Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part seven - Edit, edit, and edit again)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part seven.

7. Edit, edit, and edit again 

I have noticed a worrying trend for books to have spelling mistakes in them, even when they have been published by a company. Usually there is just one, but sometimes books have many mistakes. I have read two recently where there was a crucial mistake was on the first page.

It really makes a book look cheap and unprofessional.

I consider myself a good proof-reader of others work and I always use the computers spell check and grammar check when I write, but even though I read my first book over at least four times before I published it, there were many embarrassing mistakes in the first version. I wrote about this in a previous blog called "New book proves it, I know the proper English.". 

 There were missing words, and extra words. There were missing commas, and extra commas. I read what I thought I wrote instead of what was on the page.

As a writer you need as much help as you can get to proof-read your work.

For my second book I had Karen from EyeProof read it over and she found a similar plethora of mistakes but this time I was able to correct them before I published.

It is so easy to miss things in your own writing, and so important to have as many people look at it as possible. Or you could hire a professional like Karen for a reasonable fee.

It might also be helpful to have an editor look at it. I used the editing service on CreateSpace and for few hundred dollars I got six pages of really helpful feedback.

If you are submitting your book to a publisher you will be one of hundreds, if not thousands, vying for the publisher’s attention and a well edited book will improve your chances of being read and then picked up.

If you are self-publishing, then you still want your book to look professional. A good editor will help. Here are the two links I use and one blog post you might find useful.

Editing service through CreateSpace 

Eyeproof for seriously good proof-reading from a friend of mine

My blog about how to set up your spell and grammar checker .

Tommorrow. I am posting a bonus blog with some tips I discovered about setting up and using CreateSpace to self publish.

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part six - Write with Passion)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part six.

6. Write with Passion 

I once read that the first thing a publisher notices about any book is whether the author is passionate about their writing or not. It shows through in each sentence and helps the words come alive.

I think readers can tell too. If you don’t love what you write, why would a reader love it?

Here are some ideas for putting more passion into your writing.

1. Write about something you are passionate about.

You may have heard that you should write about what you know (and if you are writing a memoir about yourself I should hope you do know your subject) but just as importantly you should write something you are passionate about.

Your life could be really interesting but only if you are interested in it. If you write about something you think readers will be interested in but that bores you then it probably won’t work. 

Look for the interesting details in your life; the colour, the sparkle, the hopes, the disappointments, the hard times, and the good. What makes you happy, or miserable, or even angry? 

2. Only write when you are feeling inspired.

Sometimes I will sit at my computer and write until I feel inspired, but some days it doesn’t work. Sometimes I spend hours editing a piece only to find that the first version had more energy and was more readable because it was written when I was more excited about the story.

If the words are not coming, take a break, go for a walk, clear your head, and start again. When I am feeling inspired I can write all day and I enjoy what I write. When I am not feeling inspired for any reason then I will have to do something else like formatting my book or working on marketing.

3. Live a life worth writing about

This one is kind of obvious: Live life with passion. Even writers need to get out and see the world, especially if you want to write a follow up.

A good memoir has stories in it that are, well … memorable. Your life may have been miserable, or outstanding; full of chaos, or full of happy surprises. Focus on the stories that will surprise and write about them with passion. Explain each story in enough detail that your reader can picture it in their mind. Give the reader the full experience by adding enough detail and description; enough colour, texture, and sound. Make it come alive.

Then make sure you continue to live a passionate life. One that inspires you so you can write with passion about yourself.

For my next adventure I am planning a sailing trip around the Pacific. Now that it something I am passionate about.

Tomorrows Blog: Editing your Work

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part five - It's in the details)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part five.

5. Leave out the boring details

I was born in Malta and moved to New Zealand with my family when I was three years old. I went to Paekakariki School, and then my family moved to Tawa where we lived for six years.

Are you bored yet?

Would you like me to tell you how many brothers and sisters I have? Do you want to know the names of my pets or the whereabouts of my grandparents? How about what day I wash my hair?

