Do you have a book in you waiting to come out, yet you don’t know how or where to start? Do you wonder how to tackle a project so large in scope? Do you dream of becoming a published author but the dream seems to escape you?

Or perhaps you know how to write a book – maybe you’ve even written one (or several) before – but you’re too busy to write one now. Maybe you’ve been suffering from writer’s block and you’ve got a deadline approaching with a publisher.

Whatever the reasons you’re not getting where you want on your book, what you need is a firm (but gentle) motivational kick – you know, the proverbial kick in the arse!

There’s no doubt about it: Book writing is challenging. The process brings up all sorts of questions and bafflements. Where do you begin? How do you end it? The words aren’t flowing. (Do they ever, really?)

Should you decide to get outside help, three solutions are available to solve your book-writing challenges: hire a ghostwriter, hire a book coach, or commission a custom book blueprint. Let’s discuss these options.

Hiring a ghostwriter is often the easiest (and quickest) way to get your book done. However, this option isn’t cheap, nor should it be. You want high quality, don’t you? After all, your name is going on the finished product. A professional ghostwriter will produce a quality manuscript in a timely manner.

Coaching is popular these days for achieving spectacular results in many fields including fitness, emotional health, leadership, etc. The same holds true for (book) writing. A book (writing) coach won’t actually write your book for you. Instead, she’ll be your personal cheerleader along the journey of your book’s development. She’ll help you set goals, review your progress, stay on track, and, most important, make you accountable if you don’t do what you say you’re going to do. Usually cheaper than having someone write your book from start to finish, book coaching might be a good idea if you really want to do (almost) everything yourself and just need a consistent motivational spark along the way. Although this option is typically less expensive than ghostwriting, it is costlier than the next option, book blueprinting.

So, what is book blueprinting anyway? In a nutshell, it’s the process of creating a detailed outline of a book’s topic written in question format. We all know how difficult it can be to write anything from a command or statement. Our brains are wired such that it’s much easier to write from a question. Let’s take a look at an example: Please write a brief essay about your childhood.

Many people will tense up upon reading the above sentence and have no idea where to start. Why should it be so difficult to write about something we know as intimately as ourselves? This difficulty stems from the programming we received in school in regards to writing.

Okay, now try this: What were some of your most favorite and least favorite memories as a child? See what I mean. Writing from the just-mentioned question seems much easier doesn’t it?

So, in order to write your book – quickly and easily – you have to outline it using questions instead of statements. Each question is then answered briefly by several keywords to help your creative juices flow while composing the full response. These keywords serve as nice hooks upon which to hang additional writing.

A book blueprint can also help you gauge or even determine the length of your finished manuscript. For example, after you know how many questions there are, you can decide how long (the number of words) each answer should be in order to create a manuscript of 50,000 to 75,000 words (approximately 150-300 finished pages, depending on book size, page layout, and page density). If you wish for your book to be longer or shorter than this range, you can adjust the length of each answer accordingly.

Once you've answered the questions, you can simply pull them out and link your answers together using transitions. Transitions are words that help relate one idea to another. Some examples include: therefore, however, nevertheless, finally, likewise, and afterwards. Alternatively, you can leave the questions in place if you’d like your finished manuscript in Q&A format, popular in many non-fiction books these days.

After linking the pieces and producing your best work, you should have a professional edit your manuscript. All writers – from Stephen King to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt – need an editor; i.e., an impartial set of eyes trained to review, enhance, and even make corrections when necessary.

Using the methodology briefly outlined above will help you quickly get your book together. Don’t delay! The hardest part of writing a book – like anything else – is getting started.

How much is your book worth as a career booster, as a marketing tool for a business, or as a message to influence the way the world thinks? Oftentimes, the value obtained from becoming the author of a published book is priceless. Get going on your book today!

Best wishes on your book-writing journey!