Build A Book With Guest Blogger: Terry M. Drake

Today at the Book Boost we'll be building a foundation for creating your book. So, get out those tool belts and bandannas folks!


Here's what guest author Terry M. Drake has to say...


Laying The Foundation For Success: Tips For Writing Your Book!


So, you want to write your book and you are full of ideas, but you can’t put them on paper. I am going to share some tips, based on my research and based on personal experience. The most helpful book that I read and helped get me started on Live Happily, Ever After… Now!, was Writing Nonfiction by Dan Poynter. I believe even for a fiction writer several of the ideas are helpful and I am going to share them, along with other tips I used to stay focused and finish my book!

Tips To Ensure Success:
- Write about what you know
- Write with passion
- Paint a picture
- KISS- Keep it simple, stupid!
- Feedback
- Build-a-book
- Write in order of interest

“Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve!” – Wilfred Peterson

Yes, even prior to building your foundation and writing your chapters you will need to meet certain criteria to help ensure success. Write about what you know, because when you do you are able to write intelligently and passionately. To be a successful writer you need to get other people excited about your writing and in order for you to do this you need to write with enthusiasm and passion. It is easier to be passionate about what you know and love. Also, you want to paint a picture for your reader, you do this by paying attention to detail, using vivid descriptions and writing passionately. By using the KISS principle you will leave out unnecessary complexities and you won’t get caught up in making your work too complicated!

Unnecessary complexities only confuse the reader and make it harder for you to convey your message. Seeking feedback is the most important aspect to becoming a successful writer! The reason being is that you get quality information from successful writers in your genre and readers of your genre; this information is related to how you’re conveying your message and will benefit you in developing a polished product. You then take your feedback and revise your work, using the information to make it better.

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less then perfect conditions. So what! Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen

Now that you have the foundation for successful writing, you need to understand how to get started! I recommend you use Dan Poynter’s build-a-book method. To use the build-a-book method, you need a three ring binder, paper for the binder and you keep all your materials in the binder. You also keep the binder with you, so you can work on your manuscript whenever you get a chance. I used the build-a-book method to format my rough draft, by breaking my book into chapters and separating each chapter in the binder. I kept my research and writings pertaining to each chapter in its own section. Once you do this, your writing will have some direction and then you start!

Another of Dan’s great advice is that your writing doesn’t have to follow any specific order. What does this mean, well you can write the last chapter first, the second chapter next and so on. By doing this, you are giving yourself the freedom to write what is most interesting or inspiring to you at the moment and then piece everything together later. It doesn’t matter at this stage if it flows together, because it is your first rough draft and the most important aspect of your first rough draft is to get your ideas on paper. Once you have your ideas on paper, you can review it and revise it. It’s easier to make changes or add to your work, once you have your basic ideas on paper.

So, what are you waiting for?

A Note from the Book Boost: Wow, Terry! This all sounds so efficient and organized! I wish I could be more like that when it comes to writing. I think your suggestions will help a lot of people and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today. Will you take a moment to tell us about your book?

Blurb:

Live Happily, Ever After… Now! uses age old, time tested secrets (found in NLP, Law of Attraction, Positive Psychology, and Hypnosis) to teach you how to create the life you want! Ask yourself: Are you in control of what you think, act and feel? Are you living the life you want?

Would you like to be happy and successful in everything you do? The key is learning how much control you have over your life, your beliefs and attitudes about yourself, others and the world you live in. Once you understand that you are in control (and you will), then you can use the 9 simple steps to begin living the life you want.

Excerpt:

The formula for Happiness What is the formula for happiness? As if there is a secret formula, which you could mix up a batch of in the lab. Well, actually it isn’t even that complicated. You don’t need the lab, you don’t need to mix any solutions, and that wouldn’t result in real happiness. As funny as this notion seems, our society has jumped on board with this idea.

You are told a medication will help with all your problems. You are bombarded with advertisements about how much better life would be with a cold beer or how you will be happy once you buy that new car. I can confidently tell you that without a change in your beliefs you will not find true happiness. Medications, relaxing moments, alcohol, and material things can help you enjoy your life, but alone they will never bring you true happiness.

Permanent success and happiness will only come from within and only by making changes to the way you think about yourself and others. Now, there is a simple formula for happiness and the best part about it is that it is already within you. Not only is it within you, it is under your control. It is also much easier than you think to lead a happy and successful lifestyle.

Most of you don’t realize or fully understand this and that is okay. The most interesting fact is that you already use the formula, you just don’t understand it yet and that results in your continued unhappiness.


Terry M. Drake is a Licensed Social Worker, National Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Trainer of Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP. He has spent the last 15 years learning about himself and others, through his academic studies resulting in his MSW and his professional studies, as a family therapist, clinical supervisor and vast training and research into hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, the law of attraction and positive psychology.

Terry is currently a Director of mental and behavioral health programs, as well as a Life Coach and Hypnotherapist in private practice. He has begun to put his skills to use as an author, speaker, consultant and coach. Terry lives in Wellsboro, Pa with his wife and children.

You can learn more about the power of your mind and how to be happy and successful in everything you do, by buying his new book, Live Happily, Ever After… Now! 9 Simple Steps to create the life YOU want!

Want More Terry?

Visit his website here: www.livehappilyeverafter-now.com
Pick up your copy of his book today! Click here!