This Writing System post is part of a series going into five pillars to get your business book from Idea to Done, and thus on your way to speaking & being a recognised authority in your space.
Your Writing System: This is your "Transmission". What's the most efficient way to get your ideas from your head (or other people's heads) onto paper? Unlike professional authors, we can't afford to take two years to write and research daily for an hour or hours.
Your Writing System gets you the best writing and business results with a smart investment of time and avoiding blocks.
There is always room for improvement on your system, and I've found that my system has to change each time I do a new book. So I have personal experience with most of the options below, and when they do or don't work:
Scheduling: Do you write when you're inspired? Do you need a schedule to keep you on track? Do you write best when you go away on retreat? I wrote Predictable Revenue when 'inspired', I wrote 'From Impossible To Inevitable' on alternating Wednesdays, and my new books I have to go on retreat.
Environment: Do you get more energy from writing alone, or with people around? In an office, open plan area, at home or cafes? I prefer writing in open areas with people around. That may change when I have my own office or study someday. I've briefly had them before, but they always got converted into bedrooms.
Order: Are you linear, or non-linear? Linear: you prefer to have it all mapped out, then write it A to Z. Non-linear, is picking whatever you want to write about in that session, and reorganising them all later into a flow. I've been (so far) 100% non-linear. I write whichever section calls to me in that moment, as a series of lego blocks. Later I go back and reassemble them into bigger chunks (chapters or sections).
Sourcing: Your book should not be 100% new content that the world has never seen. How much pre-existing content do you have, what should you reuse and repurpose? Predictable Revenue was written 80% first as blog posts. A good chunk of the From Impossible To Inevitable content was written up first as a marketing ebook called "Triple Your Sales". Turning your writing into marketing content (blogs, social, video, interviews...) is a fantastic way to pre-test, pre-write and pre-market your book.
Tools: What apps or other tools fit you best, including the new crop of AI tools? This area is changing fast. My favourite apps are still Google Docs / Word, WhatsApp (for trading messages with partners) and ChatGPT/Claude for synonyms and quick stuff. There are a lot of writing- and book-focused apps out there and more coming down the pipe. AI is a funny one. We've used AI a lot in drafting Income Operating System, and it has its pros and cons. It's helpful to get past 'blank page syndrome', but book-length AI drafts are obviously quite robotic, lack our "authors voice" and require a lot of rewriting.
Style: Are you more Architect, or more Gardener? Architects plot out the whole book in advance, in detail. Gardeners (or Discovery or "Pantsers") may have a general sense of theme and direction, but write it as they go, discovering where the book takes them as they write. I'm an Architect in non-fiction, and a complete Discovery writer in fiction.
Team: Do you need a writing buddy, coach or ghostwriting support? You need a variety of good people for tactical steps, accountability, advice, and helpful feedback (which includes encouragement and pain). Like ANY other project, having people around you is vital. You COULD start a company by doing it ALL yourself (engineering, marketing, ops), but why would you? It's possible to write, finish and publish a book on your own, but who would want to? Writing buddies, beta readers, partners or a co-author, editors, formatting, cover, publishing or marketing help and more ... there are a lot of steps. The right people in the right areas make it flow and make it amazing.
Enjoyment & Inspiration: notice throughout the process, when do you light up? Is it during the writing? Working with people? Design? Cover ideation? Interviewing customer? Which parts do you HATE? What can you do to evolve your Writing System to do more of what sparks you up, and less of what bogs you down?
If you get the above bits sorted, you'll be removing the worst of your mental blocks and obstacles to getting a book done that you're proud of.
Did I miss something?
What works for you, comment below... I'd love to hear from you about your own Writing System!
Aaron
The other Pillars:
Coming...
Premise (Who’s the book for, what’s the title and promise?)
Roadmap (Outline / Table of Contents)
Team