3 Ways to Become an Author!

Did you know that you must first BE AN AUTHOR before you can start writing your book? Now, you might be wondering, “How can I be an author if I

have not written anything yet?” and “Don’t I have to have published a book before I can call myself an author?”

This is definitely a chicken and egg situation. Which comes first, being an author or writing a book?

There are no rights and wrongs when it comes to writing. There are only what-ifs!

MOST PEOPLE DO QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

MOST PEOPLE APPROACH WRITING A BOOK LIKE THIS:

1.They come up with an idea.

2. They create an outline.

3. They fill in the blanks with words, or at least try to. This is when they become stuck. On the “writing the words” or “filling in the blanks” part.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? WHY DO WRITERS GET STUCK?

One can only go so far with the above-mentioned methodology. What happens when they run out of ideas? What happens when they start to doubt themselves? What happens when they are not sure if anyone will want to read what they have written? What happens when they read what they are writing someplace else?

Trying to write a book without FIRST creating an AUTHOR INFRASTRUCTURE is like trying to build a house without having any skills or knowledge. You can only go so far before you can’t go any further and that’s when you must stop. You either stop building until you can acquire the necessary skills or hire trained professionals to help you, or you can simply quit. 

This writer’s block could have been avoided if the writer first understood what BEING AN AUTHOR really means.

First of all, BEING AN AUTHOR means you leave any and all writing baggage at the door.

Get rid of your writing baggage and go on a journey!

What is writing baggage? Here are some examples:

1. The need for validation. In other words, you want everyone to cheer you on and offer words of praise. Remember those golden stars that our elementary teachers put on our papers? We want a lot of golden stars. 
2. The need to make an outline or organize what you will say, or at least worry about how you will say what you want to say, before you even say it. The idea that your book must be planned and organized before even starting to write it.
3. When you do start writing, the idea that each and every sentence must be written perfectly before you can go on to the next. 

All of the “baggage” mentioned above has nothing to do with writing. It is what it is. It’s just baggage.

BEING AN AUTHOR means creating an AUTHOR infrastructure so that you you will be able to receive. What will you be receiving? As you start writing, you will be discovering your story. You must be willing to receive these random thoughts, these rabbit trails, these experiments in writing. That is because writing is all about experimentation and discovery and has little to do with coloring in the lines.

Writing is like a map! You never know where it might lead you!

When we make excuses, such as “I don’t have time,” “I don’t feel motivated,” and “No one is supporting me in my writing,” then we are still carrying around a lot of baggage. Baggage that is bogging your down and stifling your creativity.

SETTING UP AN AUTHOR INFRASTRUCTURE will change your writing life. You will be willing to try and to throw things away. You will be more be willing to experiment with ideas and words. You will start to believe in what you are writing. Your motivation will ignite and you won’t be able to stop writing, even when you are eating, sleeping, and dreaming. That is what it means to be an author.

So, do not ask “how” as in “how do I write a book”? Ask why you are writing it. What you are learning from writing it. What others will learn from reading it. Don’t worry about the “how.” The act of writing that you are engaging in will lead you to “how.”

To start creating your AUTHOR INFRASTRUCTURE, here are 3 things you can start doing:

1. Start writing. Write every day. Make writing a part of your routine. Do not skip a day. You do not have to like what you write. You simply need to write. Authors write every day. That’s how they pull out the writing weeds. That’s how creativity blooms.
2. Throw away your plans. Do not even think about an outline when you are starting to write.  Writing to an outline is like coloring in the lines. Start coloring and the lines will form around it.
3. Get ready to experiment. What would happen if you started writing in the middle? What if you wrote your book in the past? What would happen if you started with the end instead of the beginning? 

There are no “rights” and “wrongs” when it comes to writing. There are only “what ifs!”