From Idea to Published: My Tips for Making Your First Book a Reality

1. Set Your Brain up for Success
• Watch Mel Robbins’ Ted Talk over the “5 Second-Rule” . There are better writers than you who will never get published because they have not trained their brain for success. It is easy to think you can only write whenever you “feel” creative. Ignore this fickle temptation. If you wait to only write when you “feel” creative, your book will never be written. #truth By simply committing and pushing through any sort of “writer’s block” the creative juices will start to flow. As the tools above and below teach, you control your brain. You can teach it to write well whenever you need. Seriously. Mel Robbins and Ruby Wax have transformed my view of the vast capabilities of the mind. 
• Read “A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled” by Ruby Wax to also increase your attention and creativity through practicing mindfulness. 
• Watch the amount of hesitation when you write. Write from your heart first, and then with your brain. 
• Pick a time and space to write that makes it super easy to do the above. 
• Stay mentally present and only allow yourself to think about the book during your desired writing time. If ideas for the book come to you outside of this writing time, make a physical note of it and shift your focus back to your day. Allowing your mind to dwell on the book for too many hours can lead to analysis paralysis. This will squash any good idea you have. Yikes! Also, stay present in the writing process. Don’t be thinking about self-marketing as you are writing the first chapter. Force your brain to take it one step at a time. 

2. Writing

• My suggested first step would be to write out an outline/contents page for the book. It does not have to be perfect, it just has to be on the paper. 
• Want a writing outline template? Here’s mine for a nonfiction/ministerial resource book. 
• Here’s another template for novels. 
• Use this to make your weekly to-do list for writing. After prayer and study each morning, I would open up my laptop to my outline and know what my goal for the next hour was. 🙂 It was very calming for me to see my directions. This also encouraged me to take it one step at a time. 
• I used google docs, click here to see what they offer for writers. Although, I did run into some issues with end-notes (just an FYI). 

3. Self-publishing

• Draft2digital.com (This site is super-easy, but they just do eBooks. No formatting is required on your end, and they do not charge to do it. You will receive 90% of the royalties from your sales.)
• Createspace.com (They do paperbacks and eBooks, but the site is somewhat hard to navigate, and you have to do the formatting, or pay for them to do it. You will also receive 90% of the royalties.) 
• Reach out to Rennie at kahumau@gmail.com .He is a publishing wiz that teaches self-publishing courses and is willing to help. He teaches at www.beadisciple.com .
• Canva.com was used for my book cover. 
• Try to be a guest blogger on sites that “sell” a similar product as your book. (This is easier than it sounds.😊 )YOU CAN DO IT!

4. Self-Marketing

• Reach out to George Kao at www.georgekao.com (He emphasizes cultivating authentic relationships with your customers/clients. His youtube videos are very helpful.) 
• Take Donald Miller’s FREE video course at www.storybrand.com .
• “Make your book stand out on Amazon” with this marketing video with Derek Doepker.
• Create blog/site with googleplus. 
• George Kao teaches to not give in and pay money for Twitter followers. You want to grow an authentic followership. You will get hit up constantly for deals like this once you start using #selfpublished #amwriting in your statuses. Ignore them. 
• Need a book trailer? Contact Scott at Olney Productions. 

5. Publish with a Company

• Check out“The 21-Day Publishing Plan”, by bestselling author, Michelle Stimpson. 
• March and April are the “sweet spots” when it comes to submitting your manuscript to companies. They will have 100+ submissions a year, and they will only choose 10-15. By June they have made their final decisions for books. 
• Here is a helpful blog on crafting a great cover letter.  
• Need a copy-editor? Email me or Direct Message me for more info. 

6. These are some Christian companies to which you could submit your manuscript:

• Wipf & stock  (My beloved company 😀) 
• Abingdon Publishing Company 
• Paraclete 
• Group 
• Crossway
• The Good Book 
• Chosen (Baker Publishing) 
• IVP 
• Seedbed 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any other questions about the publishing process. I am in no way an expert, but I am more than happy to share what I have gleaned from this literary adventure.

✌Meg