Now that’s just silly.

A memoir is not an excuse to write everything that happens in your life, blow by blow. Every story in your book should have a reason to be there. It could show the reader more about you as a person. It could be an insight into your family dynamics. It could be funny, or crazy, or even tragic.

Having an overall story for your book, a subtle message, and a suitable tone, is a good start. It will provide a framework and help you decide what to put in and what to leave out. When I edited my book, I left out some stories I thought were really good because they did not fit in with the overall message and tone of my book.

I remember reading the story of one of the most amazing and inspiring people I had ever seen in a video. His energy and enthusiasm were infectious and I loved him but I found the book about him just plain boring. There was no insight into him or his personality, just a series of not particularly inspiring events that happened in his life. I was so disappointed.

One of the little tricks I used in my books was to cut out some unnecessary information that slowed the story down. Rather than have lots of filler sentences like “a few months later” or “another time” or “the next time I was out on my bike,” I sometimes used creative licence and wrote as if the events happened on the same day.

It helped the stories flow well, and no one really cares when they happened since my stories are not consecutive anyway.

If you are writing for the public then you should try a little harder to make each story a solid contribution to the books overall theme. If you find that too much work then you have another option.

You could write your book for family and friends. They may be fascinated to know where you were born and what school you went to. They might even want to know the names of all your childhood pets.

That is a perfectly valid reason to write a book.

PS One of the articles that inspired me when I was editing my book was an article by Abigail Thomas and featured on Oprah.com. She has some really good ideas about how to start writing a memoir and what to say. You can visit the article by clicking here.

Tomorrows blog: Write with Passion and Enthusiasm

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part four - Who is your audience?)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part four.

4. Who is your audience?

Before you put pen to paper, you should consider who you hope will pick up your book and read it.

When you know your audience, you have a better idea what they want from your book. Knowing your audience can help you every step of the writing process.

Having a typical reader in mind allows you to check your writing. If you can picture someone reading your book, it will help you as you decide what to put in and what to leave out. For both my books, I cut almost as much out of the book as I left it. I pictured my reader sitting there and realised that some parts of the story were just filler.

Maybe you can test your finished book out on some people from your target group before you publish or submit to a professional publisher. Later you will have a better idea how to market your book when you know your typical reader.

For example, if a book is written for teens, you might have more success marketing on Facebook. If it is for older adults, you might have more success meeting groups of people at library or service group presentations.

In my case I want to share my stories with other women moving into the “empty nest” stage of life. I hope to motivate people who want to get out into the world and do something different but are not sure how. Now I know to advertise where older women gather. I can picture my typical reader and speak directly to her.

Deciding your audience early on does not mean a teenager will not pick up your book about your life in the fifties, or an older person won’t identify with the story of your first teen romance. One of my first fans was my brother-in-law who read my book in one sitting and then came back with some complimentary comments. I never thought about a man reading my book.

When you have your message, your story, and the tone of your work, then it will probably lead to your audience. If not, choose one. It is much easier to write a book for one group. If you try to make it please everyone it will be tough. Do you leave out profanity or will your readers expect it? What about modern jargon, such as text speak or computer jargon? Will your readers understand it or should you explain?

Not everyone will love your book and that is okay. Not even the most famous authors in the world are loved by everyone. But if you have a target audience, and you know who you hope will pick up your book, you have a great place to start when writing, editing, and marketing.

Tomorrow’s blog: Lose the boring details.

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part three - The Tone)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part three.

3. Watch your Tone

Whether your book is serious or funny will depend on the tone you use. The tone of your book is a combination of the stories you write, your interpretation of events, and the way you put words together. To some extent the tone of your book will depend on who you are and on your voice as a writer.

How you write can depend on where you are in your life, your education, your life experiences, and your values. It is often a reflection of who you are as a person, but you should still be aware of it.

