Your Book Questions, Answered
When I wrote The 30-Day Money Cleanse, I didn’t share much of my journey along the way because I was completely terrified of becoming an author and having my book out in the world. I wanted you to know about it but I also wanted to hide.
This time, I promise to take you along for the wild ride and to share in the joy and success of this book because I couldn’t do it without you.
I’ve compiled all of your book process questions and answered them here. Don’t hesitate to keep them coming. I can always add to this list.
I’ve blogged before. And many have said I should turn my blog into a book. But writing a book just sounds so intimidating. How do you organize your thoughts/research and get it “on paper”?
Organization is actually really important for my process. I started with my table of contents for the book, which gave me a general idea of what each of the chapters would be. These definitely changed in name (based on what ended up being inside the chapter) and the order changed. but creating this list gave me an outline of the topics I wanted to cover. Throughout the organization process, it’s been important for me to step back and say: am I covering what I wanted to cover? Am I missing anything?
When I go in to write a chapter, the outline is really important to me. Because I was interviewing a lot of experts for this book, the content was sometimes determined by interviews. A friend (who is also a writer) gave me the great advice of having an interview or two before I created the outline for the chapter. Then, I could always follow up with the same interviewees or have another interview if I wanted more information as I was writing. For other chapters, I created the outline, filled in the outline, and then had interviews after the fact. It really varied on how clear I was on what I wanted to say about each topic.
With a clear outline, I actually write pretty quickly. I don’t get too hung up on how well my first draft is written, which I think helps a lot. This process was all about getting it “on paper.” Later, I’d read through what I wrote and work to finesse it. The manuscript goes through SO many rounds of edits that by the time it goes to print. It ends up being so much better than where it started!
As far as research, I sometimes include statistics or studies that support my points. As I’m proofreading my own work, I have to take a step back and ask myself if the supporting data is actually helping me make my point.. I read through a lot of research and articles and end up including one fact. It definitely takes work to find the right research and to source it, but I think it really adds to the book!
In your experience, what are the biggest differences between blogging and writing a book?
The Fiscal Femme started as a blog in 2011, so I was blogging a long time before I wrote my first book. I think the biggest differences are the length and continuity. Each blog post covers a different topic. The posts often have different c structures and tones (depending on my mood and topic). Multiple blog articles can have the same story or include similar research because I want to make them compelling as stand alone pieces. Yes, someone might read the blog from start to finish (by all means, please do!) but it’s more likely they will pick and choose articles that most interest them. So each article or blog post has to stand on its own and answer a question.
The book, on the other hand, is more holistic. It has to flow together. Things like workbook exercises, “fun” facts, or the way I call out interviews will look similar across all chapters. If I include a story in one chapter, I won’t include it in another chapter. One of the biggest differences is that you can focus on a specific topic for a chapter, but then you have to think of it as part of the entire book.If someone reads the chapter and then the book in its entirety, what are they getting from it?
This book is going to be 17 chapters long! Between chapter topics, interviews, and content in general, it’s a lot to keep organized in my head!
What has been your book writing process (i.e. content organizing and writing process)?
Here’s what my writing process has looked like.
I focus on drafting one chapter each week, but I didn’t write all of the chapters in order. Sometimes I wanted to wait to start writing a chapter until I completed certain interviews.
I’ll open a Google Doc to work on the outline. I try to write down everything I want to cover without worrying about the order or organization.
Then I loosely put it in an order. As I’m filling in and writing the text, I sometimes reorder the sections (sometimes multiple times, lol) based on how the information is flowing.
As I have questions or am researching a topic (I quote many interviews and books), I may add in a new section or further reorder. If I find a quote or stat that I love and want to include but am not sure where to include it, I would include the link or quote in an area where it might be a fit. I can workout the exact logistics later.
Next, I’ll start writing! I try to let it flow as much as possible without concerning myself about how it looks or sounds. Sometimes what I write makes no sense at all. It may be confusing or grammatically incorrect. That’s okay. I reread with the goal of making these edits.
As I’m writing (or editing), I’ll add in relevant exercises. I also have a checklist I go through later when I’m editing the chapter.
