Creating a book, according to a recent New York Times survey, is something that over 75% of the respondents said they wanted to accomplish.
So, why is it that so many want to do it and so few actually make it happen? The number one reason that I hear is a lack of time.
This is a real issue in this day and age as we juggle family, work, travel, shopping, household duties, social networking, learning needs, leisure and everything else under the sun.
Your own book, especially a non-fiction offering, can move from dream to reality if you can make the commitment to finding one hour per day.
This sounds easy at the outset but it takes discipline and the creation of a goal that is bigger than the roadblocks facing it.
An hour a day, dedicated, committed and without distraction can produce between 500 and 1000 words, and the surprise will be that it gets easier every day.
How can you get into this habit and how in the world will you find the time? A few tips:

• begin by creating an outline of the book that you want to write and start with the 10 things that you absolutely must include to give your reader the experience they want
• once you have created 10 major sub topics, break them down into 3 or 4 items within each category that you will cover
• this gives you a total of approximately 35 writing targets and if you tackle one each day with between 500 and 1000 words, you will have created a substantial non-fiction book in about one month
• today's readers like a book in this size range, especially if it is in a non-fiction genre

Where in the world will you fit an hour into your schedule and will it be easy? Probably not.
This is the part about making the goal bigger than the things holding you back but here are a few thoughts about creating that one hour per day:

• get up an hour earlier or go to bed an hour later - pick one
• make it the same time every day, including weekends
• make it a continuous hour - don't cop out by "working it into your schedule" a few minutes here and there
• turn off your phone, email and social networking sites
• if your family likes to interrupt - get mad and state that unless there is a fire or blood on the floor, do not call me.
  Don't worry, they'll get over it and get used to it (as you train them, you will be training yourself)
• if you are uncomfortable with a computer based word processing program, write it by hand
• never stop to edit your typos
• only reread at the end of your one hour
• use a notebook to track thoughts during the rest of your day (and night)
• don't use this time for designing covers, researching, outlining marketing programs or contacting publishers - this hour is for writing only

As Dan Poynter (self publishing guru) said, "waiting to write a book does not make you a writer, it makes you a waiter!" There are lots of other things to know about creating a viable non-fiction book but unless you get started, nothing else will really matter.
If you start today and follow these few tips, you will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly the writing will get easier and your dream will start to take the form of reality.