Is your book full of deep philosophical meaning and thought or is it a light humorous read? Will you dig deep into the reasons why things happened or just pass over them lightly?

Most readers will expect to get to know you by reading your book. You should give readers enough information to feel a connection with you. That may mean talking about your hopes and dreams, or revealing your failings. Allow readers to know you as a person and don’t try to act too perfect or be so modest you sound boring. Readers want to relate to you and can only do so if you are open enough about who you are. My failures are some of the most memorable stories in my books.

Write about yourself as you really are, not as you want to be remembered. It is okay to reveal some weakness. It may even help others relate to your story better.

My books were written to be a light-hearted escapist read. I wanted readers to immerse themselves in the adventure that was my life and hopefully finish the book feeling better about themselves and about the world.

You may have a more measured approach, or want to reveal more inner details and that can work too, as long as you are true to yourself.

When writing, you have to take care of how you come across. Try not to be preachy, condescending, or self-righteous. You can only inject tone by the words you use.

The best way I found to check your tone is to read it out loud as if you were telling the story to a friend, or you could even read it to a friend. Does it set the right tone? If you feel you have to explain anything then you might need to write more. If it seems long winded then cut the story down.

Setting the right tone is just as important in writing as it is in speech.

Tomorrow’s blog: Who is your audience?

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part two - The Message)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part two.

2. What is your Message?

What is the message of your memoir? How do you hope it will touch people? What would you like people to feel after reading your book? Happy? Motivated? Glad they are not you?

Your book may be a collection of stories but there should be something to tie them together, something that makes your whole book interesting, unique, and worth reading. You should have a story to tie it together but your story should also have  an overall message or meaning.

Like most people, I found divorce and job loss depressing and scary, but they were also blessings in disguise. My marriage had been failing for years and my job had changed from challenging to stifling. Leaving both opened up my life to new possibilities.

The sky seemed clearer and brighter, my heart seemed lighter and free, and anything started to seem possible.

That is what I wanted to tell by writing my memoir. Life can be awesome. Change can absolutely be the catalyst for something better. I hope people enjoy the stories of my year house sitting but the overall message in my books is one of hope. Hope that challenges can be overcome and life can be even better after tragedy and sadness.

Have you considered your overall message? While your book, like your life, will take many twists and turns, you should consider its overall impact. Are you hoping to connect with your reader, motivate them, or shock them? When someone finishes your memoir, do you want them to feel inspired, relieved, or hopeful?

Here are a few messages other have used. “Love conquers all,” “Persistence pays off,” and “”ordinary people can have amazing lives.”

Somewhere early in your writing, you might like to consider your message. Knowing why you are writing your memoir will help you answer the biggest question of all that your potential readers will have. 

Why should I read your book?

 Tomorrows blog: Setting the Tone

Seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir (Part one- The Story)

This week is the Queensland Writers Festival and as my tiny contribution, I am writing a post a day in a series called seven things I learned from writing and publishing my memoir. This is part one.

1. You need to have a story.

Before you begin work on that great world-changing novel that is your life story, there are three crucial things to consider; story, message, and tone. Today’s blog is about the story.

Like most people, I began my memoir with the stories, but it I had almost finished the first draft when I realised that it was incomplete. It was full of good stories but there was nothing holding it together. There was no reason why anyone would pick it up.

I am not famous enough to attract readers just because of who I am. I needed an overall story that would attract readers. My book would sit on the shelf with some amazing memoirs and there had to be something that would draw people to my book; one overarching story that would connect all the stories into one cohesive whole.

I needed a purpose for my book.

While life is still in progress, it can be hard to decide how to structure your book. Where will you start and where will you finish? What do all the stories of your life have I common? How should you put them together?

My theory is that it should be as much like a novel as possible.

The beginning needs to set the tone, introduce the characters, and make people want to read on.
Unless you were born in a life-raft after your family boat sank in a storm, it is probably best not to start with your birth. After all everyone is born and there is nothing in that to make the reader curious about the rest of your book.

