with peers in the course. An extra benefit is that a mastermind group helps you remain accountable.

Signing up for a course is just the first step. It’s what you do once you’ve paid good money for it that really determines your success.

Have I missed any ideas? If you’ve taken a course, what would you do differently next time? What would you suggest as a best practice? Let me know in the comment section.

P.S.: If you’re looking for one of the best online writing courses and a top investment that brings your business great returns, stay tuned. The Damn Fine Words online writing course for business is coming your way May 7 – don’t miss the early-bird registration for big savings!

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Post by Srinivas Rao

Srinivas Rao writes about the things you should have learned in school, but never did. He’s also the host and co-founder of BlogcastFM, where you can download his free webinar on the 7 Pillars of Blog Traffic. You can follow him on Twitter @skoolofllife.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
How to Get the Most Out of an Online Course or Info-Product first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

You’ve got a great idea. You’re going to write an ebook – perhaps your first! It’ll grow your business, bring in money, and help establish your expertise.

And to keep yourself accountable, you tell all your readers to expect the ebook by the end of the month. Sure, that might mean a few caffeine-fuelled, late-night sessions … but your ebook will be done, dusted, and out the door.

Heck, if you really knuckle down, perhaps you can knock out a short ebook in a single week.

Maybe you can.

But that doesn’t mean you should.

Writing an Ebook isn’t a Race

It’s easy to feel pressured to knock this out fast. Maybe you wish you’d written your ebook a year ago. Perhaps everyone else in your field seems to have an ebook – or several. You might feel like you’re already behind.

But writing your ebook isn’t a race.

Yes, at some point, you need to ship it out. Taking an extra few weeks (or even just an extra few days) isn’t going to kill your business, though. In fact, it might well be the best decision you make.

Your Ebook Should be Your Best Work

Whether your ebook is a paid product or a freebie, it needs to show you at your best.

If customers need to pay for it, they’ll expect an ebook that’s complete, carefully structured, and well-written. If buyers get an ebook that’s error-ridden, badly structured, and obviously rushed, they’re never going to buy from you again.

And if your ebook is a freebie, you still need to make it as good as you can. Those readers are potential customers, but if they download your free ebook only to find that it’s full of typos, badly formatted, and confusing, they’re not even likely to buy once.

So what should you do? Here are 4 simple ways to create a well-written ebook:

1: Follow the Writing Process

Every writing project goes through the same stages:

• Idea Generation
• Research
• Planning
• Writing
• Editing
• Publishing

Sometimes the stages overlap; you might do some research while sorting through ideas or revise your plan during the writing stage. Sometimes the stages take next to no time at all, and you might come up with an idea within a couple of minutes.

But when you rush through the stages with an ebook, though, you waste time.

If you don’t have a strong idea of what readers would love, then you’ll wonder what to write.. If you don’t take enough time to plan, you’re going to get stuck partway through. If you rush the writing, you’ll spend extra time going back to fix it up later.

2: Set Aside Time on a Regular Basis

You might have great intentions for your ebook, but if you don’t get into the habit of spending time working on it regularly, you’ll end up rushing things to meet your launch deadline.

Big chunks of free time aren’t just going to magically appear. You need to carve them out of your schedule.

Put ebook-writing appointments into your calendar at regular intervals. That might mean spending the first hour of every day on your ebook (yep, before you check emails) or it could mean blocking out a couple of afternoons each week.

3: Involve Readers during the Process

The good news is that you don’t have to tackle every stage of writing your ebook alone. If you have a blog, email list, Twitter account or Facebook page, you’ve already got at least a few readers or potential customers.

Get them involved from the start.

When you’re coming up with ideas, look at the questions your existing readers typically ask. Do any topics come up again and again? Or if you’re not sure, you could run a survey to find out what readers want or need.

When you’ve finished the first or second draft of your ebook, ask if any readers would be willing to take a look and give you some feedback. (In return, you’ll give them a copy of the finished ebook in due course.)

They might not be expert writers, but they can tell you when you haven’t explained something clearly enough or when you’ve gone off on an unnecessary tangent.

