Want to Write a Book? Stop Trying to Write a Book

I am going to share one of the most practical ways I know to finally write your book.And oddly enough, it starts with Substack.If this space resonates with you and you’d like to go a little deeper,you’re warmly invited to join the Fully Expressed Collective.Years ago, I used to teach something I called the blog-to-book model.Now, because so much writing happens through newsletters and platforms like Substack, I think of it more as a post-to-book model.The idea is simple:Instead of sitting down trying to write an entire book all at once (which, if you have ever tried, you will know can feel enormous), what if you simply committed to publishing one thoughtful article each week?That’s it. One article. One chapter.Twelve weeks later?You have 12 chapters.You are no longer sitting there wondering if you will ever write your book.You are writing it. You have material. Some momentum. And your body of work taking shape.And yes, books evolve. Things get moved around. Expanded. Tightened up. Edited. But you are no longer staring at a blank page wondering where to begin.You have already begun.Maybe you have wanted to write a book for years. Maybe even decades.I spoke with a client the other day, and she has tons of notes and outlines of her book ideas. Notebooks, scraps of paper. Half-written Google docs.And maybe you can relate. You might have random thoughts saved in your phone. A title you keep coming back to. A message you care deeply about.Something inside you that keeps returning:You need to write this.And yet somehow, it never quite happens. This is because for most of us, writing a book feels big.You hold the whole thing in your head and suddenly it feels overwhelming and you have no idea how to start, or if you do, you get stuck along the way.And maybe you tell yourself that you will write your book when life finally settles down, work is less busy, the kids are older, you have more time, and maybe even when you retire.But here is something I find fascinating.Research and surveys have suggested that around 80% of people say they want to write a book, yet only a tiny percentage ever actually finish one, and even fewer publish.That is a huge gap.And I don’t think it is because people have nothing valuable to say.I think many people are carrying something meaningful they want to share.Lived experience, knowledge earned the hard way (I know this one well), a fascinating story.And for the clients I work with an amazing body of work.There’s often a big gap, that seems insurmountable, between the wanting and the doing. And we all know how easy it is to keep moving “later” further away.This is why I think Substack can be such a powerful container for writing your book.And my suggestion to you is:What if you stopped trying to write a book……and simply started publishing posts?But strategically.You write one article a week. You are creating as you go. In public.You are sharing your thinking in real time. And there is something powerful in that because as you share your ideas and words, you can engage with readers in real time. And there is something powerful about that.Doing it this way, one article or post at a time, can help you stay in motion.You said you would publish, so you sit down and write.Or speak.Because this is another thing I really want to say:You do not even have to write the book in the traditional sense.You can speak it. I think this is one of the most underused ways to create. Though many of us are now using voice to text in our daily lives.And for many people, especially those who don’t identify as writers, speaking can feel far more natural.I often do work while I am my daily walk. I walk and talk and get it transcribed. I then look at it later on my computer and edit it.Many writers do this now, including people on Substack.And for some people, it unlocks something. Your real voice can come through more easily. And for many people, it is simply faster than staring at a blinking cursor trying to force the words onto a page.I have seen people finally write books after years of putting them off simply because they stopped trying to write the perfect manuscript and started speaking the ideas they already carried inside them.So if you have had a book sitting inside you for years, maybe this is your invitation to approach it differently.Imagine in just 12 weeks from now, you went from saying, “I want to write a book someday,” to actually having your first draft done?Regardless of whether you type or record your voice to write your articles or posts, I suggest having a clear book outline. You can use Claude or ChatGPT to help you with the outline and then you just work your way through it week by week.And if you are reading this thinking, I do have a book inside me, but I have no idea how to bring it together, this is actually something I have helped people with for years.I have written numerous books myself, so I understand both the creative side of writing and the practical reality of finishing.One of the things I love doing is helping people pull the thread of what wants to emerge. My genius is helping people turn their wisdom, experience, and expertise into something tangible.If that feels like what you need, you are welcome to reach out and explore working together.LoveAyesha xoxPS Here’s a mock up of a new book I am working on. Thanks to ChatGPT for helping me with the image. You can see my post on how to do this by clicking here.Join a growing community of midlife women who are done playing small and ready to express their soul’s music.https://fullyexpressedwithayesha.substack.com/ Get full access to Fully Expressed with Ayesha Hilton at fullyexpressedwithayesha.substack.com/subscribe