“Be very clear on why you want to write a book because that will drive every step of the writing process.” Susan Crossman

The writing process is different for every individual, yet the overall goal is to bring out an engaging and worthwhile read for their audiences. Susan Crossman has been helping writers to bring forth their ideas and believes that understanding the writing process and acquiring the suitable skill set is key to becoming a successful writer.

Susan Crossman helps spiritually-focused coaches, leaders, and innovators write and publish books that make a difference in their businesses and in their world through a variety of high-impact one-on-one and group coaching programs that are profound, inspiring, and fun! She takes great joy in fulfilling her mission of supporting more peace on the planet, and she believes that a well-written book can be a powerful force for good in our world.

Susan Crossman is a writer and adventuress who lives to harness the power of a good story well told. In recent years she has gone ziplining in Costa Rica, luging down a mountain in New Zealand, and trekking in the hills north of Khatmandu. She has hiked among the ruins of Macchu Pichu, danced until dawn at a London nightclub and enjoyed a Christmas Day picnic in the south of France. Having written five traditionally-published books herself, Susan works as a book coach and editor to help other forward-thinking entrepreneurs polish their stories to make a difference in the world. She also speaks several languages and she has earned both a Master Practitioner designation in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and a Master’s degree in English.

She is trained in the Language, and Behavior (LAB) Profile and the Enneagram system of personality profiling, and she is a certified Awakening Coach. Susan also knows the human heart inside out and upside down. She’s a writer’s writer who teaches and a reader’s writer who inspires. More than anything else, she is a storyteller. As a content marketer, Susan heads a team that helps organizations add value to client relationships through outstanding content marketing programs. If you need help telling your business story online, please see the array of content marketing services Crossman Communications makes available through Content with Clarity.

In today’s episode, Susan will discuss the writing process and the guiding principles when writing a book.

Listen in!

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I’ve been a writer since I was a little girl, and that’s what I’ve done with my entire career. [4:05]
I recognized along the way that I wanted to write a book, so my first book took me 13 years to write. [4:43]
I recognized that I had this skill set that can be very helpful for other people who want to write books. [4:58]
I’ve written five books now, and I have a skill set around it and understand the process. [5:03]
Now I help other people write the books that will make a difference in their worlds because sometimes we need a little help. [5:08]
There are so many ways of writing a book, and everybody has a slightly different process for doing it, but we judge ourselves terribly when we’re writing books, and yet we don’t need to do that. [6:05]
Many people come to me and say they have no idea how to write a book which means that there’s a lack of knowledge about the process itself. [7:45]
When I was writing my first book, the writing itself didn’t get in my way one little bit; rather, it was everything else around writing a book that I didn’t know how to do. [8:00]
You go through certain phases as you’re writing a book, and the more you know about that, the more confident you can be in approaching that book. [8:16]
That first book is a book that is not supported by our brain because we haven’t developed the neural network that needs to be in place for us to be writing fluidly and comfortable. [8:46]
The other piece that seems to be an issue for many people is lack of focus. [9:26]
It is okay if it’s unfamiliar because it’s unfamiliar for just about everybody that first time they write a book, just keep at it and don’t give up. [11:56]
Many people don’t have enough commitment, but you almost have to be obsessed with getting this book done. [12:11]
If you’re serious about this, make a commitment and have that same time to write every day or every week. [12:40]
A novel can be a much more challenging project to get leverage on than a nonfiction book because we can justify a nonfiction book as part of our thought leadership. [14:06]
I would invite everyone to entertain the idea that you have a real purpose in writing a book for the world and yourself. [15:15]
Commercial break [16:30]
Currently, about 80% of the North American population has thought about writing a book someday. [18:04]
40% of that 80% get started and do a start-up of some sort, but only 2% of that 40% go ahead and finish their manuscript. [18:25]
It does take a huge amount of commitment to finish a book, and it’s important to get some leverage on ourselves to take that project right through to the finish line. [19:34]
The important thing about commitment is to have a time and a place when you consistently work on that book. [19:48]
If it seems inconvenient to you to carve out time, whatever it is, recognize it’s not for the rest of your life; rather, it is only for the time it takes to get the book done. [21:37]
I’ve learned that when I commit to sit down at a specific time, in a specific place consistently for a specific period, the writing Genie finds out how to get hold of me. [22:43]
Many people feel they have to be perfect writers and have reasons why they can’t write a book; however, that’s not the truth. [23:28]
You can ask for help with your writing, so take advantage of the people who love you and even strangers who love to do this for fun, and send that book out for assistance. [24:25]
Many of my clients are using Otter.ai, which you speak into it, and it generates a transcript of everything you say, sends it to your inbox, and then you edit that. [26:02]
You are becoming an author, and that is worth putting yourself out for because it is a big deal to become an author. [27:24]
Find out from yourself why you want to write a book and be very clear on your way because that will drive every step of the writing process. [29:37]

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