There’s no denying that it’s hard for first-time authors to finish their first book and make sure it’s the best it can be. And it’s not at all strange! Even people who write books that sell a lot of copies sometimes have trouble writing the first page of their books. But if you take your time and break the process into steps, it may not only be easier but also help you write the book you’ve always wanted to write.
Follow this simple step-by-step guide to writing a book if you want to avoid the scary parts of writing a book and keep your focus and creativity at their best. So, let’s start:
Things to think about before you start writing a book
Before you start working on your book idea, you should ask yourself a few important questions, whether you are a best-selling author working on your next book or a first-time author who wants to self-publish.
Do you have the desire to write and the time you need to finish your book?
To finish writing your book, you need to give all of your attention to writing. For example, you should set aside time every day to write and stop doing other things.
Are you willing to learn new things, like how to rewrite and edit?
When you’re writing a new book, your strengths and weaknesses will often become clear, and you’ll have to work hard to improve them.
Do you know who the main people are, what’s going on, and what the story is about?
Even though you don’t have to plan out every detail, it helps to have a general idea of how your book will be organized and where it will go before you start writing.
How to Get Started with Your Book
After you set aside time and think about your story and characters, you can start writing your book. So, if you want to get some good advice, keep reading:
Set up your favorite place to write
If you want to write a great book, you need a great place to write. It doesn’t have to be a soundproof room with a beautiful view. All you really need is a quiet, distraction-free place where you can work on your writing without stopping. You should be able to work in a place where you can stay focused for a long time without being interrupted. This could be on your couch, in your house, at your office, or in a coffee shop.
Decide Your Book’s Genre
The next thing you should do is choose a genre for your book. To do this, you must first decide who you’re writing for. For instance, do you want to write books for kids, teens, or adults? What kind of book are you willing to write? Do you want to know how to write a poetry book, a biography, or a book about how to help yourself? If you could write any kind of fiction, what would it be?
If you choose the right categories and keywords for your book, it will be easier for people to find and buy it on online bookstores like Amazon. Also, if you want to increase traffic and make a detailed page that leads to more sales, you need to know how to find the right categories and keywords.
Choose what you want to write about
The next step is to decide what your book will be about. Do you want to write a children’s book or a book about your life? Do you want to teach your readers something, or do you want to tell them a story they can’t stop reading? Make sure you choose a topic or plot that interests you so that you will be motivated to keep writing and get past the inevitable writer’s block that most authors face.
Focus on the main idea of your book.
Maybe you already know exactly what your book will be about, or maybe you can’t decide between a million different ideas. Maybe you only have a picture to use for the book cover. Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to ask yourself a few questions to help you think about some important things.
- What is the real point of my book?
- Why should people care about my story?
- Why did I become interested in this idea in the first place?
- Who might want to read my book?
If you are having trouble coming up with a book idea or have writer’s block, writing prompts can help you get started.
Tell us what happened.
Before they start writing their books, good writers plan out their stories in detail. Outlines can be summaries or chapters, and they can also be simple sheets that show how each chapter of a book will be put together. They could be visual maps that show where your book is going. No matter which method you choose, you should have a plan for your next writing sessions.
Do a thorough investigation.
Research is a tool that all professional writers must use. For example, if you are writing a nonfiction book, you will probably want to spend some time at archives and libraries to learn as much as you can about your topic. Research can help you set the scene for the time period or character archetypes you are writing about. But it is also helpful for people who write fiction.
Start writing and stick to a regular schedule.
When writing your first book, you need to do research, plan, and come up with ideas. But there may come a time when getting ready starts to cause delays. So, if you don’t want to be late, you need to start writing a rough draft. This includes setting up times to write and ways to write. Set daily word goals to stay on track. Set a time on your calendar to write so you won’t forget.
Finish writing the first draft.
When writing your first manuscript, you will have self-doubt, a lack of inspiration, and writer’s block. And that’s not unusual. If you get stuck, go back to your plan or do some research to get more ideas. Also, try to keep your expectations in check. Most likely, your first book won’t become a classic or a best seller. It hurts your writing to compare yourself to great writers. All you can do is keep writing until you’re done.
Make changes to your first draft.
Every good book goes through many changes. You can edit the book or hire a professional book editing service to help you. In either case, you have to be brutally honest when you read your work to see what needs to be changed. Keep an eye out for sentences that use too much detail. If you are writing fiction, try to spot any inconsistencies or logical flaws in your characters or story. Set up a way to keep track of your changes.
Start writing your next draft.
The second draft is where you can make any changes you want. It also gives you a chance to think about bigger problems that you won’t be able to solve until you’ve finished your first draft. Does your book always have the same tone? Can you enhance its main concept? Is there anything in the book that isn’t strong enough to be left out? In the second draft, you can also answer more specific questions.
Also, does the beginning of your book have a strong hook? A powerful ending? You need to pay attention to all of these things.
It’s finally time, so get your book out there!
Now it’s time to get your book out there. With the rise of online markets and e-readers like the Kindle, self-publishing is easier than ever. If you’d rather do things the old-fashioned way, you could send a book proposal to a publishing house, preferably with the help of a literary agent. After your first book has been published successfully, you must take a break and start writing your second.
Bottom Line
Publishing is another hard process, of course. But if you’ve come this far to learn how to write a book, you can do almost anything else! Spend money on a nice cover and learn how to market your book. But if you don’t have the time, you can always hire a book publishing service to do it for you. So, no matter what you decide to do, you will always have published a book, which is a great achievement.
If you want some help to make your writing journey even easier, you can work with our book writing services to make a perfect book!
Book Publishing Services 