- Having a clear reason for your book
and a plan, your outline, will help motivate you
on those days when you just don't feel like writing.
And the newly updated, in 2021, 4Ts
will help you write faster than ever before.
If you wanna write a book in record time,
then this video is for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey, there I'm Julie The Book Broad,
founder of a fabulous self-publishing services firm
called Book Launchers.
My grandma Broad taught me from a young age
that if I'm having a bad day, it's my fault.
My choices determine my outcomes.
And as a result, I don't need much external accountability.
If I say I'm gonna do something, I do it.
And I quickly get stressed out if I don't.
I wake up at 4:00 a.m.
and think about all the things I forgot to do
or commitments that I made that I haven't fulfilled yet,
and it can be really hard to go back to sleep.
The result is I get a lot of stuff done. (laughs)
And I also have an extraordinary team at Book Launchers
that helps me with that too.
But ultimately, if you're struggling to write,
the 4Ts will help,
but nothing will replace internal motivation.
Feeling connected to a reader and knowing you must help them
with a problem they're facing
and feeling excited about how you can do that
will fire you up on the toughest days.
But for the days when you're motivated
and you just need a plan, here's the 4Ts.
Oh, and if you read "Self-Publish & Succeed"
and you're thinking, "Wait a minute, wasn't it 3Ts?"
Well, you're clever
and you have a great memory,
but it's evolving like I am.
I'm always learning, testing, and sharing.
So here's the updated 4Ts for you.
First T: Topic for tomorrow.
When you are finished writing for the day,
know what you will start writing the next time you sit down.
This is essential because you don't wanna waste 30 minutes
reading the stuff you wrote last time to refresh your memory
and get warmed up.
Let me repeat that
with a little bit of a different emphasis.
When you sit down to write tomorrow,
do not read what you wrote the day before.
Get it?
Every time you finished writing
and wrap up for the day, start your next section.
Include some rough bullet points
for what you're planning to cover.
Then, when you sit down to write next time,
focus only on those points.
Too many writers go back
and read what they've written before:
judge it, change it.
And then, before they've done any more writing,
their time is over.
It's even worse when you stare at a blank screen
and wonder what you're going to write about.
I wasted 20 minutes today
trying to figure out extra video topics
because my list is getting short.
So if you have an idea for a future video,
please post it in the comments below
to make my list long again.
And when you comment the day a video is released,
you'll be entered to win some sweet but conscious swag.
We have new videos every Tuesday and Friday.
The point here is know before you sit down.
The next T, target.
Always have a goal.
Perhaps your goal is to sit down and write for 30 minutes.
That's how I work.
I like to set a timer for 45 minutes
and use that as a writing session.
I turn everything else off and I focus on writing.
And I personally have found 45 minutes is my sweet spot.
Then I get up, take a break, and sometimes get to other work
or go back to writing.
Some people are good with word count goals.
You might set a 500 or 1000 words per day goal.
Ideally, you have this goal
and you're accountable to someone
so that you aren't the only one who knows about this target.
Our clients have writing coaches
that are waiting for their work,
but you could join a writer's group or post on social media.
I find this easy to let things slide
if nobody is waiting and watching.
So do what you need to do to hold yourself accountable.
The third T is time.
Dedicate a specific time to writing your book.
Figure out when you are the most productive
and try to lock down that time a few days a week
or even every day.
Teach yourself that that is your writing time.
I know you're thinking, "I have kids.
I run a business.
There's always fires to put out."
Well, here's a tip.
Don't turn your phone or email on
until you hit your writing goal.
That way, you won't know about the fires. (laughs)
Great ideas and powerful visions are worthless
if you do nothing to bring them to life.
For me, I've had to get up at 5:00 a.m. and write
before my son gets up at 6:00.
I don't enjoy waking up that early,
but writing to write the book,
I had to do that to get it done.
It's really as simple and as difficult as making the time.
Now, if you're wondering if it's worth making the time
or whether you have the time it's going to take,
make sure you subscribe to the channel
because in a couple of weeks I have a video
called Do I Have Time to Write a Book?
That's gonna help you with that.
Now, for the brand new fourth T, template.
Now, this won't work for everyone,
but if you create a bit of a template chapter
and follow that,
you'll always have structure for what you're writing.
For me, I almost always start with some sort of a story
to create engagement and set the tone for the chapter.
And then I get into the meat of the chapter.
I share a side story
with some action steps or bullet points,
and then I try to sum it up with a paragraph or two.
That's me.
That's my general chapter structure.
One of our clients is writing
a fable sort of business books.
So he tells the story for that chapter
and then shares the lessons from the story.
Every chapter follows that format.
Another book will open the chapter with the core problem
or the big myth,
and then spend the rest of the chapter solving that problem
or revealing why it's a myth
and what you need to do instead.
We've seen so many different approaches
and there isn't a right or wrong approach,
but we have found that a template
or structure to each chapter
makes the writing process faster for our authors.
Did you like that new fourth T?
Hit that thumbs up button if you did.
Try it, it feels so good.
Do you know what else feels good?
Hanging out some more.
So now that you know how to write faster,
here's how you're gonna write better.
And if you're good there,
then this is the latest and greatest from the channel
right here.
So go ahead, click on the next video.
I'll see you there.
(upbeat music)