Book Writing Journey: HOW am I going to do my writing?

Phew! I'm so relieved that my writing plan—the HOW of my book writing journey—is an organic document. The information in it is meant to grow and change over time. That means I don’t have to go brain dead at the start trying to make sure I include everything that needs to be in it. Even so, the better I think things through now, the easier the journey will be.

I have identified the major components/topics of my book, the major stages of my book writing journey, the interim target dates for the components and stages, and the completion date.

Key Stages of My Book Writing Journey 

1. Research:

• Review Writing from Source teleseminar notes for information to include in book.
• Interview Writing from Source participants for examples of their experiences with the process to include in the book.
• Research current books in this genre for format ideas and publication options.
• Title ideas (review best-selling titles in this genre, conduct survey of options, request feedback/ideas from reviewers, etc.)

2. Creative Fuel

• Do the Writing from Source process before each writing session for content guidance.
• Meditate
• Visualize the book and how it flows out into the world

3. Write the first draft

4. Revise and edit the manuscript

5. Send manuscript to trusted friends and writing colleagues for their review

6. Complete publication-ready manuscript (include selected recommendations from reviewers; do final revision, edits and “spit and polish”)

Key Topics of My Book

The following topics may be individual chapters or interwoven with other topics in a chapter. For example, the real-life experiences will be part of the chapter that describes the Writing from Source process. Additional topics will undoubtedly surface as I write. I’ll make those decisions during the writing process.

• What Writing from Source is
• How Writing from Source came about
• Description of the Writing from Source process
• Real-life experiences with the Writing from Source process
• How to use Writing from Source to enrich your life

My Key Book Writing Target Dates:

• October 22, 2012 (my mother’s birthday): Complete the first draft. (This includes all the key topics of the book.)

• November 22, 2012 (Thanksgiving): Complete the revised draft and give it to trusted friends and writing colleagues for review.

• January 23, 2013 (my birthday – a big one!) Complete the manuscript in publication-ready form.

As you can see, I have the essential items of my writing plan in place, but it is not a complete document. Once I’m in full action mode, the plan will constantly morph. For me, the surprises of new ideas and angles popping up make the writing process fun and delightful.

How does my initial writing plan look to you? Have I missed anything? What would you do differently with your writing plan?