Action Guide for LESSON 1 What to Focus on THIS Week Mindset Tip Make it Visual! Choose one or more of the Get it Done in 90 Days Mindsets we discussed in Lesson 1 and post it somewhere you will see it when you re writing and working on your book (e.g. Think like an entrepreneur! 5 Steps to Choosing Your Topic, Title and Book Style in a Week Step 1: Choose Your Overarching Topic Example Let s say you wanted to write about life balance. Okay, let s move on to step 2. Step 2: Choose a Slice (just a sliver really) of Your Topic to Write About This is essential. If you try to share everything you know about a topic you will be writing for years to come. Try this mantra when the urge to broaden your topic arises: Save it for Your Next Book!
Example A slice of life balance might be Balancing you and your kids morning routine before school. See how much more specific this is? Step 3: Choose Your Book Style from the following Pick one of the following. Fair warning: Do not pick something else like a memoir style or you will very likely not finish in 90 days. The Tips Book Here s how this book works: You write a series of short and sweet tips on a specific topic in zingy sound bites (Think one to three sentences or up to 2-3 paragraphs for each tip). You can mix things up by sprinkling in a case study, quotes, client testimonials, valuable resources and an article you already wrote sprinkled in there now and again. Each tip, resource, quote, etc resides on its own page to give weight and breathing room for each important tip. Tips can be replaced with recipe style or exercise style book. Fake Book Example: Let s say I was a health coach specializing in helping entrepreneurial women reduce stress. I might put together The Inner Calm Diet for Women Entrepreneurs: 50 Super Fast Stress-Melters for When You re Fried, Frazzled and Frustrated and Need to Focus FAST 2
Real Book Example: Success Starts With Attitude: 50 Ways to Refuel, Recharge and Reenergize Yourself in Business and in Life by James Malinchak (Karin modeled her book after this one) Real Book Example: YOU: Stress Less: The Owner's Manual for Regaining Balance in Your Life by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen The Principles Book This is when you take your signature system, approach or philosophy about your work and put it into a 5-10 part system. Then you write 5-10 points about each section. Real Book Example: I could think about the 5-10 major categories I cover in my work with my clients and categorize them into principles, pillars, secrets, keys, steps, etc and then write 5-10 tips or smaller points about each section into something like this: How to Become a Rockstar of Wellness: The 8 Secrets to Becoming Irresistibly Relevant in the Eyes of Your Clients by Karin Witzig Rozell (The number 8 comes from 8 letters in the word Rockstar, each letter is a section and I have a few points (tips) I cover for each section. And this is also from a program I ve been running 3 years, so I am repurposing some things I ve already written.) Real Book Example: The Very Cool Life Code by Drew Rozell, PhD 3
The Essay Book This is when you go through your blog posts/articles and select the ones that fit under one specific hot topic for your market and repurpose and package them into a book. The key to getting this type of book done is including only 5-10 essays per point you want to make. Fake Book Example: I could go through my blog posts and pull out all the mindset related ones, pick the seven best ones, edit them a bit, go deeper into each one and compile them into a book called The Seven Essential Mindset Secrets for the Turning Your Passion for Wellness Into a Profitable Lifestyle Business Real Book Example: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra 4
The How to XYZ Book This is when you go through the classes, training, programs and/or articles and repurpose one into a book. Fake Book Example: I gave a class on How to Boost Your Credibility with Your Marketing Materials. I have the transcription from the class, and I could repurpose that into a series of steps for a simple, yet powerful book called: Boost Your Credibility Now! How to add polish, prestige and professionalism on a budget to your marketing materials in 10 easy no-cost steps. Real Book Example: The Lost Art of Pie Making Made Easy by Barbara Swell (If you re a pie lover, then you ll love this cute little book. I have given three copies away and it s so small, short and sweet but highly valuable as it s about how to make pie, but with lots of fun personality.) 5
The How I Did X and Achieved Y Book This is you telling your story of overcoming a challenging situation in 5 10 points or so. This is not a memoir style, otherwise it will take too long. It s 5-10 points on how you overcame X TOPIC and BECAME/ACHIEVED/CREATED Y. Fake Book Example: If I healed my body of diabetes naturally I might write the How I Healed Myself of Diabetes and Got My Life Back: The 7 Essential Diabetes Crushing Habits Your Doctor Doesn t Know About Real Book Example: How I Became A Big Money Speaker And How You Can Too!: The 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Adding Public Speaking to Your Current Business! by James Malinchak Step 4: Write ONE Sentence that Explains What Your Book Is About (Your Thesis) Okay, this is super-important. The clarity of your one sentence will hold the power to make or break your book. You will want to read our special section on creating a thesis sentence as you work through this. Between this sentence and your outline, this is the real work of writing a book because this will provide you (and your eventual reader) with the clarity as to what to expect. Your thesis will be your guide, reminding you which ideas fit in this book, and which really good ideas do not. 6
