No Book Idea? Here are Simple Practical Suggestions for What to Write Instead

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Robyn Roste

Do you have a book idea? If you’re like most people, you do. I don’t know what it is, but so many of us want to write a book one day.

What if your book idea isn't a book? Alternatives

What if my book idea isn’t a book?

There are a few reasons your idea may not be a good fit for a book. For starters, books (in general) should be evergreen.

“Evergreen” is a jargon term meaning “always relevant.” I guess “timeless” is another fitting definition. The point is, your topic needs to have some shelf life if it’s going to be a book.

Another point of measurement is you’re not qualified to write the book you have the idea for. Is it a specialized non-fiction topic you’re not trained in? It’s probably not a good fit for you.

And sometimes the idea we have isn’t big enough for a book. Like, you literally don’t have enough words to fill a book on this subject. It’s best to understand this before diving in and saving yourself some blood, sweat and tears.

Wondering if your idea is big enough for a book? Check out this post on average book lengths organized into genres.

By the way, I have created some planning worksheets to help you vet your book idea available in my resource library.

This is a free download but you’ll need a password to access it. Just pop your email address into the form below and I’ll send it to you!

Once you’re there, navigate to the writing section and look for “You’ve Decided to Write a Book Worksheet.”

So what do you do if you discover your book idea isn’t a book?

Rather than letting the idea go full stop, here are a few suggestions for repurposing the idea so it still gets out there into the world.

Alternatives for your big ideas

While on the surface it may seem devastating that your idea isn’t a book I say don’t lose heart. There may still be a place for it. Consider these outlets.

Blog post
Article
Teaching series
Webinar/podcast episode/video
Booklet/novella
Screenplay

If you have your own website, then writing and publishing blog posts is an easy way to share your ideas and foster conversation.

Alternatively, you can take a freelancer approach and pitch articles to magazines, websites and other outlets.

A teaching series could involve a series of articles or blog posts and could address a different topic or takeaway in each piece.

Producing your idea as an audio or video piece could allow you to explore new areas of your business and reach a different audience.

And even if your idea isn’t a book-length one, it could still be a short booklet, novella. And who’s to say it can’t be developed into a screenplay?

See what I mean? Just because your idea doesn’t turn out to be a book it doesn’t mean you should give up on it. Just apply a little creativity.

After all this, there’s one question you may still be wondering.

Is my book original? How can I know my book idea is unique?

We all know on some level that there aren’t any new ideas out there, so how on earth can we think of an original book idea with all the books out there?

Rather than fixating on originality, find a book idea that represents who you are. Make sure it’s something you’re interested in and passionate about, and something you know a lot about (and can’t write an entire book about!). Make it unmistakably YOU and it will be an original.

What’s an ISBN? Do I Need One?

Posted on April 25, 2023 by Robyn Roste

What’s an ISBN? This is a great question! It’s an industry acronym, short for International Standard Book Number.

I know, jargon.

You’re not supposed to use industry jargon. But we’ll let this one pass—just know that ISBN is a number your book gets when you publish it.

Oh wait, so all books get them?

It depends. If you’re publishing your book and selling it on your own, then you don’t have to get one.

However, if you want things like distribution and placement in bookstores, then you do need to have one.

Don’t worry if you already published your book without getting an ISBN—you can still get one post-publishing. It’s fine.

As long as you have the number you can add it as a sticker to your book or give the number to the distributor. Really, it’s fine.

Free downloadable tip sheet You've Decided to Write a Book...Now What?

By the way, if you’re writing a book I’ve created some planning worksheets to help you vet your idea available in my resource library.

This is a free download but you’ll need a password to access it. Just pop your email address into the form below and I’ll send it to you!

Once you’re there, navigate to the writing section and look for “You’ve Decided to Write a Book Worksheet.”

What if I wrote a book but someone else is publishing it?

Whoever publishes the book obtains the ISBN. Think of it this way. Whoever is taking the financial risk on the book is the person, business, or organization who applies for the ISBN.

Does one ISBN cover an ebook, a paperback and an audio book of the same book?

No. You will need three separate ISBNs. Also, if you publish an updated edition you’ll also need a new ISBN for that. Oh, and also a hardcover and in 17 different languages? Yes, all different ISBNs.

Where do I get one?

Every country has its own way of doing it. In Canada, you apply for an ISBN through the Library and Archives Canada at no cost. In other countries there may be a fee or service charge.

Is an ISBN the same as a bar code?

No. A bar code is a graphic with vertical lines that gets scanned at a retail outlet. The ISBN is a 13-digit number. That said, you can have your ISBN translated into a bar code.

Still more questions? No problem, just let me know. But I hope this has at least unravelled part of the mystery to the question what’s an ISBN. Crazy-boring, hey?

