For writers who want to publish a book, the thought of uttering those words is a dream waiting to be explored.

But for many, it never transfers to reality.

Why?

For some, it’s a lack of time. Or you’re not clear on what you should write about.

For others, the discipline it takes to write a book eludes you.

What if I told you that you’re just three weeks away from having a finished  manuscript in your possession?

That’s how long it took me to write mine. And in this post, I’ll share how I did it.

Start with why

Why do you want to write a book?

Like Simon Sinek repeats, your why is what drives you.

It’s what will motivate you when the last thing you want to do is write. And it’s what will keep you moving towards your goal when you’re about to give up.

So I’ll ask you again: Why do you want to write a book?

Is it as simple as introducing yourself as an author? Or does it go deeper than that?

For some, it’s about credibility with your target audience. For others it’s about marketing and brand growth.

For me, it was about showing my audience that my expertise goes beyond writing copy.

What’s your why?

Plan to write your book

Along with having smart writing tools available when you get down to writing, making a conscious plan for your project is vital — especially when you’ve restricted your delivery date to three weeks from today.

I didn’t take on any new clients, and I minimized my social activity. It was only three weeks, and I was on a mission!

I also told friends what I was doing. My business accountability partner knew my mission and helped keep me on track by sending me messages on random days asking how my progress was going. It pushed me to action when I was watching another episode of The Walking Dead!

You don’t need to write for three consecutive weeks like I did. You could pick one week per month for three months, and stick to that.

If you’re willing to block off three consecutive weeks, here’s the schedule I used:

Day 1-4: Planning, chapter outlines and research

Day 5-16: Writing

Day 17-19: Proofreading

Day 20-21: Revisions and final manuscript

Along with making a schedule, plan for the partners you’ll need, like proofreaders, contributors or interviewees. Schedule calls with them and get time on their calendars.

Planning these events not only prepares your partners for their commitments, but also helps you stick to your deadlines because they’re relying on you to deliver.

Use the 20-minute technique

Starting, by far, is the most difficult part of writing your book. Most people have little idea of what their book would be about, and put off starting until they find the one golden idea.

A friend taught me a 20-minute technique that I used on day one of my project. By the end of 20 minutes, I had an overview of the messages in my book and how I would outline my chapters.

It’s a simple technique that goes like this:

1. Set a timer for 10 minutes
2. Take a pen and paper and answer the following question: What are ten key messages of my book? (These will be your chapters!)
3. Once your 10 minutes is up, set the timer again for 10 minutes
4. For each of your key messages (chapters), write three key outcomes for each chapter

This exercise is incredibly simple and open, and allows you to explore exactly what the messages in your book will be.

It also draws on your gut instincts about your book. If you’ve been thinking about it for a while, you already know what your book will be about.

This technique forces you to expand on your idea. Limiting this task to just 20 minutes  forces you to make a decision about the direction of your book.

Don’t worry if your ideas aren’t refined. You can polish them later.

This technique is here purely to help you commit to your ideas on paper.

Turn commitment into discipline

Three weeks isn’t a long time to write a book, especially when it includes proofreading and creating the final draft.

This is when discipline comes into play.

A commitment like this can bring up many limiting actions — writer’s block, procrastination, and so on.

Luckily for you, The Write Life has plenty of resources to help you become more disciplined in your writing. Here are some my personal favorites:

• I don’t know what to write.
• I really don’t want to write right now.
• I have children — how will I find the time?
• Time is an issue — I can’t find it!

Now you know what to do, go forth and write!

Tell us: Have you been planning to write a book? What has held you back from getting it done?

One that gets mentioned, shared, and retweeted.

One that sends you traffic and earns you subscribers.

The best part? It opens the door to a new relationship with the popular blogger, since hosting your viral post is also a win for them.

But let’s back up for a moment. How do you take your guest blogging game from so-so to superstar?

Here are six go-to strategies for writing a great guest post.

1. Read the guidelines

Sites that continually accept guest posts will have clear guidelines to follow. Read them. Ingest, digest and get to work.

2. Do your research

Read as many of the posts on the blog as you can. Learn which posts are popular and why. What are the readers saying in their comments? Can you find a different perspective on the same topic as a popular post?

