First published: 5 January 2023 @ 6:00 pm
Writing a book is a more difficult process than you might think. It can take time, money, and commitment. If you want to write a book, be prepared to put in the hours at it, stay committed—and get help when you need it.
As a beginner, there will be a better question that should be answered in your mind other than “how do I become a bestselling author?”. For example, how to write a book and where should you begin.
Essential questions before writing a book
Before writing a book, there are a few things that you need to know and make sure of. Below are some important questions you have to keep in mind before you jump into the writing method.
1. What do I want from this book?
The first and most important step guide is to understand what you want from your book. What kind of information are you hoping to relay?
As a general rule, if it takes longer than five minutes for you to give away your expertise in response to someone’s direct question, it will take more time than that to write a book. If you can’t give away your expertise within 5 minutes, it won’t work in a book.
2. How long do I want this book to be?
Keep this in mind while you are writing, and tweak it as necessary. Set a target for the length of the book and the number of potential readers.
In addition to that, you don’t have to write the entire book all at once. It’s more likely to be more useful and engaging if you break it into manageable segments.
3. How can I write effectively?
Many people come to write a book with the mistaken belief that they can write for a long time and still be able to produce something of value. This is a myth—the best writing method takes place in short sections, with a clear focus.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t write for four hours a day, but that you may have to take some time off between writing sessions. You become most productive when you focus on your work and eliminate everything else from your life.
What sort of book should I write?
There is as much difference between a novel and an autobiography as there is between a textbook and a guidebook.
Many people ask themselves this question and they often fail to come up with an answer. They eventually decide on something, and then sit down to write—but end up writing more about it than they ever intended.
For the records, there are four main types of books, which are reference books, nonfiction books, fiction books, and how-to books.
What you write about is a key question to ask yourself as you are writing your book. If you fail to write something related to your expertise, then it will take up unnecessary space and be of little value to anyone.
If, on the other hand, you try to cover too much, you run the risk of getting stuck in extraneous details that don’t contribute much to your message.
Get the book ideas
Your book has to focus on a central message or topic. This is the core idea—the one that generates the bulk of your book and that you want to emphasize so strongly that it becomes memorable.
It’s the one that you want your readers to remember and that they will apply to their own lives. If you have no idea what to write about, then you can start with a book that is similar to your expertise and read it cover-to-cover.
This will help you find out what type of book works for other people in similar fields. You will learn how to identify the different components and what goes into a typical book.
If there is nothing like your expertise in this field, then you can use this book as the starting point for writing your own.
How to write a book?
Getting started is the hardest part of writing. First thing first, you need to answer mentioned essential questions above before composing your entire book. Once you have figured out all of them, then you can start by following these steps.
What, Who, Why, and How
In advance, you have to decide and be fully aware of what you want to write about. Secondly, you pick out an alternative that fits you on how you are going to tell your story.
After it’s done, understand that it is important to set your target audience. You would want to know who they are and why they read your book. You have to find out your book’s x-factor along with that.
Book Outline
An outline will help you plan your writing process, it will also make sure that the content of your book fits together and follows the plot development. It’s also possible to have an outline or structure for all the chapters of your book, but the hardest part is to finish writing each chapter and make sure it fits with the rest of the entire book.
It’s an important step that is easy to skip if you do not study this type of work beforehand. For beginners, you can always create a simple step and macro outline to be your writing guide along the process.
First Line
Get started by writing your first sentence. You have to set aside the thoughts of what the rest of the book is going to be like.
You need to just start and keep writing. Keep it simple so that you can keep going. You don’t need to remember the whole outline in your head or even a title for your book.
Introduction and Book Chapters
What you want to do next is keep writing. You don’t have to decide which one of your writings will become an introduction or the first chapter yet.
You can do that later after you finish dozens of pages. Nonetheless, if you find it important, you can start to put your first single sentences and paragraphs into the introduction as well as compose the chapters in your book.