Other resources

What's an ISBN? It's an industry acronym, short for International Standard Book Number. Just know that ISBN is a number your book gets when you publish it.

This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.

Do I need an ISBN? Do I want an ISBN? Do I have to have an ISBN? What's an ISBN? Does someone else take care of the ISBN? What's my responsibility anyway?

Want to Publish? 5 Books You Should Read First

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Robyn Roste

If you’re wondering what books you should read to advance your authorship dreams then you’re in the right place.

5 Books You Should Read If You Want to Publish a Book. If you're wondering what books you should read to advance your authorship dreams then you're in the right place. These are my top five book recommendations.

These are my top five pics for laser-focused, practical advice for everything from finding your story to deciding what type of publishing to pursue. So yeah, that’s why I think these are books you should read if you want to publish a book.

Books you should read if you want to publish a book

I’ve arranged my “books you should read” recommendations into a bit of a road map: figuring out what to write, outlining and drafting, deciding whether to self-publish or pursue traditional publishing, collaborating with other writers and influencers and getting book reviews. It’s the publishing journey if you will. The actual writing, that’s up to you.

The Creative Compass: Writing Your Way from Inspiration to Publication

This book could be for the writer who isn’t exactly sure HOW to write a book. Yes, it’s that practical. It could also be for the writer who has an idealistic outlook on what writing and publishing will be like.

Kind of a reality check without being a jerk about it.

When it comes to writing, we can develop our skills and boost our talent through thoughtful practice…. By continuing to write, we build stamina and patience, eventually exceeding our own standards to the extend that we can raise them.
The Creative Compass (117)

What I learned: every idea starts with passion, meets with discouragement and must be battled with persistence.

When writing the most important thing is to find a way to keep going despite the hard work, stress, lack of confidence and insecurity.

DREAM, DRAFT, DEVELOP, REFINE, SHARE

I spent a lot of time in the last third of the book. I underlined, wrote notes, even wrote “Amen!” beside especially good quotes (“If a sentence expresses an essential idea, advances plot, reveals character, or conveys relevant sensory detail that contributes to emotional effect or atmosphere then it’s probably worth keeping…. If not—snip, snip” Amen! [175]).

Read my full review of the Creative Compass

Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First-Draft Novel in Thirty Days

Even if you don’t call yourself a writer you might want to write a book. There are so many stories waiting to be told and, who knows, you might be the person to tell it.

What’s great about author Denise Jaden’s latest book Fast Fiction: A Guide to Outlining and Writing a First-Draft Novel in Thirty Days is she makes you feel like digging out the story deep inside you is possible.

And the 30 days thing? Bonus.

I’ve wanted to write a book for a while now, maybe forever. As a kid I drafted a 100-page Choose Your Own Adventure of twin girls who get lost in Mexico while trying to find an orphanage (scary part—I experienced this trip IRL 10 years later with a friend…) and for the last two years I have felt like it’s time to try for real.

And I have. Tried that is. But I keep getting stuck and I have never known why.

Fast Fiction tells me why: I didn’t know how to write a book. I didn’t plan it beforehand, I just sat down at the computer and expected it to come together.

After reading Jaden’s book I finally get it. I do have a book in me I just didn’t have the tools to dig it out.

Read my full review of Fast Fiction

self-publishing versus traditional publishing Review Header

How Do I Decide? Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing (A Field Guide for Authors)

Although the title aptly summarizes the six chapters, I wanted to add it’s not just for those wondering which method of publishing to pursue.

This book works to change the question from “Which one should I choose?” to “How can I utilize these tools best to support my goals?”

I loved Rachelle Gardner’s straightforward approach to this complex question. She spends time analysing the pros and cons for both traditional publishing and self-publishing. As well she works to dispel common self-publishing myths and makes it crystal clear that self-publishing should not be an excuse to publish poor writing.

This short read is packed with material and is perfect for people who aren’t quite sure where to start with publishing, people who want to understand all the different publishing options, and people looking for credible resources to get started.

Did I mention chapter six is all about resources?

In my opinion, this is where the real value of this book comes in. It lists further information on self-publishing, how to get an agent, where to look for editors, reputable book cover designers and more.

Read my full review of How Do I Decide?

Creative Collaborations: How to Form Lasting and Lucrative Partnerships without Being Smarmy

The Internet says collaboration is the action of working with someone to produce or create something. OK, that makes sense.

And Kirsten Oliphant says it’s like roller derby. I had to think about this for a bit because I don’t know anything about roller derby but I think I get it: you stop being a lone wolf and instead become a teammate.

You work with others to achieve a common goal.

That sounds nice in theory, but isn’t setting up creative collaborations with your competitors risky?

The risks: You could get burned, you could have your work stolen, you could be let down. All of this could happen when you work with others.

