You don't always end up writing the book you thought you would

The reality is this: you don’t always write the book you set out to write. And… you often don’t figure that out until you’re 20,000+ words in and suddenly the manuscript you’ve been working on for months starts to feel heavy, gross, misaligned and you avoid your computer like the plague.

Here’s what happens. You have this great idea. It’s been running circles in the back of your mind for ages. It’s aligned to the work you do, to the stories you tell over and over again. You look at the work you do in the world and you want to help even more people. You think: THIS is what I’ll write about. THIS is what I know. THIS is what I could talk about forever.

So you start writing on your own, join a writing programme, or get a writing coach. You nail your messaging. You dream of your cover art. You have people lined up to read over what you write. You even outline the entirety of the book. The words start to flow.

But, and here is where a critical step is missed. The step between the outline and the writing. It’s the summary.

The summary is when you take your outline and you build upon it. You write down everything you want to explore within each section. You fill it out. It expands. The manuscript then starts to take shape.

It’s also when you start to see where there are gaps, uncertainties, tangents. Where you can see, right before your eyes, that this book isn’t shaping up the you’d planned.

So you course correct. And NOW everything feels fantastic. The words are flowing. You’re in love with what you’re writing. The process is still difficult, but it’s not debilitating. And you realise, this book looks nothing like the one you thought you were going to write AND YOU LOVE IT.

But, many authors don’t know to create a summary. They don’t know to allow themselves the time and opportunity to deeply explore their topic before diving in. And when they miss out on this, they find that they’ve already written so much, already devoted so much time, that they simply continue onward.

Except, they don’t love it. And it shows in the end. The book sales stall. The impact isn’t there. Their intentions for the book are never fulfilled.

Or… it sits unfinished. Forever.

And this, dear ones, is why our programmes are Concept to Publication. There is very little worse for an author than to get tens of thousands of words into your manuscript and find out that you've started down the wrong path or the foundation you built you book upon isn't metaphorically strong enough to withstand the bindings. We are with you from the beginning. You have an idea. Excellent! Let's talk about it. Let's outline. Let's explore that further. Still want to write about it? Fantastic! Found something even better to write about? Even better! Let's do it.

You DO NOT want to wait until you've already started writing to find out that you're unhappy with what you're creating.

If you're ready to look that book idea straight in the face and see what comes of it, let us know. Our Concept to Publication programme can be done in three ways: 1) 1:1, just us and you working together to bring your manuscript into the world, 2) in a group setting where you have us + a few others going through the same process as you are, or 3) in a private group for when you gather your writing besties together and all write together whilst having us alongside you.

Reach out at michelle@soulsparkpublishing to get started or head here for more information.