You’ve done the hard work of researching and outlining your book, now it’s time to get to the fun part: writing it. But what if you’re not what most people consider a “writer” or even worse what if you hate writing? Well, here’s the good news: there are plenty of ways that you can write a book that are fun and entertaining…
Today we will look at five ways to write your book without having to start from scratch. Even better, on one method you don’t have to write it at all – more on that in a little bit!
Method #1: Rework Old Content
Some authors are very prolific, churning out book after book. You may see all of their work and wonder how they can write so much while still running their business and having a personal life.
The truth is that some authors already have a huge arsenal of content to pull from. They’re so good with content creation simply because they re-use everything that they make in one form or another.
The good news is that you can use this technique yourself. Maybe you don’t have a website filled with 600+ older posts. But look at what you do have. Did you create a small report that was wildly popular with your community? Did you spend years regularly publishing guides and tutorials for your audience?
All of this content can be repurposed into your book. But before you copy and paste your old work into your new book, take a few minutes to look it over. First, scan the content for any outdated information.
This step can be very important depending on which niche you’re in. If you’re serving young moms who just had their first child, then most of your content may be evergreen and it will be easy to reuse it. However, if you serve a niche that’s gone through significant growth in the past few years—like the web design industry—then some of your content may need to be tweaked so it’s still relevant to readers today.
Besides updating the content, you should also look and see if you want to change any of your previous words. With older content, you wrote it when you had less experience. You probably know things now that you would do differently.
You may have even radically changed your stance on an issue in your industry. Don’t be afraid to talk about that when you create your book. These admissions help readers to understand that you’re still growing and learning yourself. It makes you look trust-worthy in their eyes and gives them permission to grow, too.
Old content may need to be re-formatted, too. For example, your use of all caps in your early blogging days will be annoying to readers now. But you should also keep an eye out for “copy/paste” issues. Sometimes, moving content can mess up your formatting, making your book a mess later on.
The best way to handle this is to paste your content. Then select it and click the “Remove Formatting” button in your office program. Here’s a screenshot of what the button might look like:
Using old blog posts or reports is a great time hack that can make writing your book a much faster process. But remember to spend a few minutes editing or tweaking any content that needs to be updated.
Method #2: Try Transcription
If you’ve been creating content for your podcast or YouTube channel, you can use all of that hard work for your book. In order to turn audio or video into text, you’ll need to focus on something called “transcription”. This is the process of turning spoken words into text. This can be done in many ways, depending on the amount of time you have available and what your budget looks like.
The first and most obvious transcription method is to do it yourself. This can be a good option if you have a very tiny budget but plenty of time on your hands. You could just select your audio, start playing it, and get to work in your favorite office program.
However, this can be difficult. Every time you have to pause (and you’ll need to do that a lot), you have to stop, minimize your existing windows, find your audio program and click the stop button. Then when you’re ready to go back to typing, you’ll have to rewind your track by a few seconds and make sure you got it all.
An easier way to transcribe your own words is to use a software option like Transcribe from Wreally. You can use their integrated player & editor to capture your words in text format.
You simply upload your video or audio and press “play.” Then you can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly play, pause, slow down, or speed up your recording. Even better, you can format your text within the app. This makes it simple to have a ready to go transcript in just a few hours.
If you have a budget and you don’t want to transcribe your words yourself, you can use other tools. Temi is a computer-generated transcription service. You upload your video or audio track then the software displays your transcript. The advantage of using this method is that it’s quick and easy to use. You’ll pay around $0.10 per minute of transcription.
An alternative is to hire a freelance transcription to turn your audio or video into text. Though it’s more expensive, there are a few advantages to this method: first, you get the benefit of a real human going over your words. If you’re talking about an important topic like say a step-by-step guide to brain surgery, then you want to hire a professional for the project.
You may also need a human when your audio is very low quality. Services like Temi are great but if your microphone made the entire interview sound like it was underwater, you need a professional on your side.
The good news is that you can easily find and hire a transcriptionist by using a website like Rev. You can expect to pay around $1.00+ per minute of transcription but depending on your needs, this can be a good option for you.
If you don’t want to transcribe your work yourself but you’re not afraid to spend some time fixing punctuation and formatting your text, there is a free solution that might work for you. The app Otter will transcribe up to 600 hours of content for you for free.
