You Absolutely Can Write a Book This Year and You Should

Introducing the Blog-Your-Own-Book Challenge.

I’m going to challenge you to do something big this summer and fall. I’m going to do it right along with you, as part of the Working Writer Program in the Ninja Writers Club.

We’re going to write books. Not just club members. Everyone. Anyone. You.

Books that we can sell to create an income stream or use as a lead magnet to attract new clients or to help us build our email lists. Books we can be proud of.

There’s something that happens when you finish writing a book — especially if it’s your first book. Suddenly you know, without a doubt, that you can do it. You can finish writing a long-form manuscript. And once it’s done, then you know you can do it again.

Introducing the Blog-Your-Own-Book Challenge

The BYOB Challenge has four parts. Because I never do a simple challenge. Sorry! (Okay, not sorry. It’s important to me that when I issue a challenge, you come out of it with something amazing.)

The overall goal is to produce a book in time for the holidays. You’ll choose a single topic, blog about it in a cohesive way for 31 days, then do the work of putting it together into a book form, preparing it to be published, and then getting it out to the world (however that looks for you.)

The goal is to take everyone who participates in the challenge through all the steps of planning, writing, editing, and publishing a book. Let’s break the four parts down.

Part One: Planning

In July, you’ll do some work toward figuring out the focus of your book.

You’ll choose your genre. Maybe you want to create a how to book. Maybe you want to produce a collection of flash fiction or poetry. Maybe you want to write a memoir. This challenge can fit whatever it is you want to write.

The goal is to write the content of your book as blog posts. Once you have your genre, you’ll choose your theme. How to do what? Poetry about what? What is the thread that will connect your short story collection? Which story will you tell in your memoir?

You’ll plan your 31 blog posts in July. I’ll give you a framework to use to help you do substantive work on each post ahead of writing it. You’ll find that writing those posts, which will require a daily habit, much easier when you aren’t floundering for a topic.

Part Two: Writing

In August, you’ll write 31 blog posts in 31 days.

You’ll produce the work you spent July planning. And you’ll publish it, post-by-post. This is kind of magical. You’ll probably make a little money, which you can use in the ‘publishing’ step. You’ll have the chance to start gathering an audience for when your book is available.

And you’ll develop that daily writing habit.

Part Three: Editing

In September, you’ll put it all together. All 31 blog posts become your ’31 Days to . . .” book. Or your collection of essays, poems, or short stories. Or your memoir. Or, literally, whatever it is that excited you in July and August.

You’ll smooth the posts out, so that they flow into a book. You’ll write an introduction and whatever else needs to be added to the manuscript.

And then you’ll edit the whole thing. I’ll give you some ideas about how to do deep self-editing, and also help you figure out how to hire and work with a copyeditor. By the end of the month, your book will be ready for the final step.

Part Four: Publishing

In October, you’ll work toward getting a cover and layout for your book, and getting it up on Amazon or ready to use as a lead magnet or gift to your followers.

You’ll learn how to work with a cover designer and use simple products to lay your book out and get it ready to publish, whatever publishing looks like for you.

And we’ll talk about how having a book on the market — either for sale or to use as a marketing tool — can help you develop income streams. Maybe you’ll make some money from your blog posts and directly from sales, but that’s just the tip of the ice berg.

You can use your book to help build your email list, which means that you’ll have an audience interested in whatever you develop next. And you’ll have developed a blogging habit which can become an income stream all on its own. Plus, you’ll have learned how to BYOB, so you can do it over and over again.

So. Are you in?

Stay tuned in July for the first posts about planning your BYOB Challenge. Tell your friends — let’s make this a thing. Challenges are way more fun when we do them together, right?

If you want to make sure you don’t miss a thing, click here to be reminded when the BYOB Challenge kicks off.

I answered some questions about the BYOB Challenge here:

Here’s my secret weapon for sticking with whatever your thing is.

Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter @shauntagrimes and is the author of Viral Nation, Rebel Nation, The Astonishing Maybe, and Center of Gravity. She is the original Ninja Writer.