First impressions matter. We take this into account when we show up 15 minutes early for a job interview or dress up for a first date. In fact, you only get one opportunity to make a great first impression. This is as true for books as it is for people. Whether people read this section or flip through it to get to Chapter One, this is your opportunity to set the tone, depth, and personality of your book. Don’t shrug it off.

Some authors write with a very specific audience in mind, maybe even one specific person. You may be tempted to say that your book is for everyone. Don’t. Whether you self-publish or go through a traditional publisher, you need a specific audience to whom to market your book. The more clearly you can articulate this, the higher the chance you have of marketing and selling your book to that audience.

Whether you are an author who has written dozens of books or a newbie who has yet to write his or her first, THE most important thing you can do for your book is determine the main objective.

The idea of writing a book is a tantalizing one. If you’ve been around Inspira long enough, you will know we believe everyone has a message, story, or memoir to share. Maybe you are currently writing a book, or maybe you just like the idea of writing a book and you are planning on getting around to it someday . . .

“Someday” does not exist. While we are at it, the vague “tomorrow” doesn’t exist either. These are words we use to dream and procrastinate. Only when “someday” gets changed into July 28th at 3:00 p.m. does it became a reality.

Picture this: You are sitting in a lecture and the speaker feels it necessary to give a 30-minute historical preamble before making his main point. You are very sure his point could have been made without the entire history of the Greco-Roman empire . . . and by now, you’ve lost interest. The speaker took far too long to set up his premise, and now, he’s lost his audience and his point, even when made, will fall on deaf ears. Do not let this happen to your readers!

Losing steam is a common phenomenon. It happens with all sorts of long projects, whether it is a commitment to write a blog every two weeks, posting every day on your social media, or writing a book. The beginning stages and the finishing stages of a project are fun, but the daily grind is not always exciting. In fact, it can even be boring. This is dangerous because if you are bored and stuck in a rut, often the work you are producing is boring and stuck in a rut. If you are not inspired by your own work, you are more likely to quit and run out of steam.

Talk to 15 different writers and you’re likely to get 15 different responses to the question, “What is the perfect writing environment?”