Crafting a Book Plan when Life Happens

Last updated: March 28, 2026

It’s only the 2nd week of 2026, and it can already only go up from here (or at least I hope)!

I expected this year to start off with a big trip we’ve been planning for months. Instead, it started off with me getting a head cold, and my husband slipping on some ice, breaking his femur, and needing emergency surgery to get rods and pins inserted in his leg. 

Life screamed, “It’s time to PAUSE”! 

In this unexpected quiet space, I’ve read, journaled, meditated and reflected, and I’ve surprisingly found myself feeling grateful for it.

Dr. Karin Nordin, a behavior change expert, recently referred to this as “gritty gratitude” during a class I’m taking with her. 

That resonated…hard. Gritty gratitude is when you find the good in hard things, and it’s come up several times during my reflection time.

Last year, I had some big book coaching projects I wanted to create. I went 2-5, and one of the projects got completed just under the wire on Dec. 23. 

This is not a great record, but in reflecting on why, I realized that I had set myself up to fail.

“Write the book” and  “Create TwS program” were on my list all year. These are TERRIBLE items to have on a to-do list.

They’re WAY too big, so instead of tackling either of them, I focusED on easier tasks that I could actually get done and scratch off of my list. 

All of this reminded me of Stephen Covey’s metaphor of the big rocks and small pebbles/sand.

If you fill a jar with sand and pebbles (small tasks) before the big rocks (major projects), there isn’t room for the big rocks. They won’t fit.

But if you put the big rocks (projects) in first, there’s more than enough room for the little stuff to settle into the nooks and crannies. It’s an apt metaphor and also one I’d forgotten.

I’ve written and published four books and helped clients do it, so I’m not sure why I thought this next book would be best handled as one big overwhelming task, a rock SO big it wouldn’t fit anywhere in my life.

To get past my personal blind spot, I re-read The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran and started breaking this year’s projects down into quarterly goals.

If you’ve had “Write the book” on your goal/to-do list for the last year (or ten), start by breaking the project down into manageable quarterly, then monthly, and weekly goals.

I try not to do daily goals because I work as a teacher and book coach (and now caregiver), so I need some level of flexibility in when I tackle tasks.

So, how do you break your book project down?

First, figure out what you need to do first (which is NOT write chapter one). Map your book out. This will save so much time in revision and editing on the back end. 

Here are some steps that I work on with my clients that you might add to your list:

• Identify your audience
• Why do I want to write my book?
• Where will it sit in the bookstore? 
• Identify your point or core message
• Identify the transformation your reader will experience
  • How will you get them there? What steps do you need to include?
• Develop a table of contents
• Research specific topics or areas that need it
• Identify case studies, examples or anecdotes do you want to include
• Craft an outline
• Identify the point of each chapter
• Write chapter one 
• Write chapter two etc.

Second, decide what’s realistic for you to complete this quarter, this month, and this week. 

Finally, track your progress. What’s working? What’s not working? Adjust accordingly. 

One piece that has been key for me in completing my books is my writing partner. She’s actually a romance writer, so it’s not genre that matters. It’s having accountability with another human that helps.

If you have a friend or colleague that also wants to write a book, set deadlines with one another and share your work, whether that’s your TOC or a case study you’ve written.

If you don’t know anyone, you can check out this winter’s Writing Workshop for some accountability and support or you can always work with a book coach! ;)

I have no idea if I’ll finish my book this year, but I do know that I will make progress on it. That feels good.

Here’s to progress on our books in 2026.

Amy