However, there are also potential benefits:

You could grow strategic partnerships that bring you further than you could go on your own
Also, you could make new friends
Another possibility is you could join a tribe where you feel encouraged, strengthened and inspired to keep moving forward

Throughout Creative Collaborations, Oliphant overviews different types of collaborations, builds an argument for why we need creative collaborations, teaches the difference between good and bad collaborations, cautions about legal implications when collaborating, and gives tips for creating life-changing collaborations.

If you’re wondering how collaborations can change your business (and maybe your life), you will love this book.

Read my full review of Creative Collaborations

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career (HowToDoItFrugally Series for Writers) (Volume 3)

Why you need reviews (I’m borrowing from the book’s argument here, but I hold it as well):

Reviews are platform builders

Regardless of negative or positive, stars or lattes, reviews give you the chance to be a better writer, learn more about your genre, and know your target reader better.

Reviews are resources for endorsements

Blurbs, praise, bullets, whatever. Need some nice quotes? You can get them with book reviews!

Reviews can be networking tools

Both getting and giving reviews gives you contacts with editors of review journals, contacts with other reviewers who are potential reviewers of your books, contacts with other authors who need quotations for their books or referrals.

Once you’re convinced you should get book reviews, then you’re ready for the rest of the book. It walks you through alllllllllllllll the things you need to think through and plan for.

It’s a lot, but they payoff is worth it. Not only that, but once you have the reviews the fun is not over! You can reap the benefits of past reviews for years to come.

If it’s time to do marketing, get this book.

Read my full review of How to Get Great Book Reviews

These are my top five books you should read

All five of these books you should read recommendations are quick and practical with a ton of actionable advice.

The big idea is you’ll read through them and then apply what you learn. My hope is you’ll move the needle forward as a result of reading these books.

This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.

How to Write a Book | 4 Steps to Get Started

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Robyn Roste

If you want to know how to write a book you’re in the right place.

is it time to write your book | 4 steps to get started

If you want to write a book but don’t know what to do next, you’re in the right place.

And if you know you need a solid plan in order to write your book then I’m your biggest fan.

So you’ve decided to write a book

For better or worse, I’m results-driven more than idea-driven. I love finishing.

Therefore, when a great idea comes up, the first thing I do is break it down into smaller pieces and figure out how to make it happen.

I know this approach isn’t as exciting as allowing adrenaline to fuel your writing passion. But what’s the goal here, to feel good or to finish writing your book?

Over the years I’ve helped organizations and individuals publish many, many pieces (articles, books, magazines and more) on deadline. Which is more difficult than you may think.

More often than not the writing part of the process comes down to four steps:

Find your why
Choose your theme
Find your genre
Schedule writing time

You’ve Decided to Write a Book Worksheet

Do you want the worksheets that go with this training?

I’ve created worksheets to complement this training, available for download. This is a free resource but it’s part of my resource library and you’ll need a password. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.

Once you’re in the resource library, navigate to the writing section and look for “You’ve Decided to Write a Book Worksheet.”

Now, on to the training.

How to write a book

Step one: Find your why

Think about why you want to write a book and also why you’re the right person to do it. If you take a few minutes to figure out your why you may find you have many reasons. Try and choose a main (primary) reason. This primary why will help you create the rest of your book-writing (and marketing) plan.

Here are examples of possible why’s:

Build an audience or platform
Be known as an authority in your area
Make money
Tell an important story people need to hear

There are no wrong answers here. One person’s why isn’t morally superior to another’s why. Be honest and figure out the primary reason behind why you want to write a book.

Write it down.

This will help keep you motivated when it stops being fun and starts being hard work.

Elements in a well-rounded author platform

Step two: Choose your theme

The next step is choosing your book’s theme. Every story has a theme—an overarching point. In her book Story Sparks, author Denise Jaden asks writers to review seven simple themes and choose the one that they’d most like to read a book about.

Love
Faith
Forgiveness
Trust
Survival
Honour
Acceptance

From here, once you have a focus word, you can take it deeper. Instead of “love” your theme may become “love conquers all” or “love comes at a price.”

Find that driving point behind your story an write it down. This will help you develop your story line and characters down the road.

Step three: Find your genre

This step is super practical. You need to know which genre your book fits into so you know what your word count should be. Because, yes, there are rules and the word count change based on your genre.

In general, the main objections I hear to this step are around following the rules or choosing just one genre. Trust me when I say, in general you should follow the rules. Please. For everyone’s sake. Also, this step will help you SO MUCH with step four.

Once you know your genre then you’ll have a word count range for your book. If you’re at this stage, check out the genre/word count list I’ve curated.

(Psst it’s also in the worksheets in my resource library.)

