Plan-Pen-Perfect
How to Write a Quality Book In Just a Few Weeks
(No Matter How Busy You Are)
Introduction
In a world where B Corp founders, ethical business owners, sustainability consultants and social entrepreneurs are eager to share their stories, ideas, and mission through the medium of books, it’s common to see talented individuals struggling with the writing process.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into a fascinating conversation where an entrepreneur, despite his remarkable success in other fields, found himself grappling with the arduous task of writing a book.
This struggle is not unique; it’s something many first-time authors face when trying to create a work that accurately represents their brand, values, and core mission.
We’ll explore why traditional book-writing methods can be so daunting and introduce a revolutionary approach to make the process more manageable, dramatically reducing the time and effort by at least 75%.
The Burden of Traditional Book Writing
Recently, we met an amazing entrepreneur and coach who excelled in all areas of his business. But in a private conversation with us, he said that he’s had several failed attempts to write his book over the years, and he just hasn’t been able to get his thoughts, ideas, and mission out in a way that truly represents him.
Writing a book has become a burden. It’s eating into the time he spend in his value-driven business. He knows a book will make a big difference in getting his mission out to the world. But is it the best use of his time and energy when it’s taking so long?
Writing a book in the traditional way often turns out to be a cumbersome task. What starts as an exciting endeavor to publish a signature book can quickly devolve into a taxing project, sucking up time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere.
As entrepreneurs and experts, time is a precious commodity, and investing months or even years into a book that’s supposed to enhance one’s brand and mission can feel counterproductive.
The ‘Bonkers’ Way: A Closer Look
Traditional book writing tends to be ‘bonkers,’ as the planning, writing, and perfecting stages are often blurred together.
Authors find themselves juggling multiple aspects of the process simultaneously, which leads to frustration, overwhelm, and lack of progress.
The 3 Stages of Book Writing
To simplify the book-writing process, we need to break it down into three distinct stages: Plan, Pen, and Perfect.
The Plan Stage
This is where you meticulously outline and mindmap your entire book, chapter by chapter. The Plan Stage involves more than just having a vague idea of what each chapter should contain. You need to determine the main topics, stories, ideas, lessons, advice, images, infographics, studies, exercises, and even free gifts that will be incorporated into each chapter.
By thoroughly planning every chapter, you minimize the chances of getting stuck in the middle of writing, unsure of where to place new ideas or whether the content flows logically.
Remember the entrepreneur earlier who had struggled to write his book for several years? This is his book mindmap:
The Pen Stage
With a comprehensive plan in hand, you’re now ready to move to the Pen Stage. Here, you start writing your book, and thanks to the detailed plan, the writing process becomes considerably faster.
To make this stage even more efficient, consider using transcription software such as Otter.ai or Trint. Dictating your thoughts allows you to focus on the content itself, without getting bogged down in editing or perfecting sentences. It’s a method that prevents your brain from constantly shifting into the Perfect Stage.
The Perfect Stage
After you’ve completed your first draft, it’s time to enter the Perfect Stage. Here, you can review your manuscript, run it through tools like Grammarly, and fine-tune word choice, sentence structure, grammar, and overall prose.
By isolating this stage from the planning and writing phases, you ensure that your content remains coherent and professional.
The Power of Separation
The beauty of this approach lies in the clear separation of the three stages. By doing so, you eliminate the frustrations associated with mixing planning, writing, and perfecting.
This separation not only streamlines the process but also results in a higher-quality book. Your work becomes more coherent, and free from repetitions and irrelevant content.
Dictation as a Key Tool
Dictation plays a crucial role in making this approach work. Speaking your thoughts and ideas allows you to focus on the content and prevents you from falling into the trap of perfectionism during the writing stage.
It’s a method that encourages creativity, ensuring that your ideas flow freely onto the page without constant interruptions for editing.
Conclusion
The Plan, Pen, and Perfect approach provides a solution by separating these stages and allowing for a more efficient, overwhelm-free, and professional book-writing process.
Dictation tools further enhance this method, making writing a book a smoother and more enjoyable experience for entrepreneurs and experts alike. By adopting this approach, you can transform your book-writing journey into a more manageable, efficient, and ultimately rewarding endeavour.
So, don’t write your book in the traditional ‘bonkers’ way – embrace a more structured and productive process to craft your masterpiece.
Now you know the Plan-Pen-Perfect 3-step system, there are two routes:
Route #1: Get cracking! You have this system to help you so nothing should stand in your way from writing a book that accurately represents your brand, values, and core mission.
Route #2: You can see there are three very clear steps laid out ahead for you, but you know that to step from one to the other quickly and without fail is best done with a support team around you and fellow purpose-led budding authors journeying with you.
It’s for the route #2’ers that I have created the Thought Leader Ecosystem.
From writing 8 bestselling books and helping 31 authors and counting put their mission, movement and message on the map using the Plan-Pen-Perfect system, I want to help and partner with you on this journey.
I do not take this responsibility lightly, in fact for my Thought Leader authors I am available every day to ask questions live.
That’s daily Zoom calls for face-to-face questions and ‘write along with you’ style support (not just BS motivational speeches) …
…but enough of the details, let’s get back to the core question.
Do you want to become a purpose-led Thought Leader?
If yes, then book a quick call below and let’s talk about how you can succeed:
If you don’t, good luck and catch you on the flip side.
These are the changemakers who did choose to work with us…
