In that famous list of things that we must do throughout our lives, we find ourselves with the complex task of writing a book. As if it were something within everyone’s reach. But is it really that complicated? The truth is that no, as long as you do it right. Therefore, this time I am going to tell you in detail how to write a book.
It can be a work that you want to send to a publisher to try your luck in the world of literature, a book that you are going to self-publish on Amazon or other similar platforms, or simply something that you want to have for yourself and those closest to you.
Whatever the goal you pursue when writing a book, I can already tell you that planning is essential. No writing things haphazardly and then trying to put them together, everything must follow an order and a structure. Also, the work doesn’t end when you type the word “end”.
Do you dare to try it? Well, prepare paper and pencil, or better your computer, and be ready to start writing as soon as you finish reading this article.
Table of Contents
Advices to write a book
Here I leave you a small decalogue of good practices that always help me when I have to face a blank page. I hope you find them useful:
Be clear why and for whom you write
Writing a narrative book is not the same as writing a book with a more educational orientation. With the first we want to entertain, while with the second what we seek is to teach, even build a personal brand as specialists in a certain subject.
From the beginning you should be clear about your goal when writing and who is going to read your creations, just as you would when creating a blog and providing it with content. This will help you find the most suitable topic, organize the content and determine what language to use.
To be a good writer you must be a good reader
Before running you have to learn to walk, right? The same goes for writing. Every good writer must be a good reader.
Comics, best sellers , classic novels, blogs… read as much as you can. This way you will learn almost without realizing it, from vocabulary to grammar and different stylistic resources that you can later use. Although, of course, you can also read books on how to improve your writing technique.
If you are going to write a more didactic work, it is essential that you thoroughly immerse yourself in the topic you want to talk about. Let the reader perceive that he is dealing with a person with extensive knowledge.
Write down all your ideas
This is, perhaps, one of the most useful and simple tips for writing a book. Because inspiration doesn’t always catch you working, it appears at any moment. Maybe while having coffee with friends, or even while you’re at work.
Do not trust that an idea that has suddenly appeared will be there when you come back to look for it. The best thing you can do is write it down.
Make it a habit to carry a notepad and pen with you and write down all the writing ideas that come to mind, no matter how absurd they may seem. If you prefer to do it in a digital version, you can use the mobile or tablet notepad.
Write daily
Writing a book is a task that requires time and perseverance. If you start, you leave it, you pick up the writing again a few weeks later, you leave it again… in the end, the only thing you are going to have on your hands is a permanently unfinished work.
Think that writing is not something you do for pleasure (although in reality it is), take it as a job or one more obligation. Set aside a little time each day to put your ideas on paper. It is always better to spend 30 minutes a day on your project than not at all.
If you don’t want to do it for time, do it for words. Consider, for example, writing 300 words every day from Monday to Saturday. At the end of the month you will have 7,200 words!
Create your own habits
As you can see in this OK Diario article , each writer has their own hobbies when it comes to writing. Some prefer to do it at night, while everyone is asleep. But there are also those who are unable to sit in front of the computer if they don’t have a cup of coffee next to them.
What I mean is that you also have to create your own writing habits. Which ones are the best? Simply those that make you feel good.
Don’t obsess over correctness
Do not make the mistake of reading and rereading what you have written over and over again, because if you do, you will never advance, you will always find things that need to be changed. My advice is to write in one go and only go back if you absolutely have to.
Once you have finished your work there will be plenty of time for revisions and corrections. In the meantime, just focus on writing.
Do not tackle more than one project at a time
Writing a book is something very ambitious, even if it is a small ebook. So it’s best if you don’t tackle more than one project at a time.
It may happen that while you are immersed in the writing of your work you have a magnificent idea for another story. This is great, but don’t lose focus. Simply make a note of that idea that has occurred to you and save it for a later time.
Don’t be afraid of writer’s block
Writer’s block is a much talked about topic, although many authors don’t believe it exists. If no one in other professions gets stuck, why should a writer?
Lose your fear of the blank page and simply write everything that comes to mind. As I have told you before, there will be time later to correct errors and refine the style.
How to write a book step by step
Now that we have seen some useful tricks when it comes to how to write a book, it is time to dive into the different stages that go from planning to publishing your work. Let’s see them in more detail.
Define the theme
Your book should be about a very specific topic . This will help you in the work of writing and will also allow the reader to be right when choosing your work and not another.