After everything is on paper, I read through it in its entirety - often outloud. That way, it’s easier to realize where there are holes. I try to imagine my reader. If they knew nothing about the subject before opening this chapter, do they now have everything they need? What questions would they have?
I try to make sure what I’m writing addresses the questions that I hear most often (from my talks, via Instagram DMs, etc). Then I move on to the next chapter.
After I drafted all 17 chapters (WHEW!), I proofread again with the goal of making them more consistent. Does each chapter have an end of chapter checklist? Am I referencing resources in the same way? Have I incorporated all the interview footage I have? (This one is a biggie and took a long time.)
Some interviews were intended for one chapter so it was easy to organize them. Some interviews had information that was included across chapters, so I listened through and put the quotes in their respective chapters.
During this process I worked with two editors. First, my amazing sensitivity editor Dr. Akilah Cadet. She saw chapters before they were finished - while they were very much in draft form. I wanted to make sure my book was truly inclusive, so she let me know where I was falling short (I’m always learning!) She would give me comments in the Google Docs and we’d have calls to talk about general ideas and questions. I learned so much, and I highly recommend her to all authors!
Next, the chapters go to the amazing development editor at the publisher. I would then incorporate their feedback so the book is ready to be turned in!
My manuscript is due on September 1, so this process is wrapping up! Dr. Akilah Cadet still has 5 chapters left to see. My development editor has to read the majority of the book (all but theTable of Contents and Chapter 1). Eep!
Meanwhile, I’m still having interviews. So there is work to do! Work to do!
Does every writer have their own process?
Yes, definitely! I think every writer has their own process and their process may evolve. The process for this book is much different for me than the process for my last book. The 30-Day Money Cleanse was my first course that had been around for five years. I had spent years improving the program and answering questions of the participants. I had really worked out the material and what was most important. I organized my thoughts with outlines ahead of writing, but I was able to write the book very quickly.
With new material and so many interviews to integrate, I’m learning and working through a lot of the material as I’m writing. This has been a new level of mental gymnastics!
What do you do to motivate yourself to write?
Oh, some days it’s really hard! I need chunks of time to write, which is challenging to get with two young kids, J working from home, and the rest of my business to run. I try to carve out a couple writing days per week. I get stuck when I need more information and I’m not sure what to write.
If I feel stuck, I’ll try to move on to another chapter until I can get more information. Or, I’ll write the sections I know well and come back to the more challenging sections that require more thought or outside input.
Accountability definitely helped me write. I had meetings set up with Dr. Akilah Cadet, and she needed the chapters we were discussing a few weeks ahead of those meetings. This provided clear deadlines for me.
The interviews also really amped me up. The conversations were so incredible. I’ve made it my mission to share this info with you. Being so excited to share this info with you all motivated me to keep pushing.
I work really well with to-do lists and getting to check things off. So I have a checklist as I go through each interview to make sure I'm not forgetting any of my questions.
The manuscript deadline also lit a fire under my tush. I know that the book needs to be done in 2 months, so that provides a sense of urgency. Eep!
As weird as it sounds, I think it’s helpful to have people to be able to complain and brag to. I’ve had people to cheer me on and people to lean on when things were hard, when I was stuck, or I was proud of something I wrote.
I've heard that even if you get on the Bestseller list, max for a book might be $10k... is that true?
I’ve heard it time and time again from my book mentors (and have experienced it myself) that books themselves don’t make you rich. Books might make some writers rich, but this isn’t usually the case. You can be paid a nice book advance (this can range from nothing to hundreds of thousands of dollars) but you still are putting in so much time and often spending your own resources (money) to market the book.
A book can create so many opportunities and pay very well in other ways. It’s also such an incredible process and life experience. Once you earn out your advance (which means sell enough books that you have paid off your advance), you earn money with each book you sell. You’ll get a paycheck a few times a year from your book (and that’s nice!)
So, the money part really depends. When you sell a lot of books, as long as you’ve earned out your advance, you do continue to make money. Getting on bestsellers lists does help you sell more books and if you decide to write more books, makes it more likely you’ll get a higher advance for your next book because you’ve proven you can sell books.