Anyone who tells you that “writing is tough” is a liar.

A competent wordsmith can hammer out a blog post, sales letter, or book chapter within one hour or less. And they can do this every single day.

Additionally, “fast writing” has nothing to do with “bad writing.” A lot of great authors churn out new books at breakneck speed. Stephen King wrote The Running Man in one week. And Robert Louis Stevenson penned The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in a mere three days.

If you get into the habit of writing quickly, it’s easy to put out several books a year.

Today’s post will showcase several effective habits that make it easier to write blog posts, sales letters, and books.

Set Deadlines For Yourself

When it comes to taking action, don’t procrastinate. Cemeteries are filled with people who had “all the time in the world,” yet failed to every accomplish anything.

The easiest way to knockout whatever writing project you’re working on, is to buy a calendar or day planner and fill it up with project milestones.

Personally, I like using a physical calendar or whiteboard for this (no phone apps). That way, you can hang your goal sheet up someplace where you’re forced to look at it. And then you’re constantly reminded of what needs to be done.

(Here’s The Day Planner I Use To Set My Goals)

I started doing this about a year ago, and the results are amazing. Within the past 12 months, I:

• Penned at least two sales letters every day.
• Published four full-length (150+ pages) books.
• Wrote over nearly two million words worth of content.

As the old saying goes, “What gets measured gets done.” By implementing some basic planning and time management skills, you can easily write multiple books or launch several niche sites over the course of a single year.

Read Sh*tty Novels

The biggest “kick in the pants” confidence booster I ever received came after picking up a Clive Cussler novel.

Clive Cussler is such a terrible author, and his books suck so bad, that I had a major epiphany: “If this guy is a successful writer, I can be one too.”

When it comes to commercial writing (i.e. authoring books or penning sales letters), it’s easy to get stuck in your head. You get paralyzed with fear over whether or not you’ve explained something properly, or if there’s a logical flaw in some position that you’ve argued.

It’s a natural thing that happens to everyone.

The secret to dealing with it? Relax.

When it comes to anything in life, you can only impress people when you already have something they want.

A guy making $750,000 a year isn’t going to be “wowed” into buying some Secrets To Making $100 A Day Online eBook. However, a guy working a minimum wage job he hates would be a prime target for that exact same book.

People only buy into ideas or products that they already want. As a result, your overall message is more important than tiny technical details that most readers wouldn’t notice anyway.

If you want a great example of this, go to your local GoodWill and pick up some novels by Danielle Steel, or Tom Clancy, or Ayn Rand.

All these authors are known for being atrocious “technical writers” (bad dialogue, one-sided characters, poor plotting, etc..), but they’ve connected with audiences on a much deeper emotional level. And that’s what leaves a lasting impression.

Make Minor Tweaks To Your Writing Routine

Lastly, I want to mention a few low-effort ways that you can become a more effective writer.

These are all simple adjustments (you can do them in under a minute), but they’ll have a huge impact on your overall productivity. The next time you’re suffering from “writer’s block,” give one of these a try:

• Change the font on your word processor.

I write with Scrivener (which has a great default font), but other programs use “Times New Roman” as their standard text. This hurts your eyes and makes it hard to concentrate. Try switching it to “Courier New” instead.

• Whenever you write a sales letter, jot down any key characteristics of your audience that you’ll want to keep in mind.

This makes it easier to find your project’s theme and tone. Many big corporations base entire product lines off of this simple exercise.

• Keep close tabs on your project’s “costs vs. rewards.”

This is what separates amateurs from professionals. If you’re writing for fun (like I’m doing with this article), there’s no sense in wasting a bunch of time on edits or revisions. You could better use those resources somewhere else.

However, when you are writing for money (in the case of a sales letter or eBook), make sure that you’re final product is good enough to pass inspection at any major firm in your industry.

In other words, any full-length books you write should look, and read, like they just came from Simon & Schuster or Random House.

