How to Write a Book: 4 Proven Steps to Writing a Book That Sells

Eat That Frog

It was back in 2007 when I first read Brian Tracy's book, Eat That Frog. My online business had taken off exponentially in the past year, and I needed a guidebook to get more done. This book was it. Since that date, I've become more efficient, and Brian Tracy keeps on publishing new books at a phenomenal rate. Today, Brian shows you the simple steps to follow to write a book that sells.

Craig Ballantyne

"All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." - Brian Tracy

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By Brian Tracy

There are more than 2,000,000 books published each year and yours can be one of them. 

You have the ability, right now, to write and publish a book on a subject that is important to you. Like riding a bicycle, learning how to write a book is a skill that you can master with practice and repetition. 

According to USA Today, 82% of adults dream of writing a book someday, either to express a heart-felt concern about a subject, or to earn a living, and even become successful. The key to writing a book is to "Just Write!" Writing is one thing that you cannot get worse at by doing it. 

I did not graduate from high school, and I failed high school English. I fantasized about writing a book for many years before I decided to "Just write!" In 1981, I began giving talks and seminars to ever large groups. 
To speak effectively, I had to do hundreds of hours of research, and read hundreds of books over the years. To keep current, I read dozens of magazines and thousands of articles. I'd read many of them several times. 

After I continuously learned how to write a book, I realized I had a powerful writing process to publish successful books: Start with a strong chapter that gives a lot of value and benefits to the reader, develop the subject throughout the books, and end with a strong chapter that summarizes and emphasizes the main points. It is a simple formula, but it works, over and over. 

Today, I write four or five books each year and am published by seven different publishers in the U.S., as well as dozens of publishers in 38 languages and 58 countries. I have sold millions of books on a wide variety of subjects. In this article, I want to share with you four of my most effective techniques for writing and planning a book:

Find Your Passion

Start with a message, idea, or story that you really want to share with other people. This must be something for which you have a passion, something that you believe in. One of the best definitions of a writer is: "A person who cannot not write." 

An easy way to start your flow of ideas is to ask yourself what you have a passion for. What knowledge, expertise or believe do you have that could benefit the lives of others? 

By asking yourself these questions before you start the actualwriting process, you can trigger a great idea that can help you single out a subject. 

Be an Expert

You must be an expert on your subject and know ten words for every word you write, or the reader will know that you are talking off the top of your head. 

For instance, if you want to write on success, you must already be successful. If you write on money, you must already be rich. If you write on relationships, you must be happily married. Think about an area, subject or topic that you have experiences in that make you an authority on a subject. 

How to Write a Book People Will Buy

Exactly who are you writing this book for and why will your book appeal to them? When you write a book proposal, you will be asked to describe the type of person who will buy the book, and the number of those people that exist in the current market.  Make sure that your market is large enough. I only write books that I feel have at least one million potential book buyers. 

Expand Your Knowledge

Continuously expand your knowledge on the subject you are writing about.  Find a book, buy, read and learn everything you can about other authors, books or articles dealing with the same subject. This will help you tremendously during the writing process.

Make sure that your material is different and better than other people writing in your field in at least three ways. When you are doing your research, gather all the information that you will need to write your book so you can organize it into a logical structure before you begin writing. 

Those four simple steps are all you need to follow in order to get the ball rolling towards writing your book that sells.