Do you ever dream of becoming a published author?

Apparently many people do, but very few ever achieve it. I think that’s one of the main reasons why authors are so revered and lauded in our society… to many people it seems like an unreachable goal.

In fact many times over the last few years — and especially since I became an author — I’ve heard a lot of people say “I could never write a book… I just don’t have enough time/money/knowledge”.

The thing is, having just spent less than 7 days in total writing my new book, I now know that whatever excuse someone gives me for not writing a book is just that…. an excuse!

So, if you want to become a published author, here’s the good news…

* You do not need any money to write and publish a book – it can be self-funding.

* You do not need much time – which seems to be the biggest block people have in their minds, (and in this article I’m about to smash it to smithereens!)

* And I’m confident you already know enough to fill more than one book. (I’ll bet just about any business owner on this planet — or at least someone who has been in business for a few years) knows enough to write ten books or more, not just one!

In this article I’m going to reveal how I wrote E-Mail Marketing Dynamite in less than 7 days (of consolidated effort) — and that includes the time it took to arrange for it to be published.

However before I give you that though, let me give you some background on how I got into all this.

Way back in 2003, one of my former mentors advised me to write a book. At the time it sounded like so much work, I did what most people do when they’re assigned what they believe will be a mammoth task… I procrastinated like hell!

Eventually though I did finally sit down and start writing my book… but I did it as a series of e-mails, one a week for 24 weeks – and I did it in a way that I got paid to write them.

As soon as I wrote the first e-mail (chapter), I made the whole course available on a subscription basis, using a combination of PayPal.co.uk and a UK-based automatic e-mail delivery service. (These days I’d recommend AWeber, which is a low monthly subscription, and completely free for the first 30 days).

Even though I’d only written the first chapter, I instantly got subscribers by promoting it to my own e-mail subscribers, and by other business people recommending it (by sending emails to their customers, who then came to my site and subscribed.)

The result of that was I started getting weekly income on a recurring or continuity basis — it also meant I was really motivated to get it done each week… knowing I had people paying to receive the next week’s instalment.

So every week for 24 weeks I typed out the next chapter and paste it into the e-mail service’s autoresponder, which automatically sent out the next email in sequence. I didn’t have to do anything else other then type – delivery was automatic, and this seemed like a great way to write a book.

At the end of those 24 weeks I had 24 e-mails, all of which simply had to be pasted together, expanded and illustrated where relevant and turned into a book.

Simple… or at least it should have been. It was a full three years from me writing the first of those 24 e-mails to me finally publishing them all in book format. Lots of reasons but mainly a lack of focus, and also because I spent so long writing the 24 e-mails (24 weeks to be exact), I lost momentum. (A big factor that my new technique eliminates — I’ll get to that in a moment.)

Still, the book was huge for me, and as well as being a powerful marketing positioning tool and sales-lead generator, it’s had loads of extra side-effects which I never foresaw. (For example my book was the reason I ended up being filmed at Pinewood Studios a few months ago!)

Anyway, my point is it does not have to take you three years — or even 24 weeks — to write a book.

Like I say, the book I just finished (and which will be available for purchase soon) took just 7 days of consolidated effort, using the following approach. (By consolidated effort I mean if you cut out the gaps and just add up the time I spent on it — it was equivalent to no more than 8 hours a day for 5 days, or 40 hours in total. I know it was actually a lot less than even that but I want to keep this realistic, so let’s say it took me 40 hours.)

So, follow these steps and you too can become a published author in less time than most people spent writing a small brochure or report!

Here they are…

STEP 1: MIND-MAP

First of all ‘mind map’ the main points you want your book to contain.

I’m quite a ‘visual’ person and find this is a really easy way to play around with the overall document structure – to add, edit or remove sections until it contains all the points I want to cover, and in the right order.

Then for each each Chapter I’ll add an extra level of detail which ultimately become sub-headings.

So, for mind mapping I use MindManager, which is a fantastic piece of software I use, not just for mapping out books but also for planning all of my other video and audio programmes, ‘to do lists’, and lots more. I thoroughly recommend you give mind-mapping a go if you aren’t already doing it.

Here’s a sample screen shot of what Mind Manager would looks like while you plan your book…

The only downside with Mind Manager is that it’s quite expensive – in consideration that there are now loads of totally free alternatives.

If you Google the phrase ‘mind map’ you’ll get links to free mind mapping software like Freemind, or my current favourite free one which also has a iPod Touch version… Mindmeister.)

Okay so when you’ve done your mind mapping, which shouldn’t take any more than a few hours if you know your subject well enough (I’m sure you do) then the next step is…

STEP 2: HIT RECORD!

I load my favourite audio recording software and hit the record button – then simply walk (and talk) through every single point and bullet-point on the mind map.

To do this you’ll obviously need audio recording software. Microsoft Windows has recording software built in, but in my experience it’s not good enough.

I use Sony Sound Forge software for creating MP3 recording – the basic version is inexpensive (and this afternoon you could download and start using their free trial version), or you could use Audacity audio recording software if you prefer – which is completely free.

Personally I love Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio (shown in the screenshot above.) It’s another fantastic piece of software which I highly recommend.

You’ll also need a microphone to do the recording.

Now I’ve got some fancy mics in my office, but for this job I just use a relatively inexpensive Logitech headset. That leaves my hands free to operate the keyboard and mouse during recording – which is important because you’ll want to scroll around your mind map while you’re talking.

Also — and this is really important if you want to create a book super-fast… is to not worry about getting the audio word perfect. If you say something wrong just keep recording — and correct the mistake by restating what you just said.

Mistakes can be easily fixed ‘post production’ – in the next step…

STEP 3: GET IT TRANSCRIBED

At this point you pass the buck!

Send your audio file off to be transcribed and typed up into a Microsoft Word document. You can find transcriber on Elance who charge as little as $50 per hour of audio.

I use a service called MailBigFile to send transcriber the MP3 audio recording that Sony Sound Forge produces.

Also it depends on how fast you talk, but for me, one hour of audio comes back at between 20-22 pages of A4 text at 12 point Times New Roman. Three hours of narrative produces enough pages for a decent size book.

STEP 4: CHOOSE A TITLE AND GET THE COVER DESIGNED

Come up with a catchy title. If you’re not sure what to choose then browse Amazon for inspiration – check out the list of best-selling books in your category to see what type of titles sell best.

When you’ve got a great title, write a subtitle that explains more about what the book contains, in plain English — and that really homes in on the main benefits or takeaway value someone will get from reading your book. (Review your mind-map to decide what the best bits are, then work them into your subtitle.)

Once you’ve got a title you can outsource the cover design. There are loads of book cover designers out there, only a quick Google search away. Also try sites like Elance and 99Designs.

Choosing a title and outsourcing the cover is fun. However that doesn’t take long, and at this point all you’ve got is a probably fairly rough transcription of an audio recording that’s not good enough to print as a book, yet.

What you need to turn that rough stone of a transcription into a highly polished diamond is…

STEP 5: ROLL OUT THE SECRET WEAPON!

My ‘secret weapon’ is the single most important factor that helped me become a two-times published author in less than 7 days.

All will be revealed next week, in Part 2 of ‘How to Become a Published Author in Less Than 7 days.”

Have a great weekend,
Ed.