I Want to Write a Book: Here’s How to Do It
If you’ve been saying, “I want to write a book” for some time now, then you’re in the right place.
In this post, you’re going to discover everything you need to know to get started on writing your first book.
This post contains links to everything you’ll need from writing to finding a great editor to getting your book published.
Now let’s talk about what to do first as soon as your brain lights up with the idea that you want to write a book.
1. Write Down Your Book Idea
Quick! Before your idea runs away or you start to lose interest, write it down.
There’s something fascinating about how the human brain works; when you write something down it suddenly becomes “real.” That dream, wish, or hope you’ve been holding on to for years starts to crystallize in the form of ink on paper, and what once seemed impossible now becomes possible.
2. Realize That You Can Do It
You can write a book!
No matter what your background or experience is, you can become an author. You don’t need any special training, knowledge, or acceptance from anyone else to write a book.
Of course, there are lots of things you’ll learn along the way, but you don’t need to know anything when you’re first starting to write a book. All you need is your idea and the passion and drive to follow through on your goal.
3. Clarify Your Goal
Writing a book is a great goal, but it’s probably not your ideal end goal. What do you really want from writing a book?
Do you want to get your book published? Sell a million copies? Hit the New York Times bestseller list? Have a few friends and family read your book? Become famous? Have your book turned into a movie?
What exactly do you want to achieve?
Write down your specific goal(s) for your book. Get crystal clear on what it is you want.
If you skip this step, it’s going to be much more difficult to decide what to do at each following step, because there are dozens of choices you have to make when writing and publishing a book. You won’t know which decisions are the right ones for you unless you’re clear on what your goals are.
4. Market Research
Once you’re clear on your goals, you need to consider doing market research.
This step is crucial if you’re planning on:
- Finding a literary agent
- Getting your book traditionally published
- Selling more than 1,000 copies
- Making sure readers love your book
If that sounds like you, make sure to follow our guide on how to do book market research.
5. Create an Outline
After you’ve done your market research, it’s time to write an outline for your book.
After writing 27 books, I can say that I wish I started writing outlines much sooner. An outline is crucial because it will save you an enormous amount of time during the writing and editing process.
Trying to write a book without an outline is only going to make it a whole lot harder, longer, and more costly later on when you start editing your book.
Check out our guide on writing a book outline to learn how to write an outline like a pro in an afternoon.
6. Start Writing
Once your outline is done, you’ll probably want to jump right in and start writing! That’s great.
You can follow our detailed tutorial on how to write a book to make sure you get started on the right track.
7. Schedule Your Writing Time
With the tips included in this post, it’ll be easy to get started writing.
But finishing your book requires commitment and consistent work over a period of time longer than just one writing session.
One great tip I picked up along the way in my writing career was to schedule your writing time in the calendar. When you schedule your writing time, it ensures that you’re making time every day or every week to work on your book. It sounds like a small thing, but this small step is what allowed me to write and publish over 20 books, so it’s no small deal.
Most folks who start writing a book give up before they ever finish it. Don’t fall into that trap!
Schedule your writing time in your calendar right now if you’re serious about wanting to write a book.
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