“The Fastest Way to Write a Book...
--An Expert's Step-by-Step Guide”
Here's a secret strategy to dramatically improve your writing!
by Steve Manning
No tricks, no slight of hand, no ghostwriting. This technique works for both fiction and non-fiction but it takes more than a little practice and determination. But the rewards are huge. In fact, it’s the very technique used by the most prolific writer in the English language. All you’ve got to do is… take a look at how Dame Barbara Cartland wrote literally hundreds of books (most in the romance genre, by the way) and you’ll have a strategy you can apply to your own writing immediately.
The fastest way to communicate, at least until we evolve into a telepathic species, is by speaking. If you speak at a fairly leisurely and thoughtful pace, you’ll be talking at a rate of about 140 words a minute. Just over two words a second. If you get excited, or really focused, you can reach speeds of 300, even 400 words a second. Much beyond that, though, and your message is pretty garbled unless you practice enunciation a lot.
But even at a pedestrian rate of just 200 words a minute, you’re communicating at a rate of more than three times the speed of a really good typist. At that rate, you could complete a chapter in about 15 minutes or an entire 200 page book in just five hours of talking.
Let’s go back to Cartland. Just so you get some idea of her writing success, she wrote 723 books and sold more than a billion (sic) copies. Regardless of what you think of the quality of the books—and everyone can argue that—she was successful.
How did she write all those books? Here’s her book writing strategy for writing a book in less than a week. She would start dictating to a stenographer. And would do so for about 20 minutes. Then that stenographer would leave and start transcribing the dictation. Meanwhile, a second stenographer would enter and begin taking dictation for another 20 minutes. Then a third. The author would review the writing and make any editorial changes needed. Then the whole writing process would start again.
Time for a little unabashed, self promotion: If you haven’t asked for my Free CD, “How to Write a Book On Anything in 14 Days Guaranteed!” then you’re just plain nuts! It’s free, no charge, but you can bet this $100 CD will be carrying that price tag very shortly. How do you get it? Just email me at Free CD, Please, or CD_please@writeabooknow.com and make sure you include your name, your mailing address and your telephone number in the email. Now, back to the article…
And there’s no reason why you can’t write your book exactly the same way. There are just two writing factors you’ve got to take into account. First, hiring stenographers can be expensive. Tape recorders are cheaper and work just as well. You can even use popular voice recognition software that will take your dictation and turn your writing into finished copy on the computer screen.
Of course, if you use a tape recorder, you can probably talk a lot faster and then give your manuscript on tape, (or send it as an electronic file) to someone who will transcribe it. Remember, there are a lot of people in third world countries who can transcribe sound files for less than you would think possible.
And the second factor? You’ve got to know what you’re going to say before you actually say it. That requires a real need to go beyond your book outline and create the actual blueprint of your book, so you know what will be on every page before you even begin.
Finally, this isn’t a skill you can develop in just a hour or two. Start with a really good blueprint, as I describe in my program “How to Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days or Less… Guaranteed!” This will take you a few hours, but it’s well worth the time and effort. Then start ‘writing’ your book into a tape recorder or digital recorder.
Start slowly. You won’t be writing your book at top speed for several days yet. Yes, it will be frustrating, and you’ll be tempted to give up because writing with a pen or on a keyboard is so much faster… right now. But you had to learn to use a pen (that took years) and you had to learn to use a keyboard (that took a lot of time, too). So persist. And before you know it, you’ll be writing your book at a rate that will absolutely amaze yourself and your colleagues.
By the way, if you’re writing your book with pen or keyboard, my program will still get help you get your book done in 14 days. I just thought you might like a way to get your book written by, say, tomorrow morning!
While we're on the topic of strategies, and if you haven't already done so, feel free to
subscribe to my FREE on-line course, "How To Write A Book On
Anything in 14 Days... or Less" it's packed with tips, techniques
and tactics for writing your book faster than you ever thought possible! But
ONLY if you're SERIOUS about writing a book NOW!
Wait a minute! You mean you still don't have your writing program, "How to Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days Or Less... Guaranteed!"? Well click How to Write A Book!
Like this article? Link to it from your web site or blog -- just copy/paste this HTML:
Want more ideas for getting your book published free? Take a look at this article for all the answers you'll ever need.
