You Don’t Need AI to Write Your Book – Or Content
- Sep 7
- 3 min read
How to WRITE a Book - When You Think You Can't
As a writer, book coach, and avid reader, I cringe when I see ads on YouTube, Facebook, and now LinkedIn promising that you, too, can become a writer by harnessing the world of AI. It’s at your fingertips. You can have your book done in a week.
I understand why this is such an attraction to so many non-writers who are delving into the world of writing. They don’t know anything about being an author, so they believe what they are told by the media, non-writer friends, and the ads meant to sell them something. They have a fear of not being good enough. Or, they need the book fast. They have an idea, but it’s not enough for an entire book.
As a book coach, I recently worked with a client who wrote her entire book using AI. It was basically a list. There was no heart or soul in it. There was no human connection. And that’s why we read.
No matter what type of book, the reader wants to feel something.
I took her back to the beginning of the process, dug around a bit, and got her to answer some questions. Questions that, on the surface, don’t sound like much run deep in you as a writer. They help you discover your creative side and bring the words to life.
As a writer, I learned early on what it takes to write a book that connects with your reader. You don’t have to be perfect. What you need is a plan.
Here are a few parts of the developmental plan that I help my clients with, as well as what I use myself. There is no magic, no AI, and no right or wrong answers. When you are clear and precise with your answers, you will find that your writing becomes clear too. It’s as if you took a pair of dirty glasses, washed them up, and put them on. Now, you can see clearly, and the path is easy to follow.
STEP 1) WHY are you writing your book? This is going to be the most challenging part of this exercise. You need to dig deep into your heart and ask yourself this question. And you need to be honest with the answer.
STEP 2) WHO is your book for? If you said everyone, you’re wrong. I know I said there are no wrong answers, but in this case, that’s wrong. Everyone can read your book, but it’s not for everyone. I encourage you to narrow this down to a specific person. Think of someone you know, or maybe someone you’ve met. Make it a conglomerate of people. A book that is watered down won’t reach your audience. For example, a kindergarten reader is not going to read a book like The Grapes of Wrath.
STEP 3) WHAT are you writing? No matter if you’re writing the next great literary novel, a self-help book, a book on business growth, a memoir, or a children’s book, you must, must, must know what you are writing. The kicker is that you need to be able to say it in one or two sentences.
All of these sound simple and of minor importance, but these three (of the 5 in my plan) make up the core part of your book. They help you discover your message, and they free up your creative side of your brain. Plus there a quite few side benefits YOU GET when you write your own book. More on that in another post.
This being said, AI is a crutch that you don’t need. All you need is some encouragement, a little knowledge, and practice. Your book doesn’t have to take years to write, either. My client, in the example, worked with me for 60 days and finished her book.
If you want to get started writing your book - start here with the Vision to Book - Development Blueprint. This is your toolkit to get started. Part of three of the items from my workbook were here in this blog post. The workbook includes step by step, easy to follow instructions so you can right like a pro with confidence and not rely on AI. And, the best part??? It's only $12.99
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