In this episode, Jodi breaks down why so many business owners overthink their book projects—and how to replace overwhelm with clarity and momentum. She walks through the foundational planning steps, explains how to structure your book based on your business goals, and shares practical tips for reducing decision fatigue through repurposing and realistic scheduling.

Time Stamps:

00:00 – Introduction

00:55 – Why business owners overthink their book projects

02:05 – Acknowledging the many moving pieces

03:10 – Why a vague "book time" block doesn't work

04:15 – A personal story: discovering the power of a more specific plan

06:00 – Understanding your writing capacity and time tracking

07:30 – How writing, publishing, and marketing all fit into your plan

09:00 – Foundational book building blocks: who, what, and why

11:35 – Deep dive vs. overview structure—how to choose

13:00 – Repurposing content without guilt

15:00 – Using a Book Brain Dump to reduce overwhelm

17:10 – Why you won't (and shouldn't) know everything about publishing

18:15 – Final encouragement for moving from idea → manuscript → asset

Keywords:

book planning, writing strategy, author overwhelm, book project plan, content repurposing, book structure, business owner authors, publishing process, book timeline, writing capacity, author mindset, book building blocks, Book Brain Dump, book coaching, author productivity

Resources Mentioned:

Book Brain Dump Exercise: https://bit.ly/bookbraindump

Coffee + Commas signup: https://bit.ly/coffeeandcommassignup

Ready Set Write Challenge: www.jodibrandoneditorial.com/readysetwrite

Write Publish Market Episode 203: Prepare Now to Write a Book in 2026: 3 Tips for Business Owners: http://www.jodibrandoneditorial.com/write-publish-market-podcast/203

LINK TO FULL EPISODE (RAW) TRANSCRIPT:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1snDUCQ5RI4unQ5MLjBppn0iY2ODYo2OPk8SSUpQ0BD8/edit?usp=sharing