No time to write your book?

Everyone has time to write a book — yes, even you. :-)

When I read this morning that Sir John Mortimer was dead, I remembered his wonderful autobiography, ““Clinging to the Wreckage”.

If you think you have no time to write, consider that Sir John not only worked as a barrister, but was also a hugely successful writer. Either career could have filled all his time, had he allowed it to.

Finding time to write is always simple. You choose to write over the option to do something else:

* Rather than watching TV, you choose to write;

* Rather than sleeping until an hour before you leave for work, you get up an hour earlier and use that time to write;

* Rather than lazing around on the weekend, or doing chores, you choose to write.

And so on. There is always time to write — just claim it.

Read the NYT’s obitJohn Mortimer, Creator of Rumpole, Dies at 85 – Obituary (Obit) – NYTimes.com:

“His memoirs, including ‘Clinging to the Wreckage’ (1982), ‘Murderers and Other Friends: Another Part of Life’ (1994), drop dozens of names of the theater and movie people he spent time with. There are trays upon trays of cocktails in his stories, and interviews late in his life note the presence of what was described in one as a ‘comfortably large Guinness that he is drinking for his health even though it is still a long time until lunch.’”

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Write a Book: Make Money While You’re Writing

Are you wondering how you’ll make money while you’re writing a book? Since the writing can take several years, you need ways to survive while you’re writing. Even more importantly, you need creative ways to build buzz, so that there are eager readers waiting for your book long before it hits the bookstore shelves.

Let’s look at three ways in which you can not only make money while you’re writing your book, you can also market it. Your innovative marketing skills will make your book more attractive to a publisher, so you may even get a book contract long before your book is finished.

By the way: here’s a big tip. Realize that marketing your book is always up to you. Publishers do not market for you. While they may pay for author tours for prospective bestsellers for which they’ve paid million dollar advances, 99 per cent of authors market their books themselves. Before a publisher gives you a contract, your editor will want to see your marketing plan for your book.

Hence, if you’ve been marketing your book from the beginning, you’re much more attractive to a publisher.

1. Publish your book on your blog while you’re writing

I’ve written about blogging your book many times, so I won’t go over the same ground again: it’s essential. Moreover, your blog can earn income for you as you use it for promotion.

2. Publish magazine articles based on your book while you’re writing

Another way to build buzz for your book is to write magazine articles based on it. All magazines give you a byline, and a mini bio, in which you can say something like: “Sara Jane Masterson-Edwards currently hard at work on a book tentatively titled ________. Read her blog at _________.”

When you find checks from magazines in your mailbox every month or two, they help to defray your costs as you write, and of course they build buzz for your book, making you irresistible to publishers.

3. Publish ebooks based on your book while you’re writing

Finally consider whether you can publish ebooks based on the topic of your book while you’re writing it. Hint: fiction doesn’t sell well, so rather than publishing a chapter of your mystery novel as an ebook, publish an ebook using the research for your novel, viz: “Ten Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft”. or “49 Clever Ways to Market Your Book.”

Your ebook spin-offs may surprise you: you may make more money from your ebooks than you eventually do for your book.

OK — there you have three great ways to make money while you’re writing your book, and to generate buzz too.

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