As the Nigerian government announced the COVID-19 lockdown, I thought to myself, what can I and other members of the Book Writing Clinic (BWC) community do to stay productive? Then an idea struck me.

The Idea of Articles Marathon

Why not go on a writing marathon? Specifically, articles marathon. I then announced the idea of a writing marathon to BWC members. I called on all members to turn to their pens and laptops and see what would come out of it. The challenge was to write one article per day for 10 days. I didn’t exempt myself.

Why Not Write Epic Guides?

I’d read about the concept of epic guides from Jon Morrow the founder of Smart Blogger. Sonia Thompson, who writes for Forbes, Entrepreneur and other high end publications actually wrote an epic guide for Smart Blogger with the title “Demystifying Epic Content.” So I decided to write epic guides, even though I called mine ultimate guides.

The Ten Ultimate Guide

I first wrote out the topics I felt would resonate with readers. Along the line I tweaked the titles and here is the final list of the articles, which I later renamed ultimate guides:

1. My Ultimate Guide To Setting Goals And Achieving Your Dreams
2. My Ultimate Guide To Making More Money Online Than You Can Use In A Lifetime – And Be Happy With The World
3. My Ultimate Guide To Landing The Job You’ve Always Wanted And Living A Life Of Your Dreams
4. My Definitive Guide To Successful Marriage, Happiness And Abundance
5. My Ultimate Guide To Building A Perpetual Online Money-Making Machine And Being Humble About It
6. My Ultimate Guide To Radiant Health, Wealth, And Happiness
7. My Ultimate Guide To Entrepreneurship, Wealth And Power
8. My Ultimate Guide To Building, Developing, And Managing Your Career And Making It Big In Life
9. My Ultimate Guide To Small Business Success
10. My Ultimate Guide To Personal Development And Financial Freedom

The Total Articles Length

The articles marathon was a revealing exercise. It enabled me to research on the topics. I had to not only go deep but also wide. I started every day at 6 am and sometimes finished at 7 pm. I stumbled on website I’d never heard of before and learned new ideas. The articles averaged 4053 words, with the shortest closing at 3023 words and the longest 5373. The final word count was 40538.

Feedback From Readers

After I finished the articles I sent them to my mailing list and requested for feedback. Over 30 people read the articles and provided feedback. While some read two or three articles, a Professor who has since became a friend and my student read all the ten articles and gave comprehensive reviews. The three most popular articles turned out to be

1. My Ultimate Guide To Small Business Success
2. My Ultimate Guide To Personal Development And Financial Freedom
3. My Ultimate Guide To Making More Money Online Than You Can Use In A Lifetime – And Be Happy With The World

Lesson Learnt

The simple lesson I learnt was what Napoleon Hill taught in his Think And Grow Rich. It said, “Whatever your mind  can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” My success goes to prove Chandler Bolt’s assertion that anyone can write a book in 30 days if she sets her mind to it.

If I can write 40,000 words in 10 days you can write a book in 30 days. In Part 2 of this article, we look deeper at how you can hammer out a neat readable book within 30 days or go from concept to your book launch in 90 days. At 40,000 words, my articles are pretty long enough for a full fledged book. You too can do the same and not only launch your book, but turn your book into a lucrative business.