Let me tell you a secret.

Writing is hard.

Who knew, eh? Well, maybe it’s not such a secret to you. But even seasoned ghostwriters like us find it a challenge at times, and we’ve written hundreds of books between us.

Because whether you’re authoring a business book, a personal development guide, a thought leadership book or a memoir, marshalling thousands of words into a coherent and compelling order is no picnic. That’s why most people who start writing a book never finish the first draft, let alone publish a bestseller.

However, if you’re writing your book yourself, there are three key things you can do to improve your chances of it being finished and published.

#1: Write what you know . . .

Think of your expertise as having three layers, a bit like one of those ice lollies made up of red, green and yellow stripes.

The top layer is your core knowledge – the stuff you’re rock solid on, have unique experience of, and enjoy helping people with the most. 

It sounds obvious, but when you’re an expert in the subject matter of your book, you’ll have an easier time convincing your readers to buy into your ideas than if you’re not. You’ll also find it less challenging to write.

The middle layer is what you know a lot about, but isn’t what you’re known for. You’re competent enough to advise people on it, but you’re not steeped in expertise. 

And the bottom layer is what you’re less sure of. You might have read books about it or been on courses, but not practised it in person.

It’s best not to clutter your book with that mushy third layer. You want it to be bursting with juicy value, which means picking points from the top and middle layers alone.

To give you an example, as a ghostwriter and book coach, my top layer is planning and writing books. My middle layer is publishing and marketing books, and my bottom layer is the technicalities of self-publishing and also of public speaking to promote books.

When I was writing my guide to planning, writing, and promoting a business book, Your Business Your Book, I found myself getting into a stress about how I was going to explain the symbiotic relationship between public speaking and being an author. Should I interview an expert? Should I do a lot of research on the topic? Or could I . . . just leave it out, trusting that someone else has written the perfect book on it already?

I breathed a sigh of relief and chose the third option.

#2: Start with a plan . . .

If you want to make life hard for yourself, write your first three chapterrs without a plan.

Then, realise you have too much to say in the second one, and that part of the first one should go later in the book, and that — aargh! — you don’t have enough material for the third one.

Finally, embark on a mammoth copy-and-paste exercise during which you get even more confused and demotivated than you were already. This is why a plan is so helpful.

Also, it’s not the writing that’s hard, it’s the switching.

The analytical thinking you use when you’re deciding what to say uses a different set of mental muscles to the creative thinking you employ for writing your first draft. If you plan before you write, you use your brain more efficiently than if you keep chopping and changing between the two. And that makes it less hard.

#3: Write what you love . . .

Why have you chosen to write about this specific topic?

Is it because you know a lot about it? Is it because you think people will want to read about it? Or is it because you find it so fascinating you could talk about it forever?

Hopefully it will be all three, but if you’re finding it hard to pin down that elusive subject, try doing this.

Take your topic idea and ask yourself: does it light me up? Is it useful for my purpose? And do I know enough about it?

If you’re writing a book about something you love and that your readers will find enjoyable and useful, you’ll find yourself motivated to keep going. When you do finish, you’ll feel proud of your achievement.

This is one of the best ways to enjoy the writing process.

There’s no getting around the fact that writing is hard, but these are three things that you can do to make it easier. Alternatively, drop us a line at United Ghostwriters and let us take the the load off your shoulders. Ice lollies optional.

Ginny Carter is a bestselling ghostwriter of over 25 books, a book coach, and an award-winning author in her own right.