By BookBaby author Nancy L. Erickson
Even if you’re not a writer by trade, it doesn’t mean you can’t become an author. You’ve got a story born from your life and business experience. Aren’t you ready to share your life story with the world?
As a nonfiction book coach, it is my calling and my honor to help a great many people — including business and community leaders — transform their lives and business experiences into stories that move people to action. I believe the wisdom and power to create real change lives in the minds and experiences of leaders, community builders, and everyday people all over the world.
My role is to connect people who have solutions for the world’s problems with the people who need those answers through books that make an impact – a book that will give them a broader platform to share those ideas.
It begins with your story
Your story deserves to be told – and I’d argue it’s your responsibility to tell it. Most aspiring authors don’t know how to get started on their book and feel overwhelmed before they even begin. Below are some tips to help you on your way to sharing your truth.
Develop a concept
A memoir, captures a period of time or a set of events in your life, rather than cataloging your experience from cradle to grave — that’s an autobiography or biography. In order for your memoir to appeal to an audience beyond your friends and family, you must develop a solid concept that bridges the gap between your life and that of your reader.
Publisher Sharlene Martin once said, “[You] need a solid concept for [a memoir] that invites the reader’s concerns into the experience of reading it, instead of just saying, ‘Let me tell you all about wonderful me.’” Consider the elements of your story that are universal and find ways to write them so you invite your reader to imagine and consider their own life through the lens of your circumstances.
Make it memorable
You can make your nonfiction book as memorable as its fictional counterparts by using sensory language – language that conveys how you felt, what you saw, heard, smelled, and tasted during the scenes you present. I encourage my writers to close their eyes when they write a pivotal scene to take themselves back to the place, the time, and the emotion of the moment.
Once you’ve transported yourself back to that moment, open your eyes and write your scene. When you’ve gotten it down on the page, go back and look for ways to vary your language to make it richer and more interesting. Break out your thesaurus if that helps!
Your story is exceptional
What are you waiting for? What better time is there to write a book about your own life story than now? Someone out there needs your message. When you share what you know and what you’ve learned, you are part of the solution. Your story is exceptional — don’t keep it to yourself!
I had the great honor of speaking at an Arête – HPA event. Arête is a truly exceptional group of leaders who have exceptional stories to tell. In this presentation, I talk about how to go about designing your exceptional story:
Here’s the thing: people who write nonfiction books very often aren’t writers. You’ve lived through something, you’ve learned something, discovered something, or developed something, and you’re busy living your life. You’re out accomplishing things. You don’t need to learn the publishing industry or take writing classes to write your book. You simply need to get your message out of your head and out into the world.
You may not be a writer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t become an author. You can do anything you want to do if you get the proper help. Listen to what David. J.P. Fisher, author, business leader and entrepreneur had to say after he wrote his first book, Networking in the 21st Century: Why Your Network Sucks and What to Do About It.
“Writing the first book was definitely a big hurdle, but I found that it was like running a marathon. Once you do one, you look back and want to do it again. I’ve published three shorter books in the ten months after publishing my first book, and there are more on the way. It’s definitely helped build my professional credibility and stature as an expert in my field.”
What do you have to lose? When will there ever be a better moment than now?
Related Posts
Who Am I To Write a Memoir?
Four things to decide before you write your memoir
Keep the “ME” in your MEmoir
Writing a Memoir? Avoid These Mistakes.
Sensory Language IS The Detail In Your Writing
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