For example, the forum on Tiny Buddha is a gold mine for the kinds of things its readers fear, love, yearn for, and worry about. I noticed a theme of loneliness, thought about a time when I felt this way (this blog’s guidelines require personal experience) and started writing.

The result? My post, “Loneliness is a Choice: Proactively Choose to Connect with People” is one of Tiny Buddha’s most popular.

3. Write a concise email

If the blogger has guest post guidelines on their site, they won’t need a 200-word intro on the post you send them.

Simply state that you’ve been reading their blog for a while and think their audience would enjoy your post. Give the title of the post and some details of its content.

And that’s it. No need to grovel, beg, or offer your pet poodle as a bribe. If they like it, they will get in touch with you. If they don’t reply after a week, follow up.

4. Use your networks

Your post was accepted? Awesome! Make a note of its go-live date and get ready to promote it to your own community.

Once the post is live, be there for your baby. Share it using all of your social media prowess. Email your subscribers a link to the post.

5. Be responsive

Be active in the comments section: answer questions left by readers, and engage in discussions with the audience. Check back on the post often or sign up to be updated when new comments are posted.

6. Build connections

Guest posting gets easier with established relationships; I had already written several posts for Tiny Buddha before submitting this particular one, so I had a good idea of what the editor was looking for.

What if you want to submit a post, but you don’t have a relationship with the blogger? Start by building a rapport through commenting on existing posts, communicating on Twitter/Facebook/their preferred social media platform, and replying to the emails they send (you are subscribed to their list, aren’t you?).

Going from writing just another guest post to creating a destined-to-be-popular post takes time. Use yours wisely, and do everything you can to show you care about its future. (Click to tweet this idea).

And now, ladies and gents, you know the secrets to writing popular guest posts. So what are you waiting for? Get writing!

What other strategies have you used in order to write a popular guest post?

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

This post originally ran in 2013. We’re sharing it again because it’s such a great resource!

But balancing a full-time job, writing for your blog, and pitching guest posts takes time. And now you have to update statuses, tweet to connect, take impressive pictures and come up with witty hashtags?

Before you begin with the hair-pulling, consider this: you should focus your biz-building effort on whichever platform your audience prefers. (Click to tweet this idea.)

Let’s take a look at a few online A-Listers to see how this works.

Noah Kagan

He has over 13,000 followers on Twitter. Let’s see what happened when he tweeted to sell his latest course:

Pitiful.

Lewis Howes

He built his business on the art of connecting on LinkedIn. What kind of engagement does he get? He’s shown as having 500+ connections and is likely to have more than double that.

Take a look:

Yikes.

Ramit Sethi

Ramit is known for his fanatical testing. He asked the same question on Facebook and on Twitter. Let’s compare the engagement of his audience:

Twitter:

 Facebook:

Facebook is a winner for him, right? Perhaps that’s why he can be found liking and replying to comments there, and rarely on Twitter.

He’s focusing on what gets results and using his social media platforms in a way that works for his business.

Back to Noah Kagan

Let’s see what happens when he sends the same Twitter blast out to his email list instead — a list that is a quarter the size of his Twitter following.

Yeah, baby! There’s gold in that list (for Noah, at least).

What can you learn from this?

1.    Stats do the talking

Take a look at your statistics from your social media efforts, email open/click through rates and discussion on your site. What works? What can you see that’s getting results?

Focus more on this. Build this up before moving onto anything else.

2.    Know your audience

This one’s a given, right? And how exactly do you get to know them? You could ask them where they hang out. That’d be one way. The other way is to experiment. Get to at least 1000 followers and then start experimenting with one of the social media platforms.

Start with the obvious choice for your audience. If your business is design-based or visual, Pinterest would work. If your audience enjoys industry news, then tweet those links.

Over time, if the engagement doesn’t happen, tone it down on the first platform and start with another.

3.    Social media is long term

Overnight success takes time.

First you announce the start of your new social media account to your existing audience, and they sign up. Then you make sure the links are all over your website. Next, you mention it in guest posts and add it to every online signature you have. And over time, it builds.

Noah didn’t start his Twitter account with the followers he has today. It took years to build.

Over to you. What industry are you in and what gets the most engagement from your audience?
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