Getting Started in Writing A Book…

Over the past two or so years I have been fortunate to write and self-publish two books.  I must admit that writing a book can be more involved than you may think.

Book 1…

The first book was called Lease Options Made Easy.

It was one that I wanted to get out and publish when I decided to become a published author in 2014.  I had some training programs already written that were to be released at some time.  However, I never actually released them.  It took a few months to create about 15 different eBook / PDFs.

When I decided in mid-2014 that I wanted to become an author I was ecstatic.  Thus, I began along the road that so many people consider throughout their lives.  I had a message to get out and this is what I wanted to release.

My Real Estate Experience

At that time in my life I was a real estate investor specializing in rent to own homes, also called lease options.  I was also a NV Realtor at that time and most of the clients I attracted were the ones seeking a lease to buy.  I thought this would be a great time to release a book on the subject.

Plus, I had always felt that if I put out a book that would give me some increased credibility.  Thus, began the process of writing.

I decided to be a little different, as I have usually been in my life.  I decided to make this book an educational book yet also a narrative with five main characters, namely Peggy and Roger who were wanting to buy a home via a lease option.

Their journey was to go through the path of having no knowledge what a lease option was to actually becoming quite versed in the subject which the reader would also learn along the way.

Book 2

After the book was released in January 2015 I started to discover a few flaws in the book.

I then decided to do a second book on something new I was passionate about.  That was personal development.  Somehow a book writing coach and author came across my attention.  To this day I still have no idea how our paths crossed.  I was living in Las Vegas, NV and he lived in Hawaii.

I hired him right away and I discovered so much I didn’t know about writing and getting published.  After the release of my second book, Designing Your Own Destiny I decided to go a different route and have help along the way.  And I am glad that happened.

I learned a lot about how chapters should be set up.  I learned about putting relevant stories and so much more.  This time I hired other people to help me.

Purpose…

That brings us to the purpose of this blog.  I discovered that when I wrote my first book I did very little preparation for writing the book.  I knew what I wanted to write about and just started doing it, learning as I went along.

Here are the 3 steps for writing a book.  This is much like how a film is put together before going onto the big screen.  The parallels are quite similar.

Comparison to Film

In film you have three stages of film making.

1. Pre-Production – This is where casting is done and contracts signed.  Sets are built.  Locations are scouted.  Crew is hired.  Extras are hired.  Everything that happens BEFORE the first shot is taken.
2. Production – This is the part most non-film makers think about.  This is when all of the shots are done and each step in the making of the film is accomplished.
3. Post-Production – This is the part that is done after the film wraps.  Editing and computer graphics are added.  Sound and other sound effects are added.  Creation of the final product. Trailers are created.  The film goes onto the screen for you to see.  Then DVDs and other releases are done.

For Your Book

The same is seen, in my opinion, in writing a book.  Many people skip many of these steps, especially if first time self-published writers.

1. Pre-Writing Phase – this is all of the prep work and hiring or planning to hire the people to assist you with your book.
2. Writing Phase – This is the area of writing the book, getting it professionally edited, graphics, and formatting done.
3. Post-Writing Phase – Launches, picking the platforms for your book.  The purpose what to do to promote yourself afterwards.

Each of these stages are very important.  There is no skipping a step.  Without one is the same as putting a movie together without hiring the director.  It can end up in sheer chaos especially if someone tries to do it all on their own.

More to come in upcoming editions.

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• Author Details

Author Details

https://www.kevinadunlap.com/meet-kevin/

kevin@kevinadunlap.com

702-591-1784

Plentiful Perspectives

Kevin Dunlap

Kevin A Dunlap has been self-employed since 1999. He is an author, and professional speaker. He specializes with creating innovating techniques to motivate and inspire people to achieve more in what they want in their careers and jobs.

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