The only downside is that you’ll have to copy and paste the transcript into a word processing document. Then you’ll need to go through and edit it. However, if that doesn’t bother you, then Otter might be just what you need.
Method #3: Dictate Your Content
Transcription is a great way to write a book if you already have dozens of MP3 files or videos that you can turn into content. But what if you don’t have anything? What if you know exactly what you want to say but you don’t enjoy typing and find it to be an annoying waste of time?
There’s another possibility you could try: dictation. Instead of using content you’ve already created, you open an app and speak it into it. As you talk, your words are automatically converted into text.
If you already use office programs regularly, you can open Microsoft Word and look for a microphone button. You have to be signed into the software to see this option. If you’re already logged in, simply click on the button. Here’s what it looks like:
Then you can begin speaking and watch as your text appears. Remember that like many programs, you will need to speak punctuation marks at the end of your sentence. So when you’re done with a thought you’ll say: “How will you know which podcasting microphone you should buy question mark First, you should consider cost period next consider…”
This might seem tedious at first but after some time passes, you’ll get use to it. In fact, you may even find that dictation is easy once you’re familiar with how to add punctuation.
If you’re not using Microsoft Word, you still have other options for dictation. You can use Google Documents. Simply open a new document and look for “Voice Typing”. It’s under the tools menu. Here’s what the option looks like:
However, Google Documents currently only supports voice typing if you’re using the Chrome Browser. Fortunately, Chrome is free and easy to install.
If you use Google’s voice typing feature, you’ll need to speak your punctuation marks just like you do for Microsoft Word and other programs. So don’t forget to do that while you’re dictating.
You can also use a website like Dictation.io or Speech Notes to create your book. But keep in mind that you need to be connected to the internet when using either site as they’re both online tools.
The cool thing about Dictation.io is that it can translate text from many different spoken languages into your preferred text output. But unfortunately, Dictation is entirely browser based and powered by Google Chrome. That means you’ll have to download Chrome if you plan to use the site.
If you need a more robust dictation system and you don’t want to pay a small monthly fee, you could purchase Dragon Naturally Speaking. Although pricey, this speech recognition software is considered the best on the market and widely trusted around the globe.
For many marketers, dictation is a fun way to write their book. It’s often easier to talk about a topic than it is to write down all of your thoughts. If dictation sounds like it might be the answer for you, go ahead and experiment with it!
Method #4: Hire a Ghostwriter
If you have the budget and you’d rather not write your book yourself, you can always outsource to a ghostwriter. A ghostwriter is someone who writes your book but their name doesn’t go on it. When the project is completed and you’ve paid the ghostwriter in full, all of the rights belong to you. This means that you are free to do what you want with the finished book.
Hiring a ghostwriter can be tricky though. You want to find someone who’s professional and can write well. Some marketers try to hire the first cheap writer they can find. They have a terrible experience then think that all ghostwriters are swindlers looking to cheat them out of money. Actually, a ghostwriter is someone who enjoys writing and helping other people bring their ideas to life.
You can look online for a writer. Some sites where you might hire a content creator are UpWork and Freelancer. If you’ve never used these sites before, you sign up for an account and create a job describing what you want from the project.
Then ghostwriters can bid on your job, giving you an estimate of how long it would take them to do the work and what they would charge you for it. Depending on the complexity of your project and your budget, you may have dozens of writers respond to your job posting.
If you’re nervous about working with a freelance writer, ask around in some of your Facebook groups. Chances are you know someone who has worked with a good ghostwriter, even if they haven’t mentioned it before.
You could post something simple like: “I’m working on a book that I’m really excited about and I’m in need of a ghostwriter. Who do you recommend? I’d love a few suggestions to start my search with. Thank you!”
Then pay attention to the responses you get. Look for writers who are mentioned again and again. The highly recommended ghostwriter with a stable full of happy clients is usually a good choice.
Understand that by asking for a recommendation, you may be sent to ghostwriters who charge more. Writing, like everything in life, comes down to quality and often, you get what you pay for. If you want professional writing, you have to be willing to pay a professional rate.
If you’ve found a writer you like the sound of, arrange a time to connect over Skype or through a phone call. Share your outline with the writer beforehand and ask for their thoughts on it.