You can write about economics, relationships, science fiction… Do you already have your topic clear? Ok, now it’s time to investigate. Take a look at what works are already published with a theme similar to yours. It is about seeing what others are doing and what you can do to improve what is already written.
Create a structure for your book
Normally a book is divided into different chapters, this helps you to group the information. Think about the general theme you have chosen and then break it down into small parts.
For example, if you are clear that you want to do a work on nutrition, you can develop a structure similar to this:
- Importance of nutrition in the evolution of the human being.
- Changes in nutrition throughout history.
- Nutrition in the last 20 years.
- Reasons to make a change in eating habits.
- How to add more healthy products to your diet
- …
This content planning will make writing a lot easier for you, and it will also allow you to set small goals for yourself, like finishing the first two chapters in 10 days.
Get down to business with writing
How to start writing a book? Well, simply putting yourself in front of the computer. If you have already taken the previous steps, now it’s time to face the challenge of starting to put words together.
The human being is an animal of customs, so it is best to establish a routine. To do this, make sure you always write at the same time. That will make your mind go into “writing” mode when the time comes and be ready to start working.
But don’t get overwhelmed either. If one day you don’t feel particularly inspired, take a short break. You can go for a walk, do an automatic writing exercise, watch a movie, read, or whatever you feel like.
No distractions
Do you know the time thieves? It’s those little things that make us not be as effective as we should be in our work. Think of the number of times you check your mobile for new messages or take a look at your email inbox.
I have already told you before that when it comes to how to write a book, it is important to take it as an obligation, so you have to run away from those time thieves. Therefore, turn off your phone or put it on airplane mode and promise not to check your email or waste time in any way.
Write without worrying about the result
I have already mentioned it before in the good practices, but I will repeat it again, because if you are too perfectionist you can spend days and days without advancing in the project, only correcting and changing things.
When you start writing, write. Don’t do anything else. Let your mind fly and your fingers glide over the keyboard with speed. There will be time for editing another time.
Read and edit
If you have come this far, you have fulfilled your dream of writing a book, congratulations! Now begins the hard task of correcting and editing.
It is time to read the text in depth and make the necessary changes. The good thing is that this is a task where you can have help.
A good idea is to look for beta readers or zero readers. Objective people who can give us interesting opinions about what they think of the book, and some ideas about things that would be interesting to change.
The zero reader is important because it is often difficult for the author to separate himself from his work. It is possible that there is something that has not been clear or is not well enough written and you are not seeing it. A beta reader will help you identify bugs, so take their input seriously.
Once you believe that your work is the best version that it can be, you can hire the services of a professional editor and proofreader, who will finish adjusting the text so that it is truly perfect.
Having professionals to do these tasks has a cost, but the results obtained are worth it. It is very noticeable when a book is reviewed by a specialist and when it is not. Keep in mind that even the world’s best-selling professional writers have their own publishers.
Publish your book
So simple and so complicated. When the work is ready, it is time to put it on the market. In the past you had to find a publisher willing to trust you and publish your book. Today you can also do it this way, but it is difficult, because the big publishers already have their own staff of famous authors and do not bet too much on new authors.
What you can do is look for a small publisher, although in this case you may have to assume some publication costs.
Another alternative is to publish your books on platforms such as Amazon, Bubok or Publicalis. You can self-publish and sell your books through them. Of course, keep in mind that most of the money is going to be taken by the platform.
Promote your work
With the book ready and published, we have to continue working. Finding readers is not easy, you must promote your work in all possible ways:
- Create an official space for your book and make sure you position that website or blog well.
- Promote yourself as a writer on social networks. In channels like Facebook there are many groups of readers in which you could make yourself known (without spamming).
- Interact in literature forums.
- Look for collaborations with bloggers or websites that are interested in criticizing your work.
- Try traditional marketing. For example, advertising your book in a local newspaper or radio station.
If you’ve come this far, you already know how to write a book. You will have verified that it is not as difficult a process as it seemed at first, so my advice is to get down to work right away and, above all, enjoy the experience.
Bonus tip
If you are clear that you want to monetize your passion for writing and you want to have extra help, I recommend Marc Reklau’s course that is on the Balio platform.
Marc Raklau is the author of forty books and has sold more than 600,000 copies in more than 15 languages. In his course you will learn to write books that sell and make your dream of making money writing books come true. I leave you more information in this link .
