New Book Idea: Author’s Actions Hinge On Research, Chapters, And Writing Joy

Two months ago I had a new book idea. The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. As the days passed, I became more convinced I would follow-up on this idea and write the book. In fact, I started to explore chapter titles and practice sentences flashed in my mind.
“The idea is percolating,” I told my husband confidently. I’ve been through this beginning phase dozens of times before and had learned to trust my writing instincts.
But my percolating thoughts dribbled to a halt and my writing instincts led me in a new direction. Why did I give up on the book idea?
Nonfiction writers like me rely on resources. When I started to search for information, however, I couldn’t find enough resources to support the book. Though other resources may eventually turn up, I have a minimum that I like to start with and they weren’t available.
I thought the book would help many people, but deep in my heart, I knew it would be hard, painful writing. In other words, it was short on the joy factor. If you’re a published author, joy may also be a deciding factor for you. Writing is hard work and we may as well get joy from our work while we’re doing it.
Thankfully, I had another book idea. A national grief expert called one day to talk about a mini review for my latest book. During our conversation he gave me some sage advice: Write about raising your grandchildren. I had considered this idea previously, but didn’t act upon it because I thought four years of experience weren’t enough to support a book.
The national expert and my relatives disagreed. Indeed, they encouraged me to tell my story. So I logged into the Internet to searched for resources on the new subject. Talk about resources! I found thousands of them, more than enough to support the book. Brainstorming on chapter titles and content came next.
I started with a rough chapter titles, random thoughts, and revised them. Then I added bulleted topics beneath the chapter titles. In just a few hours, my book outline grew from one page to 10 pages. Though I’m still working on the outline, I wouldn’t be surprised if I started writing next week.
While I was working on the outline, I also worked on my resource list. To fill gaps in the list, I ordered three books and they will arrive shortly. I can’t speak for all authors, but I can speak for myself, and tell you the three-pronged approach — enough research, chapter topics, writing joy — works well.
The next time you have a book idea, I hope you’ll consider this approach because it could save you disappointment, the kind of disappointment that stalls you for weeks. Instead of wasting time on a false start, you can spend your time and energy on a sure book start. In the process, you will reap writing joy.