Last fall I was both delighted and mortified when I found out from my agent that my book deal had gone through in early October. By the time the papers were signed we were looking at about three months to actually write a non-fiction book about eighteen women runners from around the world. As a full-time freelance magazine writer I am used to editors throwing ridiculous deadlines on me ("Hi Shanti, can you write a very detailed piece for us on traveling in Thailand on a shoestring budget...by tomorrow?). As a freelancer you never turn down work and you never say, "No, I can't do that." You simply sigh, brew up an extra large pot of coffee and start hitting up your sources.

But a book is a different deal. That's not toilet reading. People actually put it on their shelves and it stays there for years collecting dust. Once I knew the book was on I will admit I started to panic a bit. I mean the idea of the book seemed good, but then actually realizing that I had to write a book was a whole different game. So, I stopped, took a deep breath and then laid out a plan of attack.

Step One: Lay out a calendar
Don't mess around with dates. Give yourself HARD deadlines and stick to them. In some cases I had to waiver on my personal deadlines, but I had good reasons. If you do, it better be because you really couldn't do it due to outside circumstances. If you miss your deadlines it starts to snowball and when you only have a few months things will get lost. In the case of my book I didn't write three chapters I had really wanted to write and I am still sorry about that. It was my fault because I missed my own deadlines and then didn't have enough time to write those three chapters.

Step two: The Interns
Interns are a lovely thing. They can research for you and make you not feel you are totally in this game alone. My interns came from UCLA. Simply contacting a University like U of O Journalism school is a great way to start. The instructors will usually announce your internship in their class. Mine was very attractive (ha, ha): SWF seeking one smart female intern to transcribe hours of boring interviews, help me research various women who will be appearing in my book, read my chapters and make insightful comments. For your time you will make absolutely nothing, but I would be happy to write you a letter of recommendation and if your university will give you credit that would be groovy. I found two lovely interns: Jessica and Miki. I paid them each $150 as a bonus and gave them credit in my book and sent them a copy each, but they really worked for nothing. Poor Miki transcribed hours of interviews!

Step three: Create a master file box
I love plastic file boxes ($6) from Office Max or Staples. Each chapter of my book got a file. In the case of my chapters, each one was about a different woman runner. In that file I would put hard copies of the transcriptions, any articles I found about them, additional info on events surrounding them. This way I didn't have to turn on a computer to read about the woman. I could just pull stuff out and highlight details.

Step four: Have a back up computer
If you are a professional writer your ONLY true expense is a computer. I had one very nice 1-year old laptop that chose to blow up on me the week I was finishing my book. This sent me into extreme panic, which led to drinking four very strong martinis, a crying fit where I cursed technology and one very hungover call to Apple the next morning at 9am. I ordered a second computer, which was delivered on Monday morning. But from Friday to Monday on my final week I couldn't work, which was a huge loss of time. I now have two computers and a back up hard drive, another important tool to have. Although a back up is good, if you don't have a computer to work on when you need it that shiny silver back up bring does you no good.

Step five: Keep a list of your contacts close at hand
Nothing can stop you in the middle of a creative project than needing to look for a number. I was mid-sentence many times and felt like I needed something more so I would look up from my desk to a list of numbers on my wall and call the person I needed to reach right away, get the question answered and move on. Having things at your fingertips when you are under a tight deadline will make the project roll smoother. Every time you stop you break up a creative moment and could lose it.

Step six: Don't panic if you get writer's block
I can't tell you how many times I had writer's block. I set aside a few hours in the morning every day that I forced myself to only work on the book. And if nothing was coming out of my brain I would read articles about my subjects, read transcriptions or read about my topic (running) on websites. The only no-no with this is to not let yourself fall so in love with research that you are never writing. If you find you haven't written for two days in row, close your computer down, go do something physical to get your brain moving, then come back and sit down with a clear desk (don't open your email program) and write. It will come. Other tips: Look for inspirational quotes or re-read articles or writers that you love to get inspired.

Step seven: Chapter Reflection
In the beginning when you wrote your book proposal you wrote up chapter outlines. Go back to those when you are sliding off track. They will help you with your initial vision and get you focused again. Tangents are good, but don't get so far off that you can't get back on track or that you waste enormous amounts of time. (Note: right now the author writing this is totally doing this in procrastination of writing another book outline that her agent is expecting in two weeks! This is a naughty tangent!)

Step eight: Writers Groups
I have always had writers groups, which really help my writing. Have people you can either email chapters to or meet regularly to talk things out that you are having problems with. This needs to be a very critical person who isn't afraid to tell you something sucks. You don't have time to muck around, so you need real critiques.

Step nine: Rewrites
Make sure that you give yourself enough time to totally rewrite chapters because inevitably there will be that chapter you wrote in the beginning that doesn't feel good once you finish the book. Also give yourself a week to put the book away and come back at it with a fresh eye close to when you need to turn it in. That will help you make stronger rewrites because you will be under pressure to get it done, but will have had a second away from it.

Step ten: Write with confidence
You are a super star! You got a book deal. People believe in you enough so to give you a book deal, right? Don't let yourself get overwhelmed with the fact that you have to write a book and have a tight deadline. Trust your skills because they have given you this opportunity. Write, write, write. And even if you feel like something is crap, keep writing. You will write through those down moments. It's all part of the process. Don't panic about when you have to get it done by. Just do it and pretty soon you will realize that you have written a book.

Shanti Sosienskiis a freelance magazine and book writer who moved to Ketchum, ID November 1, 2005 with a book due to her publisher on January 31, 2006 (papers were signed on it in October). She managed to move, get some snowboarding in and turn in her manuscript on time. To find out more about "Women Who Run" go here. Also, Mediabistro members can order her book for a cool $10 if you email her here.