Spend time on this sentence. Refine it. Make sure it s simple, clear, and very easy for anyone in your target market to understand. This will serve to ground and focus you throughout this program. If you cannot tell the reader (and yourself) exactly what your book is about in a sentence (or two at most), you need to spend more time making decisions to focus on a thinner slice. It will pay off in the end, trust us! This is so important, we ve created a whole mini-action guide below called on this called Writing Your Book s Great Thesis. GUIDE FOR WRITING YOUR BOOK S GREAT THESIS (adapted from http://www.wikihow.com/write-a-thesis-statement. Visit this site for the original document.) Whatever style of book you decide to write, it s likely that you thesis sentence will be the most challenging to write. An effective thesis sentence states the purpose of your book, and as a result will serve to control, assert and structure your entire point. Without a sound thesis, your argument for your book may sound weak, unfocused, and uninteresting to the reader. 1) State your thesis statement clearly. A thesis statement conveys to the reader the points and/or arguments you wish to make in your book. It serves as a road map by telling the reader the direction of your argument or statement. 7
In the most simple of terms, a thesis statement answers the question, "What is book about?" Additionally, a thesis statement, It is an assertion, not a fact or observation. Facts are used within the paper to support your thesis. Takes a stand, meaning it announces your position towards a particular topic. Is the main idea and explains what you intend to discuss. Answers a specific question and explains how you plan to support your argument Is debatable. Someone should be able to argue an alternate position, or conversely, support your claims. 2) Get the sound right. You want your thesis statement to be identifiable as a thesis statement. You do this by taking a very particular tone and using specific kinds of phrasing and words. Use words like "because" and language that is firm and definitive. Example thesis statements with good statement language include: "Because your refrigerator is the center of the kitchen and the kitchen is the heart of your home, learning to organize your fridge in 7 steps will make life easier for your whole family. (See how you know exactly what this book is about and how focused this is?) 8
3) Know where to place a thesis statement. Because of the role thesis statements play, they appear at the beginning of the book, usually at the end of the first paragraph or somewhere in the introduction, perhaps after your opening story, should you have one. 4) Limit a thesis statement to one or two sentences in length. Thesis statements are clear and to-the-point, which helps the reader identify the topic and direction of the book as well as your position towards the subject. Keep in mind Pick a topic that interests you. This must be the first step in writing your book because all direction of the book will depend on what topic you are writing about. Narrow your focus. The goal of this step is to find a particular narrow subject in your topic that you can get in, make a strong point, and then get out! Otherwise your focus will be too big, too broad, and you will likely never finish writing it. Back to the example of organization, a general book on organization is so broad and all encompassing it doesn t make a good thesis. Neither you (the author) nor the reader would have much clarity on what to expect going forward. So narrowing the focus to just the refrigerator is so much more specific, so much more clear, and solves a real world problem, 9
too! What a great potential introduction to an organizer or health coach, etc. (I use this example because someone in our program mentioned it once and I loved the idea because I want to read this book! I would buy it in a heartbeat!) Know the book style, purpose, and audience for your book. If you are writing a persuasive book, your purpose will be to prove something to a specific group (we don t recommend these types of books, but it s YOUR book! We prefer that you write to an already receptive audience rather than try to convert people. Converting doesn t work very well! :) 1) The type of book will require you decide on one of the five book styles we outline for you in LESSON 1. 2) The purpose of the book will require you to be thinking about what you want your book to do for you BEFORE you write it. Clients? Workshops? Lead generation? Speaking gigs? 3) If your audience is working moms, then this should be in your thesis (and title). Be as specific as you can. 4) Keep your thesis statement narrow in scope. Better to address a single issue in great detail (like organizing a refrigerator instead of an entire house) so that your points can be fully realized in the body of the book. 5) You can start with a question. Regardless of how complicated the subject is, almost any thesis can be constructed by answering 10