If you’re on the fence about whether or not you’re writing for fun or profit, ask yourself the following question:

Is the project I’m doing on right now going to immediately pay me the same as working one hour at my regular job?

If the answer is “yes,” you’re doing something professionally. Otherwise, just get the task done as quickly as possible.

Far too many men waste away precious time “brand building” (a stupid term, by the way) their blogs to nowhere, or their worthless social media platforms.

Always make sure that the thing your working on is worth your full attention. And if it isn’t, move on to something that is.Always make sure that the thing your working on is worth your full attention. And if it isn’t, move on to something that is.

Last week my parents came to visit me in Asia. We had a blast.

Our family went on a motorcycle ride up Vietnam’s coast, fed friendly elephants in Thailand, and visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Plus we did a bunch of other cool stuff too.

Everyone had a really nice time, and it was a great vacation.

In fact, all of 2016 has been fantastic (haven’t had a bad day yet), and 2017 looks even better. Because of this, I got to thinking. Why is everything always great and how can you reach that point?

After much thought, I came to a simple conclusion:

Try Something New Every Month

(Motorcycle Ride Along Vietnam’s Coast)

Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.” The same concept applies to setting goals. You can’t achieve it if you don’t know it exists.

This is why it’s important to expand your worldview and try lots of new things.

Pick some activity (hopefully one that’s weird and you know nothing about) and do it daily for one month.

Here are some of the 30 day challenges I’ve done within the last year:

• Learned to play the board game Go, which even harder than Chess.
• Used Codecademy (it’s free!) to re-learn HTML programming.
• Ate dinner at a different restaurant every night and learned about the Michelin rating system.

(Authentic Chinese Food)

• Used a “Power Tower” to do 10 dips and 5 pull-ups every time I walked in or out of my bedroom.

(The Best Home Gym Equipment You Can Own)

• Learned some basic phrases in Chinese.
• Kept a journal written entirely in “Masonic Cipher”

(No Woman Can Resist An Amateur Cryptographer)

• Made my own “home study course” by watching Every Frame A Painting and learning how to think like a filmmaker.
• Walked everywhere.
• Gave $5 to every poor person I saw.

You can do whatever you want for these challenges, but the key is to try something new or unusual. Most people get stuck in their comfort zone, becoming so complacent that it’s impossible to escape.

Even things that might initially seem boring or dumb turn out to have a hidden layer of depth to them. In 2014, I wanted to learn how to become a better writer. That seems mundane on the surface, but I ended up discovering an entirely new skill-set (copywriting) which has made me money ever since.

Closing Thoughts

You’re often one trip the museum, documentary film, or non-fiction book away from uncovering something life changing.

Taking a 30 day challenge is a tiny investment (usually less than an hour a day), but the payoff is huge.

By the end of the month you’ve learned a whole new skill, gained a unique perspective on something, or discovered an entirely hobby that interests you. Additionally, you’re constantly growing as a person and expanding your comfort zone.

Incorporating new challenges into your life makes it impossible for you to stagnate into some humdrum routine. Instead you’re forced to stay moving as you work to achieve all new goals each month.

By the time this article is published, we’ll be at the end of October. Set a November goal for yourself and follow through with it.

The results will surprise you.

Can too much reading be bad for you? I say, “yes.”

While I love books, there is a limit to how much you can learn through them. Over the course of this article, we’ll look at a common problem caused by reading too much; and how you can avoid this pitfall.

Lastly, I’m going to share an ultra-simple system for getting the most out of what you do read. Use this tip and you’ll save yourself a lot of time when learning a new skill. But first we’ll start with the biggest mistake most readers make.

You Do Not Operate On A High Enough Level To Benefit From Most Advice

You will not benefit from 99% of specific information. Of course, when I say “you,” I mean everybody. Myself included.

Let me explain.

Over the summer I was working on a direct market product and got stumped on price. I couldn’t figure out if I should sell it for $17.99 or $19.99.

