Pete Nikolai - 7 Secrets to Writing Your Book

2019 Leveraged Momentum, LLC

7 Secrets to Writing Your Book

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Elm Hill, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Elm Hill and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Elm Hill titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail .

For more information, contact Author Gateway,
http://www.authorgateway.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019906196

ISBN 978-1-400327324 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-400327331 (eBook)

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response Here]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

M any writers who struggle to start or finish their books are simply being rational human beings. Writing is something they want to do but so is watching television, catching up with friends online, exercising, pursuing meaningful relationships, and any number of other worthwhile activities. Writing is difficult and does not provide much immediate gratification. Without sufficient motivation, it just doesnt make sense to invest much time in writing.

For others, perfectionism and other thought patterns can cause us to doubt our abilities and to fear doing anything that might not measure up to our own standards or those of others. We fear being recognized as the flawed human beings that we all are (imposter syndrome), and so we avoid taking chances. In doing so, we merely exist until we dont, we accomplish little of significance, and we leave little behind.

To move from safety to significance requires an awakening to the truth, the desire to truly live, the belief that significance is possible, the ability to take decisive action, and a commitment to persevere no matter the cost. It helps to recognize that everybody lives in fear of not being enough: smart enough, strong enough, good-looking enough. We are not responsible for being enough; we are responsible for using what we have to be significant.

Think of the books you have read that helped you in some way. They were written by ordinary people who expressed what they had to say from their unique perspective. No one else could write those books, and no one else can write your book.

We each have today and a limited number of days in the future to do something significant. It is time to find the joy of a life well lived. Following are a few paradigm shifts that help:

acknowledging that we are all flawed humans

accepting that some people are not going to like or agree with what you do

believing that it is okay to fail as long as you learn, persevere, and start again

appreciating the gifts that God has given you and sharing them with others

For many people, a dream of what life might be like as an author provides the initial inspiration for wanting to write. However, it takes more than a dream to get most people to take action. We find the motivation to do hard things by developing perspective, assigning value to things, and believing that the value gained from hard things is better than the value gained from other options. While dreams are nice, they tend to be ephemeral and forgotten rather quickly.

The first of the seven secrets to finishing your book sooner rather than later is to transform your dreams and intentions into your vision so you can determine if you need to write your book and why.

Your vision for what life could be like after you finish your book can inspire you to take action and provide the motivation to persevere and overcome obstacles. To maximize the impact such a vision can have, it helps to capture it in detail using present tense verbs as if you are already there. For example, I am an author. I regularly receive messages from people who have found help in my book.

What has been holding you back from writing your book?

[Your Response Here]

What is your vision for what your life could be like after you write your book?

[Your Response Here]

What could writing your book help you to do?

[Your Response Here]

Throughout this book, you will find questions like the ones above that are intended to spur your response. You can enter your answers in the space provided, or use a notepad, journal, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or some index cards. Take some time to answer each question. Feel free to repeat yourself as you answer different questions, and dont spend too much time editing your answersyou have a book to write.

Each of us has unique purposes for our life and shares common purposes with others. These usually are related to our roles and relationships with other peoplewhat we feel we should accomplish as a parent, spouse, employee, citizen, etc. Others flow from our beliefs about who we are, what we believe our talents and abilities are, and what we believe we exist to be and achieve. Some people believe they understand their purposes very clearly, while others find their understanding evolving over time. Since you are investing your time in completing this book, one of your purposes probably involves writing a book to impact other people.

Authors impact their readers in a variety of ways, including the following:

By providing helpful information

By explaining complicated topics

By motivating them to take action

By enabling them to do something

By influencing them to consider another perspective

By persuading them to adopt a different opinion

By entertaining them with stories

What are your unique purposes currently?

[Your Response Here]

What common purposes do you share with other people?

[Your Response Here]

How do you hope to impact your family, friends, and other people with your writing?

[Your Response Here]

Now that you have captured your purposes and your vision for what life could be like as an author, you have the opportunity to see how your life currently aligns with them. While this can be a rather sobering exercise, it helps to keep in mind that life is a journey, and we do not always have the freedom or resources to do exactly what we want.

How are you currently spending your timewhat do you usually do with the 168 hours you have each week (create categories such as sleeping, eating, writing, etc. and determine how many hours you usually spend each week doing each activity)?