Write your Passion

Someone asked me today about how to get started writing. Let me warn you, the moment you become a published author everyone you ever met will come to you with that question. Some are interested in writing books. Most, like the woman today, write smaller things, like inspirational or how-to articles and devotionals. Since this blog was created to inspire & encourage you to live life to the fullest, and there are probably others out there wondering the same thing as my friend, I thought I would answer her questions here.

Most of us, including ones who have no interest in writing, believe we have something to say. Something to share with the world. In today’s digital age, it is easier than ever for writers to share our message, and almost a shame if we don’t. Blog posts like this one, devotionals, sermonettes, or articles can be put together with a common theme and published as an ebook.

Suppose you are an expert on early childhood education and have written articles for magazines or your local newspaper. You could collect some of those articles on a common theme—let’s say potty training—and create a book.

Ebooks don’t have to be long. In fact, some of the most successful are less than fifty pages. It depends on your topic of course. But let’s stick with potty training. I would imagine you can say all you need to say about how to inspire a little one to use the big boy or girl potty in less than 50 pages. If we’re talking about childhood anxieties or something more complex, it would probably be a whole different matter. Not that potty training isn’t complex, especially for those in the throes of it.

If you’ve written articles on a particular subject, you’ve already done the work. The only things left to do are to find your common theme, put the articles together in a cohesive format, hopefully add a few things that haven’t been previously published, and format for publication. You’ll need a catchy cover & blurb that draws the reader in, of course.

Series is king. Since we started with early childhood education, we’ll stick with that example. You are an expert in more than just potty training. There are so many topics parents are interested in that you know all about. You know the arguments on both sides of the vaccination issue. What to look for in choosing a preschool. How to break a thumb sucking habit. How to overcome separation anxiety. The list goes on and on.

Start going through those old articles and blog posts. You probably have more than you realize. If not, write some. What topics interest you most? What do you know a lot about? How can you share your knowledge with others & become a published author at the same time?

Happy writing.