4: Get Help from Professionals

If you’re short on time but have a bit of money to spare, then consider paying for help. You could hire an editor to improve your rough draft, for instance, or you could even hire a ghostwriter to do the bulk of the work for you. And when you get to the publishing stage, you might want to involve a paid ebook designer.

Not only will you save time but you’ll also end up with a higher-quality finished product – which helps make the time you invest more worthwhile.

An ebook can be a huge asset to your business. If it’s a freebie, it can bring in lots of new customers; if it’s a paid-for product, it can become a very nice income stream. But you can’t just sit down and rattle off ten thousand words in a spare afternoon or two.

You need to put time and effort into your ebook if you want it to be a success.

Don’t let that put you off, though. Right now, take out your schedule and look ahead a week or two. Find some time that you can block out to work on your new ebook.

And let us know in the comment section what you have planned – so we can help support you!

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Post by Ali Luke

Ali Luke is currently on a virtual book tour for her novel Lycopolis, a fast-paced supernatural thriller centered on a group of online roleplayers who summon a demon into their game ... and into the world. Described by readers as "a fast and furious, addictive piece of escapism" and "absolutely gripping", Lycopolis is available in print and e-book form. Find out more at www.lycopolis.co.uk.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
4 Simple Ways to Create a Well-Written Ebook first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.

Chris puts his money where his mouth is: He’s visited 193 countries without ever having held a “real” job or earning a regular paycheck. And during his extensive travels, he’s managed to continually write for his A-list blog, build an empire of training resources and publish several books, his latest being the $100 Startup (of which I have a copy in my hot little hands).

Chris writes – a lot. And from the strangest places, too, like third-world airports between lonely red-eye flights and Bedouin tents in the desert while grunting camels lurk just outside.

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I’ve invited Chris Guillebeau to sit down with me for a casual conversation, all about writing. Just how does he keep going? How can he manage to write so well and so consistently from all these crazy locations? And what’s with his eclectic blog that breaks all the “stick to your niche” rules?

You’re going to learn Chris Guillebeau’s writing secrets – all of them.

Join Chris and me on April 30 at 1pm EST and listen in as we discuss writing from anywhere in the world, how to consistently feed a hungry blog and crafting bestseller books without ever losing focus. This call is going to be valuable, especially if you want to leverage your writing skills to live off your success.

You won’t want to miss this conversation – you’ll pick up writing techniques, tips and advice that let you walk away feeling smarter, sneakier and ready to tackle new goals. Chris and I will discuss:

• The truth about writing, and whether you absolutely need to do it
• How to continually feed your blog, even when you don’t feel like it
• Tips to keep writing when you feel lonely, isolated and discouraged
• Advice on writing while you travel and what to do in crazy locations
• The difference between blogging and books – and which you should choose
• The secret to facing your writing critics and what you should tell them
• How to be an eclectic writer who still stays in your niche
• Whether you should outsource your writing or do it all yourself
• How to persevere and stay focused on your writing goals

This conversation is going to be great: Chris is a true gentleman and a real pleasure to talk to, and he’s passionate about challenging people’s beliefs about traditional careers and employment. He’s practically THE freelancer advocate.

In fact, you could say Chris is your key to a better, more fulfilling career. (Even if all you have is $100.) After you listen to our call, you’ll feel inspired to plan your next great escape… with confidence you can write your way there.

Dial in on April 30 at 1pm EST. It’s a life-changing event you won’t want to miss.

How to Get in on the Call

To get call-in details for this exclusive candid conversation, just sign up for the Damn Fine Words newsletter below. You’ll get the dial-in number and also be signed up to receive extra bonus content, more hot interviews with leading writers and powerful writing tips from Damn Fine Words.

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Post by James Chartrand

James Chartrand is an entrepreneur, a pro copywriter and the founder and CEO of Men with Pens and Damn Fine Words, the game-changing writing course for business owners. She loves the color blue, her kids, and ice skating.

Another rockin' post from Men with Pens!
A Casual Conversation with Chris Guillebeau on Writing first appeared on Men with Pens
Copyright 2006 - 2011, All Rights Reserved.