Hey there, and welcome to Nothing but the Words. I’m Your Book Coach, Candice L Davis.

I hope your week and your writing are both going well.

How do you feel about your writing? In today’s episode, I want to share with you 3 ways you can write your book better and faster.

When I first started writing, I was terrified of writing a bad book.

Even though I was a strong writer, I knew I still had a lot to learn.

One day, I read an article in the “L.A. Times” about a new book that had just come out.

The novel sounded fascinating, so I went to Barnes and Noble—which was a wonderfully short walking distance from my house—the very next day and bought the book.

I read it all in one night, and that Saturday, I drove from where I lived in South Orange County to L.A. to attend the author’s book signing.

Now mind you that we’d only been living in Southern California for about a year at the time.

And I had never driven to the city before.

But on the off chance that I’d actually ge to talk to the author, I made the decision to make the drive.

My older daughter was probably about ten years old at the time. She has always loved books, and I needed company for the hour-long drive, so I brought her along.

After the author, Mary Rakow, read from her debut novel, “The Memory Room,” she generously made the rounds and spoke with each of us.

After that day, I quietly stalked Mary, and when the opportunity came up to get coached by her by joining her writer’s workshop, I was all in.

It was not cheap, but I made the investment.

And I can honestly say her workshop, along with other workshops I’ve taken with other authors—stories for another episode—made a huge difference in the quality of the books I’ve written.

I want to share with you three of the benefits I got from that workshop and how you can use them to write a better book and write them faster.

 #1. Validate your book idea.

This does not mean you should make decisions about your book by committee, nor should you substitute any expert's judgment for your own.

What I mean by validating your book idea is that you should challenge your first idea and make it the best it can be.

You can do that by researching the market and by getting feedback from a professional and from your writing community.

In my group-coaching program, Authors Ignited, I offer my clients the opportunity to get that kind of feedback, keeping in mind that the final decision about the book you’re writing is yours to make.

 #2. Get feedback along the way.

One of the mistakes I see a lot of self-published authors make is waiting until they’ve written an entire manuscript to get feedback.

This is a huge missed opportunity.

Authors who go the traditional route get feedback all along the way—on their proposal and their manuscript—because they’re working with a team. 

If you’re publishing independently, you have to go out and get this feedback yourself.

But I don’t recommend you get that feedback from your spouse or your partner or your best friend.

If you want to write the best possible book, get feedback from a professional from idea to outline to actual writing. 

You can’t see what you can’t see, but a book coach, or a writing group, or a mentor can ask the right questions to help you fill in any gaps.

 #3. Write in community.

More than feedback, the right community will give you compassionate accountability.

I knew that if I had Mary’s workshop that week, then I had to write something!

I wasn’t going to be the one sucker who showed up with no pages.

I was also making a financial investment in the coaching I received, and I didn’t want to waste that money by not showing up for myself or for my book.

The group also gave me a chance to support other authors by giving them feedback and helping them stay accountable to their goals.

We developed strong relationships and supported each other’s projects as they were being written and after they were published.

Writing in isolation might seem like the safe thing, but it’s rarely the wisest choice. 

If you really want to write your book faster and make it the best it can be, get support in validating your book idea, get feedback from someone who knows what they’re talking about, and get in community with other authors.

There are lots of ways to do all three of these tips. If you’d like to write your book with my support and feedback, in my community of supportive authors, check out AuthorsIgnited.com.

We’d love to have you join us. 

That’s all for this week’s episode, my friends.

Thanks for listening to “Nothing but the Words.” I’m Your Book Coach, Candice L. Davis. And I’ll see you next time.