How #Newbie #Bloggers Can Write A 70 Page #eBook In 2 Days

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EBooks are a trending topic again. Thanks to the success of devices like the Kindle and the Nook, the eBook market is thriving. So there’s no better time to get your first eBook out there – you can use it to generate revenue, publicity and leads.

The potential benefits of getting your first eBook done and out there are huge – and yet people are still struggling.  This is partly why I’m creating a course on How To Write an eBook – that course is essentially free by the way, all it will cost you is your email address (see ‘Subscribe’ form either at the bottom of the post or in the sidebar!).

In my How To Write an eBook course the basic methodology that I’m teaching is to come up with your idea, outline your idea into blog post sized chunks, and set up a writing schedule to get those blog post sized chunks written.

The one potential sticking point is getting those blog post sized chunks written whilst maintaining the publishing schedule for your blog.  Consistency in your blogging schedule is important – in the course itself I talk about some ways of achieving this.

But there’s another way – and that’s what I want to talk about today.  That way is the Two Day Writing Spree Method of writing an eBook.

So What’s The Two-Day Writing Spree Method?

I first came across this method back in the day when I wrote fiction.  I used to read a lot of ‘How To’ writing books.  And there was a prolific crime novelist – his name escapes me now – who, when he was ready to write a new book, would take a train to a different town, book into a hotel, and stay in that hotel and do nothing but write until he had finished his novel.

This usually took 11 to 14 days – when he had finished, he returned home until he was ready to write his next novel.

The Two Day Method is a variation of that.  Literally what you do is find a space somewhere where you can write uninterrupted for two days.

And you go to that space, you sit down, and you crank out your eBook, hour after hour.

70 pages of text  contains approximately 21,000 words – so if you aim to produce 11,000 words each day you’ll write enough material to produce your  eBook.

There’s some stuff you need to do before you start your writing spree though.

What You Need To Do BEFORE You Go On Your Writing Spree

You’ve probably guessed the most important task you need to complete before you start your writing spree – that’s to complete a detailed outline of your eBook.

There are two massive benefits of doing this: first, you’ll always have a blueprint to guide your writing; second, the act of outlining your eBook will start your subconscious working on the material whilst you go about your day to day activities.

If you can get a detailed outline done a week prior to commencing your writing spree, then you’ll find at odd moments when you’re walking or driving that your subconscious delivers flashes of insight about your upcoming eBook.

Make sure you always have some form of recording ideas on you – either a notepad or some form of voice recorder.  A lot of smart phones have Apps built into them that let you record memos.  There’s even a service that allows you to phone and leave a message and the service transcribes your message and emails that message to you.

However you do it, get used to jotting those notes down – and then add them to your outline when you get home.  When you’re actually on your writing spree, you don’t want to be burdened with any outlining or planning.  That’s a recipe for resistance kicking in.

What You Need For Your Writing Spree

Here’s a list of the things that I need when I’m doing a writing spree:

• (i)  Macbook with power lead, stand, bluetooth keyboard and mouse
• (ii)  iPod with headphones – my writing music is also backed up on my Macbook
• (iii)A3 paper for writing notes on – and scribbling Mindmaps
• (iv)Print Out of the Outline
• (v) Print Out of Progress Chart
• (vi)Access to coffee – and lots of it

And that’s it.  Then it’s a case of getting started at the appointed time, and avoiding distractions.

How To Avoid Distractions

In an ideal world I’d have a Macbook for writing, and a Macbook for everything else.  That way I could delete all the time sucking applications like Entourage (email), Firefox (internet browser), Twitter and the like from it – and make sure I was focusing on just writing.

Until the day that I actually buy a Macbook that’s purely for writing here’s a trick that I use for writing: I set up a User on my Macbook that’s only for writing.

So the only Application that’s actually loaded on the desktop is Word.  (I’m experimenting with a program called Scrivener – so that might soon replace Word!).  So if I feel the urge to check email, or Twitter I have to actually log out of the User, and the log into my normal account and wait for the programs to load up, and then reverse that to get back to the writing.

That process is a pain in the backside – so it tends to discourage me from doing it and helps me keep my writing screen open.

Another big distraction for most people is their cell phone.  A trick that works for that is to buy a cheap ‘pay-as-you-go’ phone and take that with you on your Writing Spree and leave your smart phone at home.  Don’t give anyone but your nearest and dearest the number of the ‘pay-as-you-go’ phone – that way you can be contacted in emergencies, but your friends won’t be phoning to ask how your writing spree is going!

You know the kind of things that distract you – these things are sually an obvious form of resistance.  It should be easy to work out methods like the above to remove all distractions.