Unsure what to do, I bought a bunch of books by pricing experts.

These books were written by guys who advise companies like Coca-Cola, ARM, and Maybach on what to charge for their products. As a result, I learned a lot about subjects like “bundling,” “profit cliffs,” and surcharges.

But I didn’t learn anything about selling my E-Junkie eBook.

Frustrated, I sat down, did some simple math, and determined that $19.99 was a fine price.

My weeks of research proved worthless when simple mathematics could have solved the issue in a fraction of the time.

My point?

Much of the specific information you read only applies to a select few situations, most of which won’t involve you.

If you’re the head of a multi-billion dollar corporation like Coca-Cola, you deal in minute details. A 0.001% sales increase means millions of dollars profits. So it makes sense to find something like the optimal price point if it means you’ll get one extra sale out of every 1,000 customers.

For a small business venture, like selling eBooks, that slight increase has no real effect. One sale per 1,000 customers would (in the case of my eBook), only be worth 17.99 – $19.99 total. If I sold 10,000 books (which is a ton for self-published authors), I’d only earn an additional $180 to $200.

That’s hardly worth the extra effort.

When dealing with specific advice, what works for one person probably won’t work for you. Luckily, there is a solution.

Master The Broad Strokes

Instead of searching for “success formulas” or step-by-step advice, focus on mastering a general skill set. Doing so allows you to develop your own flexible system that can be used in a variety of different circumstances.

Here’s an example.

In 2014, I took a flight from Peru to Chicago. Before my plane left, I bought a copy of The Millionaire Fastline to read during the trip.

In one chapter, author MJ DeMarco lays out his exact blueprint for making money off of his book:

From start to finish this book cost me roughly 1,000 hours of my time. If I sell 100,000 books at $5 profit each, I earn $500,000 or roughly $500 per hour invested.

DeMarco goes on to note that:

If I guest-speak on a radio show for 10 minutes and that appearance yields 1,000 book sales, this 10-minute investment yields $5,000 in income (1,000 books X $5 profit) and yields a return on my time at $30,000 per hour. Can you get rich trading your time for $30,000 per hour? Yes you can, and awfully fast.

Someone looking for specific advice would read this and think, “There’s a lot of money in business books themed around car motifs. I’ve got to write one too and name it something like Drive Me To The Bank!”

In fact, that’s what most of the people seeking “guru advice” would do. They’d learn nothing, and simply try aping whatever the person advising them has done. This mentality is what’s lead to millions Tim Ferriss clones, generic motivation blogs, and other low-quality content that consumers tend to avoid.

People who think big picture look past superficial stuff, like the exact details of how someone became successful, can pick up on the broader strokes.

Going back to The Millionaire Fastline example, I used big picture thinking to concentrate on the author’s message, not his example.

I focused on the idea of creating books that could sell with or without me constantly marketing them.

By doing so, I was able to come up with my own unique titles and set them up in a way that they’d generate sales forever. Even now, the books I wrote in late 2014 and early 2015 still make enough money to pay my rent every month.

When you want to learn a new skill, don’t obsess over tiny details. Instead, try to pick up on big picture ideas and general concepts.

Knowing how to come up with ideas, how to create a product, and how to sell is more important than worrying about some “success formula” that only works in one particular set of circumstances.

Today’s post is hustling 101. This article gives you the basics for starting a $1,500 to $2,000 a month business.

Over the course of this article, you’ll learn how to get started as a freelance writer, why this is a great side business, and where you can find clients.

Why Become A Freelance Writer?

(Freelance writing paid enough for me to move abroad and live in Peru)

If you’ve never worked for yourself (or have never made more than $1,000 a month off your websites/eBooks) you should become a freelance writer.

