Maiden Book: How to Plan, Outline and Write Your First Book

By Josephine Ngatia

Are you a Corporate Professional and want to write your first book?

Look no further. The thought of writing a book as you work an 8-5 job seems like a monumental task. It looks impossible.

MAIDEN BOOK is your solution to writing your first non-fiction book without having to take time off work. It shows you how to write a book and find time to write. It will guide you in planning, outlining, and writing your first book. MAIDEN BOOK is practical and goes straight to the point. No fluff. You will have a publish-ready manuscript in no time.

This book focuses on the writing process and does not touch on the publishing and marketing of your book. Why? They are a distraction at this stage. As a first-time author, your focus is on producing a polished manuscript that a publisher will accept. If you are self-publishing, you want to have a quality book that is helpful to your audience.

MAIDEN BOOK is for any Corporate Professional who wants to write a book while working a day job and without stealing their employer's time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WordPower Publishing Kenya
• Release date: Mar 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9789966825865

Josephine Ngatia

Josephine Ngatia is a Freelance Writer, who specializes in content related to Christian teaching, life purpose, self-awareness and work. She is the author of Life Purpose: A Beginner's Guide, a Christian book that guides the reader who is in search of their life purpose.  Josephine believes that God created each one of us for a purpose and has equipped us with gifts (spiritual and natural) and talents to fulfill it. Each one of us has a God-given platform to execute their life purpose work and provide a solution to this world. Her life purpose is to take others through the journey of life purpose and self-awareness using her gift of writing. Josephine lives in Nairobi, Kenya.

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Evelyn Ngatia, a Corporate Professional. Now you know how to write a book and where to find time to write. The world awaits your first book. Your Maiden Book.

Introduction

Hello! Newest Author in town. The world is waiting on your magnificent piece of writing. Don’t let the term Author intimidate you. That’s what your new title will be when your book hits the market.

I know you have questions swirling in your mind like a drink in a glass... How do I write a book? Where do I find time to write? How do I structure the book? How do I find a title? What if my English is not perfect?

Stop! Relax! Read on!

Are you wondering how on earth you will write a book while working a day job? It seems impossible. Time is scarce, yet you have an idea to write a book. You want it to be of great quality.

It’s a possible mission! 

It is possible to write a book while working a corporate job. Even with all the crazy deadlines. You only need a plan and you’re good to go. Book writing is like any other project you handle in the office.

Writing a book is simple if you have a roadmap. Simple doesn’t mean easy. It’s doable, even to those who consider themselves novices. In fact, writing is the easiest part. Wait till you get to publishing and marketing. That’s a whole different ball game. But hey, that’s for another book.

I put this guide together to help you navigate the writing process. It has answers to most of your questions about writing your first book. 

This guide is simple and straight to the point. No fluff. I know you are a busy professional with a limited amount of time. I make it easy for you to spot the important points.

I take you through a step-by-step process of book writing so you will write yours with ease, in good time and with less stress.

Each chapter of the book covers one lesson as this gives you the opportunity to meditate on it and do any necessary research.

This book will touch on: how to write your book, finding time to write, structuring the book, formatting, choosing a title, editing, word count, what to do with the complete manuscript, among others.

I have included helpful resources along the way. I recognize that I do not have all the information you need. I will point you to where you can get more information on a particular topic so you can enrich your knowledge on book writing.

The focus of this book is the writing process. It doesn’t cover publishing and marketing of your book. It helps you prepare a manuscript that will be ready to publish. In the chapter titled Beyond the book, you will find information on what to do after completing your manuscript.

At the end of the book, I have included my contacts in case you have any further questions. I am available to answer them.

Happy Writing!

Josephine Ngatia 

1: Why are you writing?

People write books for various reasons, noble or otherwise. 

The most common reasons authors write books are:

Write a bestseller

For prestige

Share their knowledge

Make money

Write on a personal life experience

A book will set you apart as an authority in your field. It will work as a marketing tool when you are looking for a promotion. Your goal in writing a book should not be to make money. It will disappoint you.

A first book is a great learning experience and should not weigh you down if things don’t go as you had planned.

Professionals gravitate towards writing books to share industry or product knowledge, get more clients, qualify for promotions or certain jobs, add an accolade to their CV and other similar reasons. Know your reason for writing a book.

I’m sure you have a good reason for wanting to write a book. There is a driving force to your desire to put pen to paper.

Knowing why you are writing a book is critical because it will:

Make your message clear. When your message is clear, you write easier. Your focus will be on what you want to help your readers achieve. You will stick to your perspective and cut out useless information.

Focus your research efforts. There are various perspectives to a topic. You want to find the right one for your book. As you research on your topic, you will quickly sift through tons of information at a glance and find what is relevant.

Determine your publishing decisions. If you want to write a bestseller, then a traditional publisher will be