Book Title
Once you’ve done that, you can move on to the next step: finding a title. A good book title is essential for attracting attention and making your book stand out from the crowd.
It needs to represent what your book is about, as well as be memorable and appealing to potential readers. You can use a tagline to help you find a title, although it is still important to check out the book’s content before starting.
Look Back and Revise
Don’t read your writing or edit it in the first few paragraphs. By doing so, you can avoid the thoughts of wanting to stop writing.
If you want to do the editing process, you can always go back and revise later. Go back to the first few chapters and try to figure out what you’re doing wrong, then fix it.
Some Writing Tips You Can Try
As complex as it is, you can always choose various approaches to write and finish your book. And sometimes, you won’t have certain approaches or guidelines to start a book. Otherwise, it is fine, too. This process of writing can take a lot of time.
Here are some tips that you can try and keep in mind to start writing your book.
1. Keep writing no matter what
You will want to finish your book. By focusing on your written pages, you may lose interest and want to stop writing.
Just simply keep writing your story and you can always go back to revise it after you finish a few chapters. Additionally, keeping on writing your book is going to be good as it will make your writing style seen–which will become your character as a professional writer.
2. Writing Habits
Build your writing habits properly. You will write your book with better energy and fresher story ideas if you set some to-do before or after writing.
As a choice, you can have a habit that is as simple step as setting a writing time and having a dedicated writing space.
3. Short sentences
Sentence length is the key element of a good book, it’s important to make your sentences as short as possible while still making them clear and easy to understand. This is one of the most difficult steps, but it’s also the most important one.
As well as short sentences, short paragraphs make it easier for the reader to follow your book too. It’s also better if you can have some interesting text in each paragraph, including a keyword or two that will help the reader stay focused on what you are writing.
4. Avoid clichés
It’s important to make your book original, but it’s also important to avoid using repeated phrases and expressions as these may annoy the reader.
Use fresh ideas and avoid common expressions likewise. This will make your book more interesting and it will also make sure that the reader understands what you are writing clearly.
5. Be mindful of your words
It’s important to use the right words, you should also try not to use any slang or jargon that will make your book difficult for everyone.
You should also remember that verbs are the strongest elements in any sentence and they can change the meaning of a sentence completely, so you must always choose them wisely.
6. Results and Conclusion
Make sure that each chapter ends with a result. The end of every chapter should be a result (any kind of action that was done in the chapter, or at least something that is going to happen).
No less important, make sure your book has a good conclusion. The conclusion must be interesting and it should also make the reader want to read what happens in the next chapter (or book).
Final Thoughts
To finish writing your book, you will have to believe in it. You need to believe that you can get through this and write a novel. Don’t worry about what other writers are doing or how everyone else is writing their books.
You can learn a lot by reading some of the best-selling books on writing. But do it in moderation. You’re going to want to try things that work and then keep them in your back pocket.
Most of all, you want to go into writing this book with your eyes wide open: Be sure you know what you want and how best it can be achieved. Once you have done that, you are ready to get started to be a successful writer.
Do you want to read more about writing a book–or article? The Big Writer has more information about it on our website. Visit us to read more!
FAQs
How long does it take to write a book?
It can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the size and scope of the project.
How much does it cost to write a book?
It is generally more expensive to write a physical book than to simply publish an electronic book
Do I need any special skills or experience to write a book?
No, you don’t need any special skills or experience to write a book. However, you may find it helpful to have some writing experience or knowledge of the subject matter you are writing about.
Is writing a book profitable?
There is no definitive answer to this question. However, it is generally more profitable to write a book than to simply publish one online. Additionally, books can often be sold in bookstores and through online retailers.
How to publish a book?
Most authors often submit their book proposals to book publishers and agents. However, there is no guarantee that a publisher or agent will want to publish your book because it must be reviewed and edited first by editors. Therefore, it is also possible to self-publish your book.