While we’ll get into the details later, here are a few reasons to consider this venture:

• Do the work, get paid – There’s no mystery about how you’re going to make money.
• Writing jobs are often simple and you can finish them in under 30 minutes.
• No start-up cost (my first freelance writing business cost me $0)
• Good learning experience (you get exposed to a lot of different business ideas)
• Great source of income (many part-time freelancers earn $30,000 to $40,000 a year)

Unlike blogging or building websites (where you’re never guaranteed to make a dime) freelance writing is straightforward. Before you pen a single word, you know exactly how much content you’re supposed to write and how much the client is paying you.

Freelance writing is great because it removes all uncertainty about how and when you’ll get paid.

Additionally, it costs nothing to become a freelance writer.

If you have a computer you have all the tools you need to get started.

Websites like Fiverr and Upwork connect you with clients. And you can use a program like Microsoft Word or OpenOffice to write all your projects. There’s literally zero investment for this business.

Freelancing Vs. “Building A Brand”

The biggest complaint against freelance writing is that you’re working for someone else.

This is true, but here’s a secret:

Everyone who ever “built their own brand” started out working for someone else.

Kayne West worked for Jay-Z. James Cameron worked for Roger Corman. And Arnold Schwarzenegger worked for Joe Weider. You need to know what you’re doing before heading out to “make it on your own.”

Lastly, how many hours a day does it take to “build your brand?” One? Two? If you’re publishing blog posts every day, or writing an eBook, you still have time to freelance on the side.

I started doing writing gigs while working a 40 hour a week job, running a website, and going to the gym every night.

Even college students can do a few freelance projects a week without disrupting their schedule.

Where To Get Freelancing Gigs

When you start out, the easiest places to find work are Fiverr.com and Upwork.com. I like both sites for two reasons: the gigs are easy and clients have low standards. Because of this, it’s rare for a job to ever take more than 30 minutes to complete.

Most assignments consist of the client giving you the topic they want written and all the materials they want you to use.

As Matt Forney explains in his book, Writing for Peanuts:

Whatever subject your clients will want you to write about, you can find out all you need from a brief Google search. In fact, much of the time the buyer will give you web pages and documents spelling out everything you need to know about the subject at hand, saving you from having to do even that.

If you could write an essay in your high school English class, you can easily write articles for your clients.

On top of this, most of the articles you’ll be writing are short. Around 500 words each. That means you can usually write two or three within 60 minutes. As a result, you’ll make about $15 to $25 an hour.

It’s not a ton of money, but it’s more than you’d make at most retail and entry-level jobs. Additionally, once you’ve gained some experience, you can find better paying clients either locally or through the contacts you’ve built up.

Quick Recap: Checklist For Becoming A Freelance Writer

(I once wrote $500 worth of articles while spending the night in Hoi An, Vietnam)

Below are all the tools you’ll need to start your own freelancing business. All required items are free, though I’ve also included a few book suggestions which are optional.

Requirements:

• A word-processor like OpenOffice (free) or Google Drive (also free)
• Email account for your business (I use Gmail)
• Fiverr or Upwork account (you could also post an ad on Craigslist or ask local businesses if they need written content)

Optional:

• A book on freelance writing (I’d suggest Writing for Peanuts and Secrets of a Freelance Writer)
• A book on grammar (The Elements of Style is a good refresher)
• That’s it!

Like I said, freelancing is easy to get into and pays better than blogging or “brand building.” Anyone who can write at a high school English level can make money with this business.

I recently wrote a full-length, 48,000 word book. And I penned the whole thing in under a week.

This post, however, is not about me. It’s about you and how you can make money writing eBooks too.

Over the course of this article you’ll learn how most author’s actually make their money (it isn’t from selling books), the easiest way to tackle a big writing project, and how you can be a full-time writer in your free time.

Let’s get started by looking at a serious dilemma most people face.

Is Writing A Book Worth The Time Investment?

Realistically, most books do not sell well. Even many “successful” authors don’t make much. Books are a tough racket (the majority of people don’t read), and the profit margins are low.