Be prepared for follow up questions though. A professional ghostwriter will want to make sure she’s thorough and covers your content completely. That means she’ll probably have a lot she wants to clarify and she’ll take many notes.
Pay attention to the vibe you get from the writer during this call. If you don’t like the freelancer or have a funny feeling in your gut, don’t ignore it. While the ghostwriter might be completely professional and an amazing writer, sometimes there are personality conflicts or other problems.
If you and your writer agree to work together, you need to agree on a timeline. How fast the writer can work and how complex your topic is will impact how long it takes to get the book written. At the minimum, you want a writer that can give you a chapter a week.
When your writer completes the project, make sure to schedule time to read it through. If you need edits or changes, it’s best to contact your writer early on so they can get the work done quickly.
Method #5: Partner with Someone Else
Another way to write your book is to bring in a partner. Writing can be an overwhelming task and it helps to have support. However, that doesn’t mean that you should pair up with the next person you see.
You want to choose a writing partner that you click with. Think about how miserable it is to go to a job where you hate your co-workers. You don’t want that same dread impacting your writing process.
Instead, you want to look forward to working with your writing partner. You want it to be someone you get along with. That doesn’t mean you’ll see eye-to-eye on every creative issue but it will be easier to navigate conflicts when there’s mutual respect and admiration.
So, where do you go to find a writing partner? Don’t post an ad first thing. Instead, look around at your current circles. Are there any friends or connections that you’ve always wanted to collaborate with?
These potential writing partners may even be people you’ve worked with in the past. For example, David had worked with Shannon when she was a virtual assistant who wrote blog posts for her clients. Now she was a six-figure writing coach and David reached out to co-partner with her on his next book. To his delight, he found she was excited about the project and wanted to collaborate.
Keep in mind that you have to share your vision for the book with a potential partner. You can’t just say, “Hey, I’m looking for a writing partner so we can collaborate on a book about Viking history.” You need to be prepared to share your outline and talk through your ideas. If you don’t have a shared vision for the project, it’s going to be very difficult to write together.
As you’re looking for your writing partner, do think about what you’ll both bring to the table. Often, the best partners bring complementing strengths. For example, you might know how to make a great sales funnel but you may struggle with writing the actual book content. By collaborating, you and your partner get the best of both worlds as does your audience.
This doesn’t mean that you won’t help with the writing but it does mean that you can let your partner take the lead when it comes to that part of the project. Then when it’s time to work on the funnel, you may need to step up and guide your partner.
Take time to read something your partner has written or if they’ll be bringing a different skill like graphic design to the partnership, look at some of their work. Browse their portfolio, buy their products, and look at reviews from others.
If you find the work is subpar or you have doubts, don’t agree to work together. Your name will be associated with your partner for years to come. You don’t want to risk being known for shoddy work or being linked to someone who is unprofessional.
During your search, keep in mind that communication is essential during a partnership. Both of you need to be willing to confront problems and deal with them. If you try to ignore the problem in the hopes that it will go away, the final product may suffer.
Not only do you have to be willing to draw attention to an issue, you also need to be open to hearing about potential problems from your partner. You might think everything is going along fine with the project only to have your writing buddy tell you that there’s a major problem with the middle section of the book.
It can be tempting to get upset, offended, or hurt when issues are brought up. But rather than leaning into your emotions, think about what your partner is really saying. Often, their words have nothing to do with you. They just want to bring up the problem and get it resolved so the book can get back on track.
Finally, don’t forget to look at what your partner’s long-term goals. Do they want to write a series of books to create a stream of passive income for both of you? Do they want to use the book as the first step in a complex sales funnel?
You want to work with someone who has similar goals to you. If your plan is to write a single book to establish your expertise and become a speaker, that’s great. However, if your partner wants to write a 20-part series and turn it into a massive digital course, then your conflicting goals may make it difficult to work together.
It’s a smart idea to approach a writing partner the same you would a business one—with your eyes wide open. The more you know about your writing buddy’s workflow, goals, and ambitions, the more likely you are to enjoy the partnership.
Choose a Method
There are dozens of different ways you can write a book. Don’t get caught up thinking you need to investigate every method before you start writing. Instead, pick one that looks like it might be a good fit for you and dive in.
If you find you’re not enjoying it after two or three days, you can always switch gears and try something different. The more you learn about your writing style and preferences, the easier it will be to work on your book.