I can’t count the number of times people have walked up to me at book signings while buying one of my books and said, “I’ve always wanted to write a book.I’ve had this idea for years. What advice would you give me for writing a book?” I always tell them the same thing. “Quit talking about it and just do it.” Okay, so I’m obviously not the warm fuzzy type of mentor; I guess I’m more of a boot camp coach. Sure, it may not be January 1st when people make their New Year’s resolutions, but why not resolve to make this the year you stop talking about writing that book you always wanted to write and actually sit down and write it? Writing it is the easiest part of being an author. You obviously already have the desire to do it. As Nike always tells you in their ads, “Just do it!”

Where do you start? I had a student last semester who told me she wanted to quit her job to become an author. I asked her what she wanted to write and she said, “Anything that makes money.” Wrong answer. First, don’t immediately quit your day job thinking you’re going to write a book and sell a million copies overnight. It just doesn’t happen that way. Next, you need to decide what to write. Sure, erotica and vampire books are hot sellers right now, but are those what you want to write? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. What do you like to read? What hobbies do you like? Can you combine those in a book? Will you write fiction or nonfiction? My first two books, From Zero to Christian in Just 35 Years and Missing Andy practically wrote themselves because they were about things I had lived and experienced. If you love to travel, perhaps a travel book is in your wheelhouse. Are you a great cook? Have you considered a cookbook? Analyze your strengths and go with them.

Next, consider your purpose in writing a book. Are you writing this book to leave a legacy to your children, to earn a living, to fulfill a lifelong dream? What effort are you willing to put into the book after it’s a finished product? Are you going to participate in marketing efforts? Trust me, writing your book is the easy part; everything that has to be done after the book is printed is the hard part.

Once you’ve captured your words on paper, you have so many options in terms of publishing. You can pursue the traditional route of sending out query letters to publishers. You can evaluate hybrid publishers that will consider your manuscript and publish it for an investment on your part. Self-publishing is a popular option. You can even choose whether you want the book to be a physical hard copy book, a digital e-book only, or a combination of both formats.

But, back to the writing aspect. If you’re like me, you’ll write spontaneously when the mood strikes you or when you feel inspired. When I get a book in my head, I’ll percolate on it and “spit it out” over a five hour period and it’s done. If you’re more of a structured person, you might want to assign yourself deadlines such as writing 1,000 words each week or writing two hours each week until you’ve reached your goal.

But the main thing is, if somewhere down deep in your soul you’ve been longing to be a writer, let that longing out and do it this year for real.