A $9.99 self-published book on Amazon pays the author about $7 in royalties. At that rate, selling 10,000 books in a year (about 28 books every single day) would only net you $70,000. And that’s before you pay any taxes.

In other words, you’d have to bust your hump and market yourself hard (contrary to what Tim Feriss types say, books don’t just sell themselves) in order to make the same as some anonymous pencil pusher with a make-work office job.

Books pay so little, in fact, that many professional authors use them as a “loss leader.”

Allow me to explain.

How Authors Actually Make Money

In 2014 I was hired to ghostwrite a psychologist’s book. It was a generic “don’t let your kids get bullied online” title and my client wasn’t expecting to make any money off of it. They merely wanted to have a published book to their name.

Why?

Because the real money (for them at least) was in all the opportunities that being a published author brings. Specifically, speaking engagements. Their end goal wasn’t selling $10 books, it was getting $10,000 speaking gigs. And being a “published author” was just a vehicle to help get them there.

The same is true for most non-fiction writers. Guys like Brian Tracy and Tony Robbins make their money off of seminars, corporate speaking gigs, and private consulting.

While having an eBook can bring in extra money, the real power lies in using it to sell additional services like:

• High-ticket newsletters ($99/month with 100 subscribers = $120,000 a year)
• Paid webinars / seminars
• DVDs / MP4s
• Consultations
• Etc…

Having a whole backlog of high-ticket items is what separates writers making $100,000 a year from ones making $1,000,000 or more.

Now that we’ve covered what eBooks are good for, and how you can position them to maximize your profits, let’s take a look at how you can actually write a full-length book.

Break The Process Down Into Bite-Sized Chunks

(Ogilvy On Advertising is considered a timeless classic. It uses a “listicle” format)

If you can write an article you can write a book.

I’ll prove it to you.

Pick up any non-fiction “how to” book and skim through the table of contents. You’ll find chapter headings like:

• 15 Ways To Maximize Your Home Garden
• 12 Common Grammar Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
• 7 Muscle Building Workouts
• 39 Essential Rules For Starting Your Own Business

What do those chapters sound like? That’s right, articles. You’d see similar content in almost any magazine or major website.

Heck, go on Amazon and type “101 ways” into the search bar. You’ll get book results like this:

• 101 Ways to Build a Stronger, More Exciting Marriage
• 101 Ways to Work Out with Weights
• 101 Ways to Open a Speech

Where else would you see titles like that? If you answered “blog posts,” you’re right again.

While this style of “listicle” writing may seem corny or stupid, many great authors have used it to convey their ideas quickly and effectively.

One of my favorite books, Ogilvy On Advertising, is broken down into chapters that are very list based (“18 Miracles Of Research,” “6 Most Influential Ad Men,” etc…).

Even fiction writers sometimes use a list style of writing to tell their stories. Stephen King’s Cycle Of The Werewolf (for example), is a book that’s made up of 12 short stories all connected by a single theme. While technically not a “proper” listicle, it’s in the same vein.

Lastly, some of the most influential works in human history have been list based. Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses is made up of 95 numbered complaints (many only a single sentence long) against the Catholic Church.

At first glance the document looks more like something you’d see on BuzzFeed, than a text that brought about serious discussions about religious reformation.

In other words…

The Fastest Way To Make Your Point (And Get It Read) Is To Use A List Based Format

You don’t have to write one sentence paragraphs or skimp out on content. But you should break the chapters of your book down into bite sized segments.

Organizing content in a logical and list based manner makes it easier for you to write clearly and allows you to say everything you want to say.

Want proof? Here’s a quick exercise:

Below are two sample chapters for the same book. Which seems less intimidating, and easier, to write?

• Benefits Of Eating A High Protein Diet
• 7 Benefits Of Eating A High Protein Diet

The first feels overwhelming and like you’d be trapped to meander around aimlessly, trying to cover any benefits that might pop into your head.

In the second example everything’s a lot clearer. You have seven main points to make, giving you a definite objective. The task isn’t as vast and scary since you have a clear path with all your major ideas already mapped out for you.

