Writing a good book is at once a big achievement and a risky affair. Your book could either turn you into a household name, or the book may gather dust at the bottom shelves of a bookstore. To top it off, if you want to take a hands-on approach when it comes to publishing your book as well, then this journey is going to be all the more difficult. Successful writers know, before your write a single word simply writing and getting words to flow isn’t the hard part. It’s so much more about being organized with the same structure and writing voice for the particular story they need to tell.
There’s no sugarcoating the fact that there will be disappointments and rejections you have to prepare yourself for. But you can get past that when you’re focused on the end goals. So, in order to guide the whole writing a book review, and publishing process, check out some useful steps.
- Think about the “big idea”
This one is an absolute no-brainer that you need one remarkable idea to write a book. If you don’t have this basic requirement figured out, you won’t get past the first page of your draft.
You probably know what you want to write about, or you may be at a total loss. Either way, you can decide on a “big book idea” by asking yourself a few simple questions:
- What do you feel is vital to write about?
- What do you want to write about?
- Who will read about this story/subject?
Your answers to these questions will allow you to narrow down the best options. For instance, if you have multiple ideas for a book, but only one that you’re truly passionate about and feel you can pull off, then congratulations! There’s your premise.
- Research your genre
Once you’ve found the idea, the next step is to research your genre. Again, if you’re writing a book that you’d like, you already have an advantage. Reading books in your chosen genre is by far the best way to learn how to write in that genre yourself.
You can read a couple of books and analyze them. How long are they? How many chapters do they have? What are the major themes? What does the story structure look like? Most importantly, do you think you can present a book with the same elements?
- Focus on the substance
Many writers focus on the style while writing a book. For instance, incorporating impressive vocabulary, elaborate sentences, figurative language that would make the readers swoon.
We’re here to dissuade you of that notion. Maintaining style is great (as long as your prose doesn’t start to become too drab). But focusing on the substance is more important when writing a book, opine the eminent thesis help experts from academic services. That’s why you should focus primarily on your plot, conflict(s), characters, and themes.
Now, this isn’t exactly a piece of cake, particularly when you’re already started writing. While it’s tempting to keep writing and fill out the page with literary jargon, always keep the substance in mind.
4. Prepare an outline
When you’re planning to write a book, you need to create a structure first. This is specifically important if it’s your first book since you require a solid map to rely on when you get stuck at any point (and trust me, this will happen).
So how do you prepare this outline for your book? Check out these essentials tips:
- Choose a format that seems suitable for you.
- Plan for a beginning, middle, and end.
- Ponder over the conflict points.
- Get to know your characters.
5. Set a manageable deadline and finish your first draft
An advantage of preparing an outline for your book is that you’ll have a clearer sense of how many chapters or sections it’ll consist of. This makes it convenient to select an informed deadline.
When you begin outlining, the size of the task in front of you can seem too harrowing. So divide it into manageable, smaller parts. In this case, remember that the first draft has only one purpose, i.e. getting your story onto the page. Further edits and revisions will turn a basic story into something more captivating.
6. Choose an editor to polish your book even further
Hiring a brilliant book editor brings the difference between becoming a bestselling author or self-publishing a mediocre book. Hence, it’s vital to take as much time as necessary during this stage of the process.
To hire an editor for your book, start with your personal network. Are you aware of any qualified editors? Start there. If you don’t know anyone, then do you know anyone who knows an editor? If you don’t have any luck looking for an editor within your own network, no need to fret.
Based on your budget, you can either find a professional book editor or hire a more budget-friendly editor from Upwork. But be careful and always check references and portfolios of work.
7. Publish your book
Now that you’ve brainstormed outlined, and written a first draft that you’ve edited extensively (based on the editor’s feedback, of course). Your book has taken its final shape, and that’s a great achievement. So what’s next?
Now, your focus should be on publishing the book. Self-publishing might seem like a way to evade a bunch of people who will just refuse to publish your book. But it requires a lot of hard work. If you plan to self-publish, you have to find a good distributor if you’re going to publish hard copies. You can also self-publish your story as an ebook through Amazon’s self-publishing website.
Parting thoughts,
Keep all these steps in my when you embark on this journey of writing and publishing your book. These steps will help you fulfill your dream of writing and publishing your book.
Author bio: Erin Thorne is a senior editor at a publishing house in Australia. She has completed her Masters’s in English literature from Murdoch University. She loves reading and painting in her leisure time. She’s also an academic advisor for MyAsignmenthelp.com and provides assistance to students when they ask, “Can you write my essay perfectly?”
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