6 Keys to Unleashing Your Inner Author...

Virtually everyone I talk to seems to have a book in their head begging to come out, yet few folks actually put anything substantial into writing let alone get it out into the marketplace. Whether you take the traditional route or choose to do it yourself, the first step to publishing any book is a completed manuscript. That may seem challenging, but it really doesn't have to be that way. Heck, I stumbled into the process yet have become a bestselling, multi-award winning author... If I can do it, you can too!

My writing career actually began as a misunderstanding. A year before my black belt test my karate instructor asked me to write a thesis and bring it to the exam. Given a year and the word “thesis,” I took his request very seriously, did a bunch of research, wrote my tail off, and showed up with a 140 page document. When I handed it to him, the conversation went sort of like this:

“Kane, what the heck is this?”

“The thesis you asked for.”

“What? I asked you to do a research paper. I was expecting eight or ten pages, not this.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah.”

“Duh’oh!”

Okay, I didn’t really say duh’oh, but you get the idea... What I heard and what he meant were two entirely different things. Nevertheless, he loved the paper. And thought it was good enough to publish. That’s where the idea of becoming an author came from. The challenge, of course, was figuring out how to do it...

I went through my library, discovered that most of my favorite martial arts books all came from the same publisher, so I checked out their submission guidelines and decided to send them a proposal. It was surprisingly easy. In fact, just few months later I had a contract in place and a year or so after that my first book,?Martial Arts Instruction , was published.

That first book sold well, despite being (in retrospect) my worst work, so a few months later my publisher called to ask what my next book was going to be about. Next book?! I hadn’t considered doing another one, I hadn’t even planned to do the first one. But, my instructor Kris had some ideas and we decided to collaborate. That’s where?The Way of Kata ?came from. And the rest, as they say, is history…

Eighteen years later I have 22 books published, some in multiple languages, and many of them bestsellers and/or award-winners. They're are all available in softcover or e-book, with many published in audiobook and hardcover formats too.

My personal goal has become publishing approximately one new book a year and so far I’ve managed to pull it off, slightly exceeding that goal. It’s been a challenge to do that while holding down a full time job, maintaining some semblance of a personal life, and still finding time to sleep occasionally. But, I’ve discovered a few hacks that can help just about anyone unleash their inner author:

• Outline extensively. This assures a cohesive structure, helps prevent writer’s block, and simultaneously makes optimal use of all available writing time. In this fashion you can jump to whatever section seems to resonate in the moment, flesh it out, and then come back and polish things later on. Writing sequentially is much more difficult in my experience.
• Write in 15-minute increments. Tackling a full-length book can seem daunting, whereas breaking it up into smaller chunks is much more achievable. Writing sessions need to be long enough to get into the groove, but not so long that they take away from other priorities. In my experience 15 minutes not only hits the mark but it’s actually tough to find a day where I can’t legitimately free up a quarter of an hour to write.
• Stay focused. It’s easy to meander, writing more of a core-dump than a coherent, pithy dissertation. That’s okay in the early stages, but it’s vital to stick to your outline and edit mercilessly after the first draft until the message is clear. Give yourself permission not to put everything you know on paper; there’s always room for a subsequent book or sequel.
• Set SMART goals. SMART stands for (1) Specific, (2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4) Relevant, and (5) Time-bound. By documenting your goals, setting realistic deadlines, and holding yourself accountable for meeting your own expectations you will significantly improve your chance of successfully completing a manuscript, finding a publisher, and seeing a final product in print.
• Ask for constructive feedback, but not from your friends. I’ve sat on editorial boards and done paid reviews, hence know firsthand that here’s a tremendous difference between most self-published drivel and professional products that folks actually want to buy. Reviewers should be subject matter experts, industry professionals (e.g., published authors, editors, agents), or folks who can dispassionately go over your work and help make it shine. Importantly, don't get defensive. Think deeply on the feedback you receive and take action to improve your product.
• Accept good enough. Don’t let the pursuit of perfection keep you from producing a finished product. Every book can use more polishing, but at a certain point we need to accept “good enough,” put a fork in it, and call it done. I typically rewrite everything five times before handing it over to the editor.

Leveraging these six suggestions will help you get your thoughts organized, written, and ready for the publication process. If you go through a traditional publishing house they will provide both content and copy editors whose job it is to assure that you will put out a commercially-viable product. If you choose the self-publishing route instead, do yourself a favor and invest in professional editing; it’s very challenging to get it right on your own. Either way, you're that much closer to turning your writing dream into reality.

It's an arduous journey, but one that anyone with the motivation and drive can successfully complete. And, more often than not it's actually pretty enjoyable.

...if you'd like to peruse my full bibliography, you can take a gander at my author page here: Lawrence A. Kane