Business owners know they need a book to help them build credibility and hit the next level of their business. But often, they don’t feel comfortable writing . . . so it never happens.

Let’s face it, business owners who build from scratch wear a lot of hats! They have to learn a lot of different things over a very short period of time. And sometimes, that means that they just don’t want to focus on figuring out this whole book thing, too.

So let me make it simple for you.

Here are some suggestions for you to help get you started with the writing process!

1. Start by blogging. If you know that writing a book is in the future for you, maybe a year or two out, start by blogging. Not only does this help you build the muscle for writing, but it also helps you create some content that you can repurpose for your book. Is that cheating? No way! That’s just being smart about it. You’ve already come up with the content. The ideas are yours. So after you outline, you can easily pull those posts together to form the backbone for your book. I want to caution you, though: don’t exclusively use blog posts for a book that you intend to charge for. It doesn’t feel honest because people can get all the same stuff by looking on your website.
2. Start by checking out what you already have. Do you have blog posts, bullet points, talking points, articles, or great funnel emails? Then you already have some content. As I mentioned above, you can repurpose the things that you have already written to help you develop the backbone of your book quickly and easily. For my own business book, I started with blog posts and great nurturing emails that I knew would be the basis for my processes. Then I embellished. I added more detail. I added a summary for each chapter. And I filled in some other chapters where I hadn’t discussed the topic as much. In just 1 hour, after I had my outline written, I had 10,000 words for my book already. That’s anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the book. Done. Fast. And you can do it too.
3. Start by talking. Are you one of those people who hates writing but loves talking? It’s common for business owners to be really used to talking about their programs and processes because of the amount of networking, videos, and speaking engagements that they do. But when it comes to writing, they often stop short. They sit down in front of the computer and waste an hour trying to come up with a fabulous title. They fidget. They do laundry. And none of that is adding to your word count. Instead, use some dictation software and talk through what you would like to say. Open the notes app on your phone, and use the microphone feature. Or do what Brené Brown did. In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert talks about a trick that Brené Brown used one time. She was struggling to find the exact words for a book, so she got some friends together and explained what she wanted to talk about. I don’t remember if she recorded it and had it transcribed or if she sat down at her computer and typed it out right after that, but you could use either of those methods. Sometimes, it’s just easier to talk it out!

The thing is, it’s easier to get started than to let this weigh you down. When you know you have to hit the next level, you have to do something about it. Get over the big hump and find a way to make your book happen!