Step four: create a writing schedule

Once you know what genre your book is you’ll know more or less how many words you need to write. See? Super practical! Your next step is decide when you want to complete your first draft. This can be arbitrary but it should be realistic. Once you have a date in mind, work backwards, breaking your word count goals into months and then days.

A few things to keep in mind

First, figure out how many words per day you can write. It’s different for everyone so learn what works best for you and build your schedule around it.

Second, build a realistic writing schedule. To write a book you need blocks of focused time. How much do you have available? What do you need to put in place to protect it?

Third, create strategies so you stick to your schedule. There will be days you don’t feel like writing. Find ways to write anyway.

When creating a writing schedule make sure to answer these questions:

What’s your deadline for finishing your first draft?
How many words is your book going to be?
Break it down, how many days per week are you going to write?
How many words can you write per day?
How many words per day do you need to write to meet your deadline?

If you want more on this, check out my training on creating a writing schedule.

if you want to write a book, following these four steps will help you accomplish your goal

I work as a project manager for my day job, which often looks like bossing people around and saying no to things.

In reality, a project manager brings big ideas to life and organizes tasks in a way that makes it possible for the team to get things done.

This role helps people prioritize and keeps an eye on the big picture. It’s a thankless job but an important one, nonetheless.

When I first took on this role it took me a while to realize most people don’t think like I do. Motivated by enthusiasm and emotion, people tend to dive into exciting tasks without thinking about how it will go or when it should end.

Then, when it becomes cumbersome and less fun…and other projects come up…it gets put aside, unfinished.

The people I’ve met at my workshops and speaking events are much the same.

They get a great idea for a book and dive into writing with little (or no) regard to when they want to finish or how long it’s going to be. And then, when the project becomes messy or other ideas crop up…the great idea gets left behind on the hard drive, unfinished.

My goal is to help more people finish their big, exciting projects by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable and realistic steps. I hope this training has helped you! Please let me know how you fare.

By the way, I taught this workshop from June 13 to 15, 2019 at Write Canada.

If you want to write a book but don’t know what to do next, you’re in the right place. This workbook will guide you through the four steps you need to take BEFORE you start writing.

This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.

Why Prescriptive Non-Fiction is Worth Considering If You Don’t Know What to Write

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Robyn Roste

The question, what is prescriptive non-fiction, isn’t the only question I received at a recent workshop I taught called Is It Time to Write Your Book. However, it’s one I have also asked so I thought it was an excellent topic to cover.

When I first started planning my book I thought there were two choices: fiction or non-fiction. But deciding on non-fiction is just the first step.

I outlined this a bit when I explained how word count changes based on book genre. Here is the TL;DR version.

Non-Fiction Genres

Devotional
Self-Help
Memoir
Narrative Non-Fiction
Biography
Prescriptive/How-To

And yes, there are more genres within non-fiction (personal development, practical non-fiction, general non-fiction). But that’s another topic for another day.

What is prescriptive non-fiction?

Prescriptive non-fiction books are known as being strong topical guides or instructional how-to books. They help readers accomplish something or acquire a new skill.

Here are a few examples.

From these titles you know what you’re getting. First you’ll learn how to walk in high heels, then how to get great book reviews and finally how to write a first draft in 30 days.

What does it take to write prescriptive non-fiction?

In order to write a prescriptive non-fiction book the author has to know and understand the topic at a deep level. Deeper than the people who are learning the topic. An expert, if you will.

Another option, if the author is not an expert, is to curate interviews with experts and compile the information into a book.

Writing prescriptive non-fiction is a good option if you’re looking to write something but you don’t have an idea yet. Because chances are you’re an expert about something.

Think about what you know a lot about, what you have interest in and what you think you could spend a lot of time talking about without getting bored. The more specific you can get, the better.

If you’re looking for a challenge, read Nina Amir’s How to Blog a Prescriptive Nonfiction Book in 30 Days.

Of course you’ll need a tight writing schedule to accomplish that but I know you’re up for it.

Prescriptive non-fiction books are known as being strong topical guides or instructional how-to books. They help readers accomplish something or acquire a new skill.

One more thing. I think you’ll enjoy my free resource library. This is where I keep my files, downloads, ebooks, worksheets and whatever else I manage to create. I love sharing what I learn and want to keep adding to this library so it becomes a wealth of helpful goodness.

This is a free resource but I do require a password to access the library itself. You can get access by popping your email address into the form below.

Robyn Roste

One Word at a Time

Category Archives: Books

No Book Idea? Here are Simple Practical Suggestions for What to Write Instead

What if my book idea isn’t a book?

Alternatives for your big ideas

Is my book original? How can I know my book idea is unique?

Other articles about publishing

What’s an ISBN? Do I Need One?

Oh wait, so all books get them?

What if I wrote a book but someone else is publishing it?

Does one ISBN cover an ebook, a paperback and an audio book of the same book?

Where do I get one?