Start with a noteworthy event, or even a bit of drama. This will hook the reader in. You can even start at the end. I began my first book with an idyllic day in the life of a house sitter, and then went on to explain in the rest of the book how I got to that perfect day.

The end needs to tie things up nicely and provide a satisfying conclusion of some sort.

In my book the overall story is one of a life changed forever. I begin my story as a regular working mother and end as a sort of housesitting gypsy living large on a tiny budget and having the most amazing adventures.
Most people prefer a positive approach and a happy ending. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a sad story, just that people need a reason to read through to the end. How did you overcome that tragedy? How did you beat the odds? How did you find meaning in your life after devastating loss?

Unless you choose to write your memoir as a simple collection of stories, there should be an attention grabbing beginning and a satisfying end.

In between, there could be drama and tension, problems and predicaments, or humour and silliness. Try to vary the pace and introduce some elements of the unexpected. Give people a reason to read on at every page, and especially at the end of each chapter.

I learned a lot from my first book and could have done better, but I am particularly happy when people tell me that they read it in one sitting. It means they found something in it worth finishing.

That is the highest praise of all.

Someone to drum with

We sat under the shade and followed along with the happiest drum teacher I have ever met. Each of us seated around him had an instrument. I had a large authentic looking drum with a well-worn skin cover and what looked like cow fur around the top. My friend had a handful of what looked like hardened leather bells, that jangled as she shook them.

The teacher led us in simple rhythms and chants and I wondered why I didn’t drum more often. It made me incredibly happy and relaxed. My friend said it made her hands sore.

We both had fun and we sparked off each other. She showed me how my drum vibrated with the other drums even when I wasn’t playing it. I tried to push her into the middle when the leader asked for dancers.

It was the Redcliffe Easter festival and it was busy and alive with activities for all ages, and I am so glad I went, but I nearly didn’t. It was only after my friend called for my opinion on a piece of writing that we decided to go together.

The drum teacher’s enthusiasm was infectious. He smiled for non-stop for the half an hour we were there and when we returned three hours later he was still smiling and jollying along another spell-bound group.

He showed us how to beat different patterns and even tried to get us to jump dance. I loved it but if my friend had not phoned, I would have missed it all

My friend is an amazing author and very skilled. I only met her last year, and we started sharing writing this year. Writing is a solitary activity, but having a friend who can critique my writing has been invaluable. Friends and family are often too kind. Only another writer knows how fragile I can be about my writing, and is skilled enough to offer useful suggestions that I will listen to.

Just as I could have sat down with a drum and played it myself, I could continue to write by myself, but I had much more fun with a skilled teacher and a group of other learners who amplified the sound of my own drum and added richness. So it is with having a friend to discuss my work with.

People of other professions naturally share information, skills, and advice with each other. Writers too can benefit from the same strategy.

By sharing my work with her, and also by sharing my opinions on her work, we both will have something better to offer when we share it with the world.

Two heads really are better than one, whether it is writing or drumming.

To learn more about house sitting, along with fun house sitting stories and tales of my adventures around Australia, go to https://www.createspace.com/3750764 or Amazon.com or Amazon.com to buy my book.

Three Crucial things to remember when choosing a Book Title

 At the end of last year I finally finished my first book. It was called The Year of the Yellow Motorbike.

Never heard of it?

That is because I never published it under that name. I surveyed some people, published extracts under other names, and finally published it as Housesitting in Australia.

What happened and what did I learn. I learned three important things that I would like to share.

1. It’s about the reader. Who is your book written for? How will it attract them?

As much as I was convinced that all middle aged women who yearned for adventure would love my book, the reality is that there had to be a reason for people to pick up my book.

Yes, it is about my journeys and adventures, but what sets it apart is that it contains some valuable information about an incredible way to travel and stay in lovely homes for free.

During my research on the current title, one woman wrote “For an American reader, I can guarantee that you will definitely have an audience for this type of book based on the title alone!”

