Today sees the start of the ‘Plan your non fiction book in a weekend’ giveaway.

Plan your non fiction book in a weekend has been designed to help you to be able to undertake all of the vital planning tasks that make writing a book – simple and stress free

Each day to help you create your book, I am going to answer these essential planning questions:-

• What kind of planner am I and why is this important to know?
• What tools and resources do I need?
• What is the process and cost of writing and publishing a book?
• How long will it take me?
• How do I get ideas for my book?
• How do I choose the ONE big idea for my book?
• What is an outline and how do I create one?
• How can I structure my chapters?
• How do I create and use a book proposal?

I am also providing a set of tools that you can download – these are your planning tools.

What kind of a planner are you?

The key to getting your book started (and finished) starts with a good plan. By creating a comprehensive and workable plan, the rest, as they say, will follow.

• By planning, it makes writing your book easier
• With a plan, you are more likely to publish your book
• Planning will help you stay on track

About you as the planner, writer and editor

Have you ever stopped to consider how you like to learn, what steps you take in getting things done, why you work the way that you do?

In order to be more productive and effective, you need to understand yourself and the habits or patterns you have formed. These will be quite telling.

When working with you as a book coach, my job is to get the best out of you and to do that, I have to understand your learning and thinking style. When I ‘get you’ I can plan individual strategies to ensure that you get yours books planned, written and published.

It is vital that when you begin to plan and write your book, you understand your preferences, as this will help you not only get started, but also to actually finish and get published.

Our ways of thinking feel a ‘natural’ part of us. You may be unaware of these non-conscious patterns until you learn to recognise them. You can learn to recognise them through your language and behaviour. This is often why book projects fail – people simply do not know why they may get into overwhelm or lose the motivation to write. It’s all down to your preferences.

Having a preference for a particular pattern of behaviour can be very beneficial when that pattern is useful in a particular context. On the other hand, you might find it difficult to adapt your behaviour, even when that way of doing something could be more beneficial. Consider how being more flexible with your thinking and behaviour may lead to more productive outcomes.

Are you most comfortable, planning, writing or editing?

I ask this because aspects of planning, writing and editing your book will be easier for some than others. I am often gently ‘berated’ by my copy editor / proof reader Pat who I have given permission to tell me as it is. I believe it is important to recognise what you are good at, try to flex your style and leave what you can’t or don’t want to do, to ‘the’ experts.

Ask yourself a few questions:

When you go on a journey do you: -

• Ask a friend for directions?
• Plan the route?
• Use a printed map and/or your sat nav?
• Just head in the general direction, you know that you will get there

When you have something new, do you: -

• Read the instructions first?
• Head to YouTube to watch how someone else does it?
• Ask for help?
• Just have a go (you are the ones with the left over screws)?

When you learn something new, do you: -

• Watch and learn, before you do?
• Talk it through with someone first?
• Read it through, think about it for a while, and then have a go?
• Just jump in and try?

You see, we are all different and there are reasons why some bits are easier than others. The point is, learn why you do what you do, try to flex your style or adapt the way you do things and ask for help. Everyone has to learn how to flex their planning style to get his or her book written and get to know and love their writing style in order to engage and communicate with people who are not like them.

To read more about you as a planner and get your free chapter – please head to www.jacquimalpass.com share the love

Plan your non fiction book in a weekend is currently free on Kindle (5th Jan - 8th Jan)