STEPHANIE LARKIN’S ‘WRITE THAT BOOK!’
As a business owner, you are always looking for ways to promote yourself and make yourself stand out from the rest. One of the most unique ways to self- promote is by writing a book. Yes, writing a book. Adding “author of” to your list of redeeming qualities is sure to set you apart from other business owners. There is a reason many successful people have published books. Writing a book is not only a great personal accomplishment, but it will increase your number of clients, as it will give you a better reputation in your field of work. A book that you wrote also acts as a biography and business card in one. Give them out to prospective clients or loyal clients that you already have — people are sure to remember you! The financial and professional benefits from writing your own book are endless, so why doesn’t everyone have a book out with their name on it? It’s hard. It’s not just simply sitting and writing. If it were that easy, everyone would do it — but then again, you are not everyone. You create and stick to your goals all the time and see everything through to the end. Although writing a book is different from running the daily ins and outs of a business, you have help by your side: Stephanie Larkin. Stephanie’s book, “Write That Book!” is your personal companion for book writing. Stephanie recognizes that, out of the many people who want to write a book, very few actually do, and she is about to change that for you. Stephanie breaks her book down into short, easy-to-read chapters, and each paragraph offers tremendous value. Here is what Stephanie taught me in the few days I spent with her by reading her book. THE 5 W’S The 5 W’s that we all learned in grade school are more important then ever. Knowing who your target audience is, what you want to write about, where you will do most of your writing, when you will find the time to write, and lastly, why you are inspired to write will help you stay on track. ‘IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL’ True. This quote by Benjamin Franklin is the first sentence of one of Stephanie’s chapters. She emphasizes that planning is crucial, because life gets in the way and motivation is not always as strong as it was when you first decided you wanted to write. Mark a calendar, stay on track, and schedule when you are going to write. Do not leave it up to when the mood strikes you. It may not strike some days, and that is okay, but the best motivation is self-motivation. You will not write a book if you do not actively plan to write a book. NOTEBOOKS, NOTE CARDS, AND BUBBLES Speaking of active planning, always carry around something for when inspiration arrives. Carry a notebook and pen with you; jot ideas down. Technology is growing, and
Stephanie also recommends bringing voice recorders, laptops, and anything else that helps. We may all think that we will remember a genius idea we had later on, but it rarely happens that way — we can attest to that. Writing down ideas helps you to remember them; writing down ideas also leads to the writing down of more ideas.
Note cards, specifically color-coded ones, help with separating ideas out into sections and subsections that will belong to the chapters of your book. Every note card should have one idea on it, or one quote. This method is not for everyone, but it really does help, which is something else Stephanie helped me remember from grade school. Bubble charts are a great way to separate large ideas into smaller, digestible ones. In her book, Stephanie has pages of examples of her physical bubble charts she made when writing. They are beyond helpful for writer’s block. Start with a main idea as your big “bubble,” and then create smaller “sub-bubbles” around it with key details, points, or anything you want to get across in this idea. After you are done with the charts — or even before — the notecards will add extra detail and help with filling in areas of chapters that you are going to be writing. DRAFT, RE-DRAFT, AND DRAFT AGAIN Stephanie goes into great detail about drafting. She suggests making something Cloud-based, like a Google Doc. This way, your draft can be edited from any device, in any location. Google Docs also separates thoughts into their own sections with headings, which makes it much easier to visualize chapters and subsections. Do not be afraid to change something as many times as you need to feel that it’s right, but do not throw out anything you write — it can end up being just what you needed. Stephanie’s “Write That Book!” is truly a gift to anyone who aspires to write a book. She breaks what seems to be an overwhelming task into easy-to- follow, concretely defined steps that yield great outcomes. As the author of
your own book, the possibilities of networking are endless. You know about the benefits, and now you have Stephanie, so what are you waiting for? Go write that book!
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bricks outside and bake in the afternoon sun. While I don’t recommend doing that all the time, I can tell you that a little sunlight goes a long way. It’s a great way to get into a better mood. You get some much-needed vitamin D and a burst of energy. Just don’t stay in the sun too long! Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen! I see humans forget to get outside and enjoy the beautiful world we have, and that’s a real shame.
And that’s it! These are a few of ol’ Satchmo’s life lessons. I have more, for sure, but that’s all I could fit in this newsletter. Anyway, I hope you, like my human, get some sun and have some fun this summer, and maybe I’ll see you again soon! –Satchmo
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