Manage Your Time

(I wrote over 48,000 words using Scrivener)

The easiest way to write your book is to simply sit down and do the work. There’s no “hack” or “one weird trick.”

Block out all distractions, set a timer, and start writing.

Do this for two to three hours every day. Wake up early, skip watching TV, or stay up later than you normally would. There are a lot of ways to “find the time” and you can easily squeeze 120 minutes worth of writing into your daily routine.

As I already mentioned, cutting out distractions is the key to getting a lot done. You can’t write a book if you’re goofing off online or texting your friends.

To deal with this, you should always turn off your phone and put it in another room.

You should also consider one of three options to keep yourself from getting distracted by the Internet:

1. Buy a King Jim “Pomera” – This is a Japanese word processor that’s completely distraction free. Writing is the only thing you can do with it, so there’s zero chance of you getting side-tracked with Twitter or YouTube. ( Side note: There’s also a cheaper alternative called the Neo2 Alphasmart).
2. Shut off your computer’s WiFi – Probably the most obvious solution, but most people lack the willpower to see this option through.
3. Sit outside – Leave your phone at home and go to the local park. Sit on a bench, or in the grass, and type away. This is a very easy way to avoid any electronic distractions and it also allows you to enjoy the great outdoors.

(I do much of my writing while sitting in the park)

If you free up two hours a day for writing, you’ll easily be able to finish a rough draft for your book within a month.

Special Bonus: Are $99 eBooks A Scam?

Before finishing this post, I wanted to discuss something that you’ve probably seen before. Super expensive eBooks that are sold through ClickBank or E-Junkie for $47, $99, or even $197.

Why are these books so expensive, and are they scam products? It’s a good question and I’m glad you asked. The answer has to do with three factors:

1. Scope of audience
2. Advertising fees
3. Profit margins

Let me explain.

Audience Size

Certain books do not have widespread audiences. A book about “starting your own business” has the potential to interest millions of readers. On the other hand, a special report for “FCC regulations for advertising consumable supplements” may only appeal to a very niche market.

The more narrow (and in-depth) your subject is, the higher you can charge for a book.

Advertising

On the Internet, traditional publishing houses get a lot of hate. Everyone assumes that places like Simon & Schuster or Penguin exist solely to “steal money from hardworking authors.”

In reality, publishing houses do a lot to promote their authors’ books. They handle aspects like distribution, booking interviews with TV and radio hosts, and even sending out sales reps to different libraries and bookstores.

When you self-publish you don’t get this type of support.

Because of this, many self-published books are have high price tags and generous affiliate offers. Blogs and websites are more likely to review, and promote, a $49 eBook with a 75% commission rate than they are a $4.99 Amazon title with a 7% commission.

A higher price tag means higher commissions, which leads to more websites being eager to help sell your book.

Profits

What’s the difference between selling a book for $10 vs $100? About $90.

For some people it’s simply more lucrative to sell high-ticket eBooks to a small customer base. While they’ll never sell as many copies as a mass market paperback would, they can often make just as much (if not more).

Usually, these types of books are backed with a huge ad budget ($10,000 to $25,000 a month) while still making enough to cover all the input costs.

By making a book super expensive, the author has a larger marketing budget. $90 worth of ads selling one copy of a $100 eBook is still turning a $10 profit. Meanwhile, $11 spent on ads to sell a $10 book will eventually cause the author to go broke.

As a result, many direct market books have to be higher priced in order for them to make any money.

Closing Thoughts

(It’s easier to write ten 3,000 word chapters than it is to write 30,000 words all at once)

By knowing how to break your writing down into easily manageable bits, work without distraction, and build additional streams of revenue off of your book line, you can create an incredibly lucrative business for yourself.

P.S. If you’re looking for a good book on non-fiction writing, check out my review of How To Write And Sell Simple Information For Fun And Profit.