Help! I want to write a book. Do I have what it takes?
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\nI stared at a blank screen. Why did I ever think I could pull this off?
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\nUntil that moment, I\u2019d only written short projects. Articles, essays, poems.
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\nAs I sat staring at the screen, questioning myself in about every way possible, I was supposed to be writing my first book\u2014a manuscript of over 50,000 words.
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\nOverwhelmed, I sat at the keyboard, frozen.
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\nSound familiar? Have you felt inspired to write a book you believe will truly help people\u2014even transform them\u2014but you\u2019re not sure you have what it takes?
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\nWell, once upon a time, this writing coach was in the exact same place.
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\nI was staring at the screen, inspired to write a book, but doubting myself: Do I have what it takes to write a book?
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\nCould I Write Something as Big as a Book?
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\nHow does an essayist-poet-freelancer embark on the massive task of completing a 55,000-word manuscript?
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\nThat question felt unanswerable and I felt inadequate.
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\nThis prose-freezing self-doubt was a huge problem, however, because I\u2019d signed a contract. I was obligated to write a book I didn\u2019t think I could write.
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\nFirst, a Proposal
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\nFor a year or so my friends had been urging me to move forward with writing a book after I kept sharing concepts with them in conversations over coffee or during play dates at the park. One after another, they would say, \u201cYou should write a book about that!\u201d
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\nI\u2019d laugh it off. \u201cMe? Write a book? Ha!\u201d
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\n\u201cBut you\u2019re a writer!\u201d they\u2019d insist.
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\n\u201cI\u2019m a writer of short things. A book is too long, too huge.\u201d
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\nThey\u2019d shrug and we\u2019d go back to wiping yogurt off our kids\u2019 faces.
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\nOne day I was meeting with my mentor, a writer named Ruth (I had two writing mentors named Ruth\u2014what are the odds!\u2014and this was the Ruth who lived nearby). Nearby Ruth was the author of a book acquired by a publishing house based about three hours north of us.
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\nShe offered to introduce me to the editorial team, so I could pitch the idea to them over lunch. She said she\u2019d drive me up there herself! All I had to do was hop in the car, share the project with them, and hand out copies of a book proposal.
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\nIt was all arranged.
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\nWhat a great mentor, right?
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\nI just needed to create the book proposal\u2026which I didn\u2019t have the faintest idea how to put together.
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\n"You can look at mine"
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\n\u201cI need a book proposal? Can\u2019t I just describe the book?\u201d
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\n\u201cThey need the book proposal,\u201d Ruth said. \u201cThat\u2019s how they do it.\u201d
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\nIt\u2019s the same now as it was then, by the way. For nonfiction projects, an author produces a book proposal before landing a book contract with an agent or editor. (Learn more about the process and purpose by watching this webinar.)
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\nBack then, I had no idea what a book proposal looked like. This was pre-Internet, so there were no samples to download or coaches to hire.
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\n\u201cYou can look at mine,\u201d Ruth offered. \u201cYou can see how it\u2019s laid out and how I described my book. Then you can plug in your book\u2019s details in the same places.\u201d
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\nCan you believe that? My mentor offered to let me see her own book proposal like it was no big deal.
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\nBut it was pivotal. Life-changing. Career-forming.
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