The name was changed that day.

2. You have to do your homework.

A friend has written a book, so I looked it up on Amazon. Ten minutes later I was still searching for it.

He had chosen a popular title and there were three other books, and a popular song with the same name. His book was way down the page, even when I used the full title.

It is important that your book is easy to find. The title should be unique, and if possible, include words that people are looking for. Even a fiction book would do well to have something in the title that makes it possible for readers to find it in the crowd.

Look up your chosen title on Google and Amazon and see what comes up. Test a few options. Have an editor look over your manuscript and comment on the title. Ask some friends.

3. Be true to you.

Paul Carter has a book called Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse. It tells me immediately it will be a bit tongue in cheek.

Some of the art of choosing a book title is just gut instinct. Considering the tone of the book, what words create the emotions you want your reader to feel when they pick up your book.

A romance novel will use words like Passion, and Devotion. An adventure novel is more likely to use words like conquest, and expedition.

A subtitle is a great way to add extra information. I used the word adventure in my subtitle to portray that this is more than just a dry book of information. I used the words tiny budget to appeal to people who want to save money. (And who doesn’t want to save money)  

I plan to use the word Adventure again in the subtitle of my next book.

So now a request.

I have received the proof of my next book. It is about my second eventful year house sitting and I have called it A Middle-Aged Princess in Tramping Boots and subtitled Adventures in Love, Life, and House Sitting.

What do you think?

To learn more about house sitting, along with fun house sitting stories and tales of my adventures around Australia, go to https://www.createspace.com/3750764 or Amazon.com to buy my book.

Who am I writing for?

When I started writing about house sitting in Australia, I wrote out of a sense of wonder.

 I had changed from a stay-at-home mother, to a bike riding gypsy. I moved to a new country, changed my career, my lifestyle, and even my primary relationship when I divorced and met the man of my dreams.

Most importantly I changed from an unhappy, unfulfilled person to a constantly amazed, excited, and very happy person.

I wrote most of it down, and I wanted to share it, but all I had was a collection of stories that were funny, or silly, or just plain amazing.

I wasn’t sure how to proceed until I looked at the most important thing of all.

Who was going to read my book?

It really matters.

 Once I decided that I wanted to inspire women who were looking for more in life, I quickly moved from a collection of stories to a book with a theme; house sitting as a lifestyle.

Kathy Pooler, explains why it is so important to consider who you are writing for in her post called “Who is the target audience for my memoir?” I just found her blog today and can thoroughly recommend it.

She has a really useful list of resources for authors too. I look forward to reading more.

Thanks for inspiring me Kathy.

Two Crucial things to consider before you Write your Book.

I learned so much from writing my book. Here is some more advice I hope you will find useful. It might even save you time and money, if you can get it right from the start.

Before you start writing a book or even a short story, you have decisions to make. You will need to decide on:

1. The Tense (timeline) of your story and
2. The Perspective of your story

The Tense

You can write a story as if it happened yesterday, years ago, or even as if it is happening right now.

What you cannot do (unless you are stupendously clever) is write from more than one angle at a time or change the time frames willy nilly. These mistakes can make an otherwise good story go bad. They disrupt the flow and leave the reader confused.

When I first submitted my book, I thought I would write it as if it was happening now. I thought I was brilliant. It seemed immediate, interesting, and more exciting that way.

Then I came across some problems.

A chapter might start with me talking about two adorable Burmese cats eating upmarket whitebait as if it was happening right now, and then talk about something that happened the next day or a week before. My script was full of segues like “a few days later” or worse, “sometime earlier when I was ….”

Luckily I had an editor to look it over. I knew it was a problem, but I had not realised it would eclipse almost everything else. My book was not worth reading while the tenses were all wrong.

It is crucial to choose a time frame early. Either it is told as if written as it happens, or it is told in the past tense. Even futuristic stories must be written in one of these ways.

