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So you want to write your book and you’ve decided to begin.
What do you write about?
If you are like some folks, you may already know exactly what you want to write about, and perhaps you’ve even already decided on your book title!
But there are plenty of other people who feel they are stuck at this first phase of “deciding what to write”, and so they essentially give up before they start. Don’t be one of these people! It’s really not that difficult to narrow down your topic. Here are some tips.
Get out a notebook and a sheet of paper (or a computer document, if you wish) and write down the top 3 areas you are passionate about.
Don’t worry if you are only passionate about one topic, or if you are crazy about 25. Just jot down what “floats your boat” the most when prioritized by the top 3.
Are you passionate about parenting toddlers?
Are you gung-ho about healthy food preparation?
Do you want to help others discover their gifts and destinies?
Are you a zealot about all things cat-related?
Are you a cardio exercise buff?
Here’s another way to think about it – when you talk to your friends, what topics come up the most? What gives you energy and drive when you think about it and discuss it with others?
Do you have your top 3?
Great!
Now you just need to decide which to choose while focusing on your book. If you have trouble deciding, don’t worry! You can write 3 books! But we need to begin with just one, so pick the one that is really tops for you right now – at this point in your life.
Do you think you need more research to write about it? That’s actually fine – most authors research in various ways when writing about their chosen subject – even the topics with which they are very familiar.
So there you have it. You have your topic – now spend just about 5 minutes brainstorming possible titles. You’ll have plenty of time to refine the title later, so don’t let perfectionism stop you at this point. Some authors change their titles multiple times – some famous authors have even changed book titles after being on the market for months or even years!
If you’ve been following along with the instructions above, you’ve now got both your book topic and a preliminary title – good work!
Keep on working through these posts and before you know it, you’ll have a book in progress!
“How wonderful it is, that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
– Ann Frank