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How to write TEN full-length books a year - and change your life forever! |
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1. Why did you write this book? Mainly for myself. I was so busy helping other people to write that I didn't have any time to write anything myself. I had stacks of ideas for books, but they just kept building up. One October evening all that frustration boiled over and I had to do something about it. My first idea was to look on the internet for help - and indeed there were courses out there that claimed to show you how to write books in 28 days, or 14 days, or less. But they seemed horrendously expensive, and further investigation revealed that these were mostly scams. But I also knew that it could be done, because I had proof. So I set myself the task of finding out how those other writers did it and how I could do it myself. I already knew some of the speed-writing techniques because I'd researched them for the ideas4writers web site. So I pulled together everything I had, went looking for more, tested them, modified them, discarded the ones that didn't work or were too difficult or tedious, and kept the rest. I also started adding new ideas and variations as I came across them or came up with them myself. In fact I adapted several techniques from the computer software industry, of which I had considerable experience. (I knew that degree in computing would be useful for something eventually!) It was immediately obvious that I was on to something - I could see how easy it would be to write a book using these techniques. So I decided to do it, to prove to myself that it would work. And the first book... well, how about this collection of speed-writing techniques itself. That way everyone else could use them too. And I might even make some money out of it. [top] 2. How long did it take you to write it? 23 days. On the morning of day 1 the frustration hadn't yet boiled over and I had no idea I was about to write a book. That evening the frustration kicked in and by the end of day 23 the book was finished. [top] 3. How many other books have your written? The Date-A-Base Book 2008 and 2009 have just been published, I'm currently working on The Fastest Way to Sell Your Book, and I have 9 other books scheduled for publication during the next 12 months. [top] 4. How is this book different from all those "write a book in 28 days" courses I see all over the internet?
[top] 5. Is it really possible to write a book in less than a month? Yes. It's quite easy if you know how. These writers all did it - and some of the books they wrote in just a few days went on to become classics. [top] 6. Why would I want to write a book quickly? There are lots of excellent reasons. Please see chapter 2. [top] 7. What if I have no writing skills whatsoever? No problem. I've taken care to explain the techniques in such a way that anyone can use them, regardless of their level of experience or ability. Everything you need to know is in the book. You could easily write a book yourself with no previous knowledge or experience and without anyone else's help. In fact you'll learn lots of writing skills as you read the book and put the techniques to work. If you want to develop your writing skills further I've recommended some excellent guidebooks and courses which will bring you up to speed very quickly and save you years of struggling along on your own. And I've also included lots of ways of finding people who have the right skills and getting them to help you. Then you can let them do the hard work while you do the fun bits! [top] 8. Would it help to have good writing skills? Certainly. Mainly because you'll feel more confident in your writing. Writing skills are more important for fiction than for non-fiction. It helps to know how to develop complex, three-dimensional characters for example. But there are plenty of shortcuts you can take so you can still achieve great results. For example there are the writing engines on the ideas4writers web site that will develop characters and complex storylines for you. I discuss several other shortcuts in the book, and highlight the exact skills that it would be useful for you to learn. And I tell you the quickest and best ways of learning those skills - it won't take you long! [top] 9. Do I need a degree in English? Certainly not. In fact an English degree would probably be more of a hindrance than a help. An English degree trains you to be over-analytical. You just need to write from the heart, then edit with your head, until it sounds just like you talking. (And yes, the book includes lots of information about how to edit your books quickly too.) [top] 10. Isn't it a case of more haste, less speed? You mean, won't I end up with a poorly written book if I churn it out in a few days rather than spending months or years on it? No. Absolutely not. You'll write pretty much the same words using these techniques as you'd have written if you'd spent years writing your book. If anything your writing will be slightly better in fact. Since the words will be the same (or better), the time factor becomes irrelevant. So doesn't it make sense to do it as quickly as possible? Than you'll have plenty of time to enjoy yourself, relax, write more books, put more effort into marketing your books, and so on - while everyone else plods along doing it the slow way (while getting increasingly jealous of you!) Also, you won't have time to get bored, and it's virtually impossible to develop writer's block. So you'll probably develop a strong, pacey writing style that readers will love. [top] 11. Isn't it just writing to a formula? Formulas do get a mention, but that's just one of the techniques and you don't have to use it. As one reader commented: "Your book allows for the brain's creative processes to weave stories together like a tapestry." But what's wrong with formulas anyway? I'm all in favour of them. Most writers develop their own set of formulas over time - the same basic framework they always use for their stories, books, articles, and so on. There's nothing wrong with that. It saves them huge amounts of time and effort in setting up the basic structure ready for the next project. And if you just happen to borrow someone else's formula, or you use one from a publisher that ensures that your books will always be a perfect fit with their readers' expectations... well, that makes good sense to me. Formulas are not as restrictive as most people think. The Star Wars movies, the James Bond movies, the Harry Potter stories, the Indiana Jones movies, and hundreds more, all use the exact same formula. There are plenty of other formulas you can use, or you can invent your own. Full details in the book. [top] 12. What if I don't like using computers? Look at our list of speedy writers. Most of them didn't use computers either. So it really isn't a problem. Your manuscript will need to be entered into a computer at some point, but it doesn't have to be you who does it. You can handwrite it or dictate it and get someone else to type it up for you, or type it yourself on an ordinary typewriter or basic word processor. Your publisher will then arrange for it to be entered into a computer. You can still write a book and you can still do it quickly. As far as The Fastest Way to Write Your Book goes, you'll probably want to skip chapter 13 (technology) and a couple of sections in chapter 7 (planning and outlining) but the majority of the techniques will be just as relevant to you as they are to those who use computers. [top] 13. Will I make a fortune from writing books this way? You might. Or you might not. But if you write several books per year you'll stand a much better chance of fame and fortune than someone who only writes one book every year or so. It's like buying ten lottery tickets each week instead of just one. But if you write a lot of books you don't necessarily need them to be huge sellers anyway. A decent level of sales from a lot of books can be worth just as much as one or two bestsellers. Some of your books might become bestsellers. Some of them might flop. But that doesn't matter. You'll still have plenty of others out there selling steadily, earning you a pretty good income. There's more about this in chapter 2. [top] 14. Why do you self-publish your books? For all sorts of reasons.