Stories written in the past allow more flexibility than stories that are written as if they are happening now. It takes a skilled writer to move to recollections of past events or focus on future activities when a story is supposed to be happening now.

I chose to rewrite everything in my book, except the introduction, in the past tense and to sort out the stories based on similar themes pets, homes, travel etc. Now it has story chapters and other sections full of helpful advice for those who are interested in house sitting.

Writing in the past is often easier.

The Perspective

Writing allows you to be the God of your own little story world. You can write from inside your main characters head, or from several characters perspectives at once, or even as an omnipotent being who sees everything that every character thinks and does.

My book is written about my adventures as a house sitter, so the decision was easy. It is from my perspective.

If you are writing a novel, you might not want to write from the perspective of only one character. This means you can only speculate what someone else is thinking and always from the framework of your character. It is probably easier, and is certainly more flexible, to write as if you are outside the story and can see everything.

It is also possible to write from the point of view of several characters, and change in each chapter.

These are decisions that are probably best made before you put pen to paper. If you have already written something, check that you have been consistent in both tense and perspective.

You will want your reader to concentrate on the story. Your reader should always know exactly where and when they are. That way they can relax and enjoy the story you have worked so hard to tell.

They don’t seem like exciting subjects, but both tense and perspective can make a huge difference to the tone and the quality of your book.

Happy writing.

Crucial Tips for Spell (and Grammar) Checking Your Writing

Some days when I write, I feel so inspired my fingers can hardly keep up with my brain. Other times I agonise over each word and change everything several times until it begins to get muddled and messy. Either way, it can be hard to keep the spelling and grammar in check at the same time.

I have a little trick.

I don’t bother.

When I am busy writing and the words are tumbling out, it can be annoying to focus on spelling and grammar. If I am in “the zone” I don’t even try to get the spelling right, it stops the flow of creativity. I can always fix it up later when I am not feeling so inspired.

If you work like this, (or even if you don’t and want some help getting your finished writing tidied up) then the options in Word are a great help. I use them all the time.

First, I use the automatic spell checker and the grammar checker. It finds many common errors and underlines them in green. Then I reread it myself, out loud to see if it sounds “right.” Then I get someone else (or many someones if possible) to check for errors.

The automatic spell checker is my first line of defence. To turn it on do the following.

In Word 2010, go to File, Options (Under Help), then Proofing. The box below will come up and these are the boxes I have ticked on mine. It finds lots of issues for me and colours them green. I thought I was very good at grammar and spelling but this often finds mistakes I miss.  The latest versions are exceptional.

You can go to autocorrect Options if you want more control but that should be set already. The important thing, (I think), is to have the Mark Grammar and Check Grammar boxes ticked but Check Readability can be helpful too.

When using the Spell and Grammar Checkers, there are some things to remember though.

Note

1. Occasionally, the checker will throw up errors that are not errors. If you have the wrong language set then it might highlight “colours” as an error and insist on “colors” or insist you use “program” when you want to use “Programme.” Make sure you have the right version of English ticked.
2. It will underline examples of passive writing for you but sometimes that is what you wanted to say. If it still sounds right to you, or mimics your style of speech better, then you may want to override the grammar checker. (Right click the word or sentence, and choose “ignore.”) You could also choose to word it differently so it suits your style, and the grammar checker is happy too.
3. Most importantly, many errors in spelling cannot be caught by the computer checker. Words such as “there” and “their” or “its” and “it’s” are all correct spellings so may not be picked up if placed in the wrong sentence. There is no substitute for having someone read it over for you.

Having someone else read it is also important because you know what you meant to write and your mind sometimes fills in missing words or does not notice extra words.  

One last hint that really helps when checking the article for readability is to read it aloud. You will soon see whether a sentence sounds good or is a little awkward.

I hope these tips help. They have saved me many times.

Happy writing.