Actual Writing Tricks and Tips

Everyone has a different approach to writing – and it’s crucial that you find yours.  But here is how I work on a ‘spree:’

• (i) Get ready to start – fire up word.  Whilst it’s loading, go to the toilet (whether you need to or not).  Get coffee prepared.   Have writing music cued up and ready to go
• (ii) Decide which blog post sized chunk to work on.  (Tip: I NEVER write sequentially – I always write the ‘chunk’ that I’m most excited about – whether it’s the 3^rd part of the eBook, or the 10^th, or the 15^th or the last.)
• (iii) When I’ve chosen a chunk to write, load the document for that chunk into Word.  (That’s another thing I pre-prepare btw!  – so I’m NEVER faced with a blank page).
• (iv) Press ‘play’ on my iPod and start writing.
• (v) Generally I don’t take a break until I’ve finished that chunk.
• (vi)Then I take a 10 to 15 minute break – and repeat the process.  Breaks include going to the toilet, getting fresh air, and eating.  And yep, the two times I’ve done this I’ve eaten a ton of crap.
• (vii)After the 10 to 15 minute break I go back to Step (ii) and start all over again.

When you’re writing in this manner one of the things you need to do is never stop for anything.  If there’s a fact you need to check, just insert a break and write (CHECK FACT HERE).  Same with a link you need to put in. write something like (ADD LINK TO ________).  Same with a graphic – (ADD GRAPHIC OF ________).

The one purpose of the writing spree is to give you a First Draft of your eBook that you can then edit – facts and links and graphics and all that kind of stuff can be added at ‘edit’ stage.

Just focus on writing.

Caveat: Taking Care Of Your Hands

Writing Sprees are a great way to produce a lot of words in a short space of time.  But two days of typing 10,000 words can be tough on your hands.

So make sure that you type as ‘correctly’ as possible.  If you write a lot – and what blogger doesn’t? – make sure you invest in some kind of ergonomic keyboard that’s designed to ease the strain on your hands.

Make sure you sit as correctly as possible too and that your keyboard is sitting at the right level so that your wrists are not bent.

And when you take a break make sure you give your hands a break – don’t play a quick round of something on your iPad or iPhone. 

How To Find A Writing Space For Your 2-Day Writing Spree

The obvious way to do this is to find a cheap hotel that’s far enough away from where you live that you won’t meet friends if you go out for fresh air, but not so far that it takes hours to get to.

If you don’t have the budget for that, do you know someone who works locally who has an office that you could borrow when it’s not being used – for example the weekend?

Or here’s a less obvious choice – send your family away so you can use your house!  Both of the writing sprees that I’ve done have been done at home – my wife and kids have gone to the In-Laws and I’ve literally barricaded myself in, turned the phones off and got cracking.

The one constant in doing a writing spree is that you need to shut yourself away from friends and family for two days.

The Good, The Bad And The Writing Spree

What’s great about a writing spree is that you get the first draft of your eBook done and dusted in a short space of time.  Which allows you to get it out there quickly and get it working for your business (whether the goal is to generate revenue, or publicity, or leads).

It’s a great way to short circuit the process.

But it’s not easy.  Writing 10,000 words in a day is mentally challenging – getting started on Day 2 is tough.

I’ve written the bulk of two eBooks using this method when I’ve been confronted by looming (and self-imposed) deadlines and this was the only way to meet those deadlines.

To pull it off you’ll need to have discipline and a fair amount of sheer bloody mindedness to work through the process – especially on Day 2.

However because you’re doing all the writing in a short space of time, your brain is much more focused on your eBook than if you write your eBook over a longer period.  And the resulting eBook tends to require less ‘fitting it together’ editing than if you write the constituent sections over a longer period.

If you’re procrastinating over writing an eBook, getting a deadline set in stone and using a writing spree to meet that deadline might be the method you need to get yourself moving and create some leverage for your business.

Summary

EBooks are a great way to generate revenue, publicity and leads for your business.

Creating an eBook whilst maintaining a consistent publishing schedule for your blog can be challenging though.

A 2-Day Writing Spree is a way of getting round this.  If you write ten or eleven thousand words on each of your two days, you’ll have 70 or so pages of text in draft form at the end of your writing spree.  (Add in graphics, spacers, other pages like ‘Terms and Conditions’ and a’About The Author’ and you’ve got a 90-page eBook!)

You improve the chances of success in your 2-Day Writing Spree by eliminating all distractions – both on your computer, and friends and family! – and by outlining your eBook so you KNOW where you’re going.

Ensure that you’re typing as correctly as you can to avoid RSI style pain in the back of your hands – and also back pain.

Find a ‘venue’ for your writing spree.  And go write!

Your Shout

Most people write their eBooks by the 500 words a day, or 1000 words a day method.  This works – but it takes time, and if you’re running a blog with a consistent publication schedule it can be hard to work on both at the same time.  (There are some tips on avoiding this in Module 4 of my free course on How To Write an eBook – hint hint )

What I want to know is

• What you think about writing an eBook with a Writing Spree?
• If you’ve used this method, how did YOU find it?
• What worked for you and what didn’t work for you?

I’ve got a two day writing spree coming up in a few weeks time….and I’m curious to read about other people’s experiences.

Lastly, if you know the name of the Crime Writer I talked about in the intro to this piece – I think he was European – could you post his name in the comments so I can edit the post and make it more accurate!

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3. 4 Reasons Why You Should Outline Your eBook
4. How To Price an eBook In The Kindle Age

Tagged as: 2 days, ebooks, kindle, nook, ten thousand words, writing eBooks, writing spree