I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter. ~James Michener

A blank page sits open on your computer screen. Your fingers are poised, ready to take action. Sighing, you push the office chair back and search for another book on World War II from the bulging bookshelf lining the wall behind you.

Starting a book can be one of the hardest parts of writing. That’s why more often than not, books are never written. As an author, the hurdle of procrastination and self-judgment must be overcome every time you write.

The worry of whether your spouse will like what you’ve done, whether a publisher will fall head-over-heels for your book, doesn’t matter. The only important focus rests in writing with everything you’ve got and not looking back until you’re done.

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
~William Wordsworth

Here are six steps that might help you overcome the first and most important obstacle:

1. Outline what you want in each chapter.
2. Review what you have.
3. Starting with chapter one, or chapter five, or even the last chapter of the book, start writing down everything. Give it all and don’t hold back.
4. Now do the same with each of the other chapters.
5. Once they’re written, stop. Go for a walk, read a book, or do something else, but at all costs leave the book to sit for a couple of days or weeks.
6. Finally, after you’ve dreamed, dreaded, and nearly died with anxiety, it’s time to get back to work and rewrite.

It’s simple: outline, write, don’t look back, let it sit, rewrite.

Well, it sounds simple.

Mike Owens is a Solutions Advisor for the WinePress Group. He specializes in helping authors decide the best method of publishing their book.