How many times did you read a book and ask yourself- “I have so many ideas/stories. Why don’t I write a book?”

Well, with the right skill, strategy, and dedication you can absolutely write a book. The appropriate questions you should ask are “How to write a book? How much time and research does it need & what are the steps involved?”

It’s natural to get inspired by stories/experiences and dream about becoming a published author. But, book writing is a rigorous process. You need to do research and write on a single theme for months and sometimes years.

Don’t worry. It’s difficult, but not impossible.

If you have an idea or a story worth sharing and you believe readers will benefit from it, you must write about it. We will help you shed your apprehensions and create a plan so that you can write every day and achieve your goal.

Let’s break the mountain of work into pieces, understand the complexity, and create an action plan.

To begin the process, you need to be patient and follow the steps chronologically. You may lose hope in the middle, but try to stay motivated using these simple tips. Most importantly, you should overcome your insecurities and believe in your passion for writing.

This guide will help you channelize your thoughts, know the challenges on your way and prepare you for the good and bad days while writing your book. While we don’t promise that your book will become a national best-seller within a month, but, you will definitely evolve as a writer.

Step 1

Use your procrastination to write free form

“A window is essential for a writer. And that window must look out on the world”.

-Ruskin Bond

Many times you may find it difficult to start writing. You may sit down and stare at your screen without typing a single word for hours. Even if you are aware of the theme and story, you are unable to control random thoughts and concentrate.

One way to overcome the issue is, to begin with, small steps. Start with describing any particular part of your day. It can be something that happened at your office, college or at your home.

You can also keep a journal & note down essential things of your day to day life. Try to build a habit of pouring your thoughts by writing daily. When you describe the daily incidents in your life, you slowly practice the art of storytelling.

Professional writers can describe minute details of daily life with words, add perspective and make reading a joy. Once you feel confident, you will struggle less with procrastination, and write something you can share every day.

 Step 2

Add the fragments with a string of creativity

Initially, you may have thoughts related to single or multiple stories. It’s important to decide the story you want to write. Once you finalize, you need and collect all your thoughts about the topic.

Try to create a plan for your book and write a brief about every section. Begin with an introduction, different chapters and the conclusion. You have to carefully connect the nodes of the story to ensure that the thought flows smoothly in your script.

The proposal will gradually give you a structure of the story. A structured approach to writing will help you avoid common mistakes and complete the book on time.

Step 3

Set the theme

Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, establishing a theme becomes the backbone of the plot.  To engage your readers and keep them glued to turning pages, your story needs to answer a few basic questions with clarity at every step.

Assuming your book is a fictional novel, here’s a list of questions you need to answer.

Who are the characters?

What’s the story about?

When does it take place?

Where does it happen?

Why it happened?

How it happened?

As you answer the questions, you will be able to visualize like readers. The characters and their actions are the foreground. Social environment, location, and culture of the characters will weave the background of your book.

Step 4

Create a writing plan and deadline

Write consistently every day. Many famous authors prefer to write early morning. Some wake up at 4 am and complete their task before the day begins. However, you may prefer to write anytime during the day depending on your comfort.

A good start of writing hours in a week is 6 hours a week. It may comprise of three sessions of two hours, two sessions of three hours, or six one-hour sessions—whatever works for you.

Also, set a deadline for completing each chapter. Deadlines enable you to achieve your objectives and give you the regular boost to your confidence once you achieve your goal.

For example, if you want to compose a seven-section book in two months, you can select that deadline by thinking of one part for every week. That is sensible. With this procedure, you will achieve your deadline in around seven weeks.

Step 5

Read

To become a writer, you must start reading. Read as many books as you can. The more books you read, the better you will be able to write. Reading gives you the inspiration to write and delve into various topics.

When you know new things, you will have adequate information to offer your readers that can make your book informative and interesting.

As you read more, you will know how stories of similar genres are written and how you can be better. It will help you improve your vocabulary, expressive capabilities, and stretch imagination.

Step 6

Editing

At this stage, you review your manuscript and find out the flaws that you missed while you were in the flow of expressing your thoughts. Editing might be only correcting the typos or rewriting a chapter/character/conclusion.

Read it aloud if you want to. When you listen to your writing, it will be easier to find mistakes. You can also use some editing tools like Grammarly, available online, but, a professional editor is highly recommended before finalizing the book for publishing.

Once you finalize the script after editing, invest time in researching about publishers. You can begin your research of publishers here. And, if you want to know more about self-publishing download our free guide.

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