Extra Help

If you only want to use the spell check for the document you are working on, or set it up for future documents, follow the instructions below. (Copied from Word)

Word

1.     Click the File tab.

2.     Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3.     To turn on or off automatic spelling checking and automatic grammar checking for the currently open document, do the following:

1.     Under Exceptions for, click Name of currently open file.

2.     Select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only check boxes.

To turn on or off automatic spelling checking and automatic grammar checking for all documents that you create from now on, do the following:

1.     Under Exceptions for, click All New Documents.

2.     Select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide grammar errors in this document only check boxes.

Three Simple Steps to Getting Started on your First Book

I learned a lot from publishing my first book.

I learned that you can’t do too much editing. Two versions of the same paragraph on page 132 taught me that. (Fixed now of course)

I learned that writing it is only half the battle. Marketing is tough. There are 800,000 Kindle books, how will anyone find mine?

I learned patience and humility and perseverance. I also learned about planning a book.

If you have a book you want to write, here are some suggestions that will help you keep everything in order.

1. Decide a structure

Writing a book is not always a linear process. The first page is not always written first. Some authors start with the end and work towards it.

Early in the book writing process you too will need to decide whether you are going to start at the beginning and stay true to a time line, or whether you will be more creative. Many of the best books include flashbacks or glimpses into the future.

These can be very effective to create curiosity in the reader or as a change of pace, but they need careful handling so the reader knows exactly where they are and does not get confused.

A non-fiction book like mine is just as tricky. It doesn’t necessarily have an obvious start and finish. I started with a lot of stories and worked around them.

At first, I assumed my book would be in chronological order. Then I realised that the reader might find that confusing. I would be jumping backwards and forwards from one topic to another. I decided to set it up by topic. This would allow readers choose which chapters they wanted to read first, and keep most of the tips and information together for easy reference.

This also worked for me because some house sits were just not as newsworthy as others. The house sit with the slobbery dog only made a few paragraphs, but the run down flat with dodgy appliances, pop out window, and a disappearing student, was much more memorable.

2. Set up an Easy System

I had a folder full of writing and needed to make it into a readable book. Whether you are starting from the beginning or already have a lot of the writing done, here is an easy way to keep everything in order.

1. Set up a folder in your computer for your book files. I have a folder in my Documents file called ‘My Writing’ and inside that there is a folder for each book as well as files for articles, blog posts, and another called ‘writing tips’.
2. Set up a Word document with the list of the chapters that you want to include.
3. Set up other Word documents in the same file; one for each chapter. If you already have some writing done, put all the relevant files in the same folder.

You can now write in whichever chapter you feel like. Any stray stories or information you want to include can have their own Word file or be kept together on one extra page. Because you have the chapters in separate files you can work on any chapter you like and later move them around as you please.  

When you are almost finished each chapter, you can then copy it to one main Word document in the order you want it to go, and start working on continuity.

If you know how to set up a table of contents, give each new chapter you add a heading and format it as Heading 1. Give topics or stories you might move, their own heading and format them as Heading 2.

Keep updating the table of contents so you can see the order at a glance. It doesn’t matter if some of these headings are not going to be chapters in the final book. You can combine them into something more logical later. Having a table of contents makes it so much easier to find stories and topics and move them around.

You can print off the table of contents every now and again and play with the order. It is a good way to decide whether the order makes sense and whether a story might fit better somewhere else.

3. Keep Your Outtakes.

I found myself with a lot of extra written information that didn’t quite fit my book, but I didn’t want to toss it either. An easy way to keep these together is to use OneNote if you have it.

Open up a new OneNote file and save each piece of writing you remove onto a new page with a suitable heading. When you are done, the tabs on the side of the OneNote folder will be labelled with the headings and remind you where everything is. You can choose which ones you can revisit and maybe copy them back in later if you wish.

Setting up s system like this can help you keep everything in order. It can also make it seem less intimidating, by breaking it down into more manageable chunks.

If you have any ambition to write a book, set up your folders and make a start. Even if the folders are empty it will give you a place to start when you have time. Good luck.