Which Comes First? The Writer or the Author

by Karen Hodges Miller

You're inspired to write a book. The idea doesn't matter, the genre doesn't matter; it doesn't matter whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction. The important thing is that you know that you have something to tell the world and the best way to tell it is in a book. Everyone wants to be an author, but no one really wants to be a writer.What's the difference? An author is a person who has completed and published something.  A writer is a person in the middle of that process.

How do you move from writer to author? Sit down and start to write! It sounds so simple, but this is the step where most people fail: they never find the time to sit down and write, so their book remains in their heads, where it does no good for anyone - not even themselves.

Here are five suggestions to help you get started on your writing project:

•  Set up a specific place to write that is comfortable, relaxed and free from interruption.

•  Get everything you need together before you start to work, your pencils and paper, laptop, the web addresses of site you might want to refer to, a dictionary, thesaurus, and grammar (either in paper form or favorite websites). If you keep stopping to get what you need, you'll never get anywhere.

•  Find the right time. You may be most creative at 5 a.m. or at midnight, but write when you have creative energy.

•  Give yourself at least an hour - more if possible, and make a pledge to yourself that you won't leave your computer until that time is up.

•  Write something - anything. No matter how bad you think it is, make sure that you get at least a few sentences written and saved. It is always easier to edit material that is already written than it is to write the first words. Writing something today means your job will be easier tomorrow.

Yes, it is so much easier said than done, but the bottom line is if you want to be an author you have to first be a writer. Don't wait for the perfect moment to happen, create the perfect moment.

To use a well-known tagline: Just Do It!

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While over 80% of Americans say they want to write a book, most never will. Karen Hodges Miller offers her 25-plus years of experience as writer, editor and publisher to entrepreneurial authors who want to realize that dream. She holds a variety of workshops and seminars each year on book writing, publishing and marketing. Karen’s experience as a freelance business reporter gives her a fresh outlook on the creative world of writers and the practical world of business owners. As founder of Open Door Publications^SM LLC Karen has helped dozens of authors bring their own ideas to market; the company published almost two dozen books since 2006. Karen began authoring her own series of books for authors in 2010. “Finish Your Book! A Time Management Guide for Writers” is a practical and inspirational guide for the busy writer who must find time to write while juggling a business and personal life. “Sell Your Book, Think Outside the Bookstore,” to be published in April 2011, includes over 100 practical, specific tips for book marketing along with interviews with a variety of nationally-known publishing and marketing experts. Learn more about Karen at www.OpenDoorPublications.com

Image courtesy of Esmée.