[top] 15. Would you self-publish a book again? Yes! I'll be self-publishing several of my own books during the coming year under the idea4writers imprint. I'll also be publishing books for other writers via our i4w2 ethical publishing imprint. [top] 16. What's the hardest part of self-publishing? Marketing. Writing books and getting them into print is the easy part. Getting them sold is what it's all about. And that isn't so easy - but the next book 'The Fastest Way to Sell Your Book' will take care of that! [top] 17. Any downsides to self-publishing? The main one is that most bookshops - especially the big chains - won't stock them. Unless they sell by the million of course, then they don't care who publishes them! [top] 18. And your book covers conventional publishing as well as self-publishing? Yes. Self-publishing suits me fine, but it won't suit everyone. So the book also covers mainstream publishers, small presses, co-operative ventures, getting an agent, finding a publisher, submission requirements, writing query letters, synopses and proposals, and so on. [top] 19. Are the foreign rights to your book available, and if so who do I contact? Yes. Please contact me (dave@ideas4writers.co.uk). [top] 20. Does the e-book version contain the same material as the printed version or is it a slimmed down version? The e-book contains the full text of the printed book - all 240 pages. It also includes the voucher for ideas4writers membership. [top] 21. Why did you set up ideas4writers? Primarily as an outlet for the hundreds of ideas that were clogging up my head that I'd never have time to use. It was apparent from the number of people who kept asking "where do you get your ideas from?" that there was a demand for something like that. Further inspiration came from the writer Philip Pullman, who joked that he got all his ideas from a web site. The writing engines arose out of a university project. The intention was that they would be combined into a software package for writers, but that never came to fruition and the programming code lay dormant on my computer for years. A further intention was that by charging a subscription fee to access the web site. I'd be able to give up my job, spend a few days each month updating the web site, and the rest of the time writing. That didn't really work out. Yes, I ditched my job, but the web site demanded more and more of my time and the writing fell by the wayside. That problem has now been addressed by minimising the web site updates, removing the subscription fee and making it a bonus item for purchasers of this book. Now I have more time to write, but I rely on book sales for my income. Consequently I spend as much time on marketing as I do on writing. But it's all good fun. [top] 22. How can I join ideas4writers? Buy a copy of The Fastest Way to Write Your Book (either the printed version or the e-book) and you'll find a voucher for free lifetime membership in the back of it (page 241). Fill it in, post it back to us, and we'll set up your account and email you instructions on how to log in. [top] 23. Can I join online or by email without having to post back the voucher? Yes.
[top] 24. Why do you say that lifetime membership of ideas4writers is worth £299? When we charged a subscription fee (Aug 2002 to Aug 2006)
it was £29.95 per year. We decided that lifetime membership
was
equivalent to ten years' membership, and [top] Because I think of ideas4writers members as my friends, and it upset me when I heard that some of them had been reduced to tears because of the service they'd received from supposedly reputable self-publishing companies. I remembered having terrible trouble finding a decent company when I wanted to self-publish my own book. In the end I couldn't find one whose fees were reasonable and whose small-print was acceptable. So I ended up doing the whole thing myself. Having done it once, and having all the equipment, software, experience, contacts and paperwork, I could easily do it again - not only for myself but for others. So I decided to offer an ethical publishing service that members could trust, and we'd only publish books that the authors and ourselves would be proud of. We don't usually reject books, but we do insist that the author works with our editor to ensure that their book is of publishable quality. i4w2 is not our core business (which is writing and publishing our own books) so we're not devoting all our resources to it, we're not advertising it, and we're only offering it to ideas4writers members for the time being. Please note that we do not publish picture books. [top] 26. I like your web site. Can you design one for me? Thanks, but no, I don't have the time. Sorry. Try Serif Web Plus. [top] 27. What's the one question you dread being asked? Let me turn that around and say that it's actually an answer I dread hearing rather than a question. I often follow up buyers to find out how they're getting on with the book. The response I dread (but I hear it all too often) is: "Sorry, I haven't actually got around to reading it yet." Aargh! Please read it. It will help you! [top] |
