Having set some myself some goals, I’m now moving into the next stage, which is what Robert Allen calls ‘Show and Tell.’ This is where I will be writing about my book – how it differs from others in the same genre, what benefits do I expect the readers to gain from the book – and about me – what do I have to offer? I will also be making the first draft of my book cover – this is pretty exciting stuff! You might think it’s a bit odd to be creating what amounts to promotional material before you’ve actually written the book, but doing it this way round does really work. This is because it forces you to refine what the book is about right at the beginning. It doesn’t mean you can’t change it as you go along, but it makes it much clearer at the beginning.
So first of all I answered the question ‘How is this book different from all the other books on this topic?’ I did think about doing research on other books at this stage, but felt that this wasn’t the right time. This is still the seed of an idea and I don’t want to get put off at this stage. I will be doing the research later and might have to refine the concept then, but for now this comes from inside. The answer I wrote is ‘Out On A Limb’ is different from all the other books on spirituality because instead of telling the reader what to do or how to think, it addresses how being on a spiritual path affects their interactions with others in their life who may not feel the same – and how to resolve the conflict that can result.’
Any thoughts? Or would you like to share what your book’s distinctive angle is going to be?
The creative process is so interesting. And so individual. None of us creates a work of art, piece of music, or a book in quite the same way. There can be similarities, though, and I think some of them are based on our VAK learning style. This is where we are defined as being more Visual, Auditory or Kinaesthetic. 
When I started writing my first book, I really didn’t know where to start. There were some resources I turned to for guidance. Two of the most helpful at the time were this book ‘The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book’ by Susan Page and the Infopreneuring manual by Robert G. Allen. So when I started on this adventure I dug these out again. But I now realise that I am not really going to be adopting either of the approaches wholesale, so actually my experience from writing my first book is my biggest resource. In fact I dug out the old folder and that reminded me of something I did. I had no idea if I was capable of writing and finishing a whole book, so I put on my folder ‘It’s Fun and Easy!’ in big letters – and it was, kind-of, most of the time.
Anyway, back to this book and the cover. 