a question.[2] For example, imagine you re a coach and you want to share some aspect of what you do with people. Simply turn this into a question, such as Of all the clients I ve worked with, what s the simple most important thing that gets in their way when it comes to having the life they really want? and formulate a sentence that will serve as your thesis: When it comes to getting what you really want out of life, the single most important thing to know is 6) Write down your thesis. Writing down a preliminary thesis will get you on the right track and force you to think about it, develop your ideas further, and clarify the content of the book. You will be able to think about your thesis logically, clearly, and concisely. 7) Have a clear thesis before you write. You will likely change a word or two, or perhaps the entire focus. All of that is fine. But you ll want this sentence as your road map so you don t get lost going forward. Some extra points. Analyze your thesis statement once you think you have a final, or working, version. The point is to make sure you avoid making any mistakes that can weaken your thesis. To get a better idea of what to do and what to avoid, consider the following pointers: 11
What to avoid Never frame your thesis as a question. The job of a thesis is to answer a question, not ask one. A thesis is not a list. If you're trying to answer a specific question, too many variables will send your book off-focus. Keep it concise and brief. Do not be combative. The point of your paper is to turn people on to your position, not turn them off, and the best way to achieve that is to make them want to listen to you. Express an open-minded tone, finding common ground between different views. Realize that your thesis does not have to be absolute. Consider it a "working thesis" that's subject to change. As you write your book you may find that your opinion changes or that your direction has veered slightly. So make sure to continuously re-read your thesis, comparing it to your book and making the appropriate changes so the two match. Once your book is finished, go back to your thesis and determine if it needs another revision. 12
Tips Think of your thesis as a case a lawyer has to defend. A thesis statement should explain to your readers the case you wish to make and how you will accomplish that. You can also think of your thesis as a contract. Introducing new ideas the reader is not prepared for may be alienating. An effective thesis statement controls the entire argument. It determines what you cannot say. If a paragraph does not support your thesis, either omit it or change your thesis. Step 5: Now Draft a Working Title for Your Book Remember, you can always tweak it at the end, even if your designer has already designed the cover for you. It takes two seconds to change it. Here are three important tips to keep in mind when writing your title: Make sure your topic is a problem or challenge has relevance to the person or your prospective client you want to work and/or attend your workshop) So get clear on what it is you can solve for them 13
Make sure your title is ATTENTION GRABBING by making it about a challenge that your potential clients might deal with or about something they really desire to bring into their life Make your title CLEAR versus CLEVER. Simple and clear is better than witty and cute. Here are a few different ways to create a good title: The How-To Headline These work the best. People love information, but they don t love to implement the information they learn. Regardless, your job is to get people to want to pick up your book and then give them ways to implement what they learn by sharing great information and an offering an opportunity to work with you. Example: How to Lose Weight without Giving up Chocolate Learn 7 Ways to Pamper Yourself AND Drop Unwanted Pounds The Command Headline This style of headline boldly tells your reader what they are doing wrong and what they should be doing. Start the headline with a strong verb such as: Example: Control Your Sugar Cravings Get wise to the sweets that harm and the sweets that heal The Question Headline Be sure to pose a question that your reader wants answered, not what YOU find most interesting. For example, your readers are not necessarily interested in wellness coaching, but ARE interested in the impact of getting healthier 14
and how that affects their finances, relationships, and future. Example: Why Can t I Lose the Weight? Discover the 7 inner secrets to taking control of your weight The Reason Why Headline You don t actually have to use the words reason why, but you can imply the evidence by using a number in the headline. Example: 10 Ways to Have More Energy at Work, Starting Today: Discover 10 simple ways to feel stronger, clearer and more energetic, while gaining an edge at work Congratulations! You have completed Week 1! 15