Congrats! You’ve reached the top of your industry and perhaps now you’re eagerly trying to apply everything into a book to help more people and make an even bigger impact. Unfortunately, you might find yourself stuck and not knowing where to begin. 

Maybe you’ve already started writing but reached a stumbling block? Perhaps, you’ve taken your writing as far as you can (or know how)? As a result, you’ve lost your writing momentum and struggling to get back on track. 

Wherever you are in your journey, I want you to know that you are not alone. In fact, 97% of people who start writing a book never finish it. In this blog post I’ll share the three key strategies to land yourself in the top 3% group instead of the bottom 97% crowd. 

How to Stop Self-Sabotaging Yourself   

The first tip is to abandon the mindset or belief that no one will read your book. Remove the fear that your book isn’t good enough. 

What if it sucks? What if it fails? 

What will people think of me when they read my story? Will I be rejected?

 It’s normal to have these feelings, especially when launching your writing journey. 

After all, you’re taking a big step to share your story and reveal parts of you that maybe most people don’t know. It takes courage to be vulnerable. 

The next step is to simply acknowledge your fears and doubts. Share them with someone or write them down. When you shed light on the problem, you’ve already won half the battle. Once you acknowledge the fears, take immediate action. 

Dale Carnegie said it best, “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Monica’s dilemma

When I met Monica, she’d been working on her book for 18 months but realized she spent most of her time on book title ideas and never-ending research. But what was really happening, was she didn’t feel like she was good enough. She didn’t believe that she had enough or engaging material. 

So Monica discovered that she was more concerned about her former colleagues reading her book and worried that they would judge her. She worries about them seeing her work. In the back of her mind, she criticized, 

“What if I’m not good enough?" 

“What if I fail?”  What if it doesn’t work out?” 

Without realizing it, she was unconsciously self-sabotaging her efforts to get started.

Once we talked seriously and fully identified what was holding her back, she experienced an immediate sigh of relief. Once she recognized the role of fear and doubt holding her back, it stopped its power over her. In turn, she re-discovered her hunger to write and was laser-focused on finishing. 

Next, Monica published her book a few months later. After many years of dreaming, she fulfilled her goal and felt euphoric. Completing the book had skyrocketed her confidence to a new level and changed her outlook on life where she now feels she is capable of achieving a lot more and has now set audacious life goals.

The book has given her immediate credibility where she is now regarded as the “go-to” expert in her industry. She’s been invited to speak at events including being a regular speaker at Rotary club events exposing her to a large (new) audience and new Leads. The book has allowed her to stand out from the crowd of candidates where she’s secured a paid advisory role on different boards with African airlines.

While you may think you’re busy doing book research, selecting book covers, or brainstorming titles, pause and ask if you’re avoiding the writing process. 

Are there fears or doubts holding you back? 

 Imagine if Monica had discovered her barriers sooner. She could’ve saved 18 months of waiting and maybe have penned 2-3 books by then. Don’t let that be you! 

Setup Your Environment for Success

One of the biggest challenges for new writers is waiting to feel confident before starting.  They often procrastinate and wait for inspiration to strike. The reality is it doesn't work that way. Sure, there may be days when you walk in the park and a eureka moment happens for a wonderful book idea. Then you rush home and write like crazy nonstop. But the next few days causes you to draw blanks while you stare at the blank screen. What do you do then? 

Understand that it’s not your fault for not knowing what to do. Most seasoned writers have experienced this exact frustration. Luckily, it’s an easy fix: setup a productive writing environment that inspires you. Allocate a space so that when you see or enter that area, you know it’s writing time and it activates the right state of mind. 

Veronica's story

When Veronica first came to me, she was struggling with writing progress. She'd already written 10,000 words, which was a big milestone but struggled to move on. We worked together to devise ideas to stay inspired and concentrated on book writing again.

I explained that I personally like to use items like a mug that says, ‘I am an Author,’ to emphasize her goals. Then we brainstormed how she could setup her environment using different props, such as favorite inspirational quotes, affirmations, or goals. She considered how to organize her writing environments, like 

what to add on the walls or her desk? 

What kind of music to listen to? 

What inspiring names to use for file folders or passwords? 

The sky was the limit. She finally cultivated a space that inspired her creativity.  

Veronica successfully self-published her book six months later and was so happy with her final product. She used her book as lead generator to bring in high-quality leads for her coaching business. The book opened doors for opportunities to reach a larger audience through increased podcast and radio interviews. Veronica feels more confident when entering a prospective meeting because the book did the heavy lifting in sharing her story and showing how she helped people gain self-empowerment in their lives. 

What are ways that you can improve your own environment to stimulate your creative headspace? You don’t have to wait for inspiration for you to get started. Just begin and inspiration will follow. Creating an inspiring environment is a great way to set you up for success. Had Veronica known about this, she wouldn’t have been stuck for months and would’ve easily passed her 10,000 words milestone.

Strategy Over Hustle

Many first-time authors get stuck in their first draft because they jump right in without first having a clear vision for the book. You may be so excited to write a book and then produce tons of pages until you encounter a roadblock: you don’t know what’s next, and you feel lost. It kills your momentum, making you feel less secure about finishing. 

The easy way to fix the problem is to have a plan for your book before you start writing. Most people don’t know that planning a book is much easier than you think. Plus, it doesn’t take nearly as much time as writing and writing without any direction. It requires you to brain dump all your ideas on a single page, so you can review and determine common themes to group together. 

Sanae’s Struggle:

When Sanae consulted me, she had a problem. While she kept detailed notes and had written many pages over numerous months, she struggled with organizing her ideas. In our first session, she quickly realized she had all the pieces but no plan on how to put it all together. Within 1-2 weeks, we mapped out three themes in her book and the exact order to present them.

Sanae then published her book a few short months later. Her dream goal of being published was a form of evidence of debt payment (her book topic). She became a #1 Bestseller in 3 categories from psychology to personal finance, making her standout to become the leading expert in her field. She has been featured and published on BBC Radio Leeds; Entirely Finance; TOPIC UK; International Coaching News; Business Daily and other media outlets. She feels more empowered about her work, her mission and the impact she wants to provide to the world.

Her story reiterates that it’s great to be excited and to start writing right a way for your book, but you’ll face problems without a concrete plan. If lacking a plan, 

How do you know what direction you’re heading towards with your book? 

How will you know when you get there? 

The only answer is to have a strategy to remove all the guesswork. Just like Winston Churchill said, ‘He who fails to plan is planning to fail.’ Had Sanae started with a plan first, she could’ve saved months of delay and uncertainty on how to organize and finish her book. 

Don't be part of the 97% statistic who don’t finish their books 

Book review after book review, you will be humbled to discover how your book has transformed the lives of your reader. Not only that, just like Monica, Veronica and Sanae, you will watch the leads for your business skyrocket, opportunities coming out of nowhere, your closure rates increase, and your prices saw.

A book not only transforms the lives of it’s readers, it transforms the life of the author too. Expanding their reach, their profits and the effect they want to have on the world

Having a plan allows you to measure your book’s progress, but another key component is to have accountability. Accountability is critical because it's easy to lie to yourself or push things aside, but it’s harder to do it with someone else who can call you out on it. 

If you decide that you’re seeking a mentor or partner, you don’t need to hire me to do this. Here are three suggested qualities: 

• He/she understands your unique writing goals.
• He/she has experience as a professional writer (and/or has written a book themselves).
• Can give honest feedback and critique.

What’s your biggest takeaway from this post? I’m genuinely curious and will reply to every comment below, as always.