If you are a budding book author, this is exactly the article for you. Before you begin, what kind of book would you like to write? Fiction or non-fiction? Which genre or for which industry? Once you answer these questions, you can begin. Now, where should you start so that you can write, publish, and market your book?
Writing the Book
When you ask writers advice for writing, they usually answer, “Write every day.”, “Keep writing.”, “Just write.” The questions novice writers then ask are “Write what?”, “Then what?”
While none of those expert writers may answer in detail except for in their biography, you can get your next steps right here:
1. Create your logline.
A logline is the elevator pitch and one-sentence explanation of what your book is about. This will be the central point of your book. That is where you will start to develop chapters, characters, settings, ideas, concepts, and more.
2. Create a timeline of events or ideas.
Everything in books happens in chronological order, even if it’s nonfiction. The series of events should be organized by time in a spreadsheet or your preferred way of recording events. This way, you can add new sections and events as well.
3. Start writing from any point in your organized list of events and chapters.
You don’t have to start with the introduction of the story all the time. You can start writing whenever an idea pops into your head. Bit by bit, your book will be completed and you can always add more ideas when you need to.
4. Proofread and edit.
If you plan on self-publishing, you should invest time in proofreading and editing. You may find that you have to cut some parts of your book. Worst case, you may want to redo everything after you edit. Still, this is the best way to make your book as informative or as creative as possible.
5. Accept editor feedback within reason.
If you are planning on getting published, you may want to take the advice of your editor, especially if they have published best-selling books. You should also read the books they published and see how they end up finalizing the books. Still, if your views don’t align, you can always find another editor that you work well with. Many famous authors had to wait years to find their ideal publisher, but the rewards have been enormous.
6. Choose a book cover that resonates with you.
They say that you should not judge the book by its cover, but many authors feel that the symbolism in their covers should represent their content. Don’t just pick the first cover that catches your eye. Make sure that it feels right to use the book cover because it is the central point of your marketing.
7. Send your book to as many critics as possible.
It can be daunting, but the critics will make or break your book. While it may feel futile to receive bad reviews, you can always get back up and try again. However, if a critic likes your book, that will definitely lead to great sales.
8. Finally, get your book on ebook selling sites.
The most famous self-publishing platform is Kindle. However, there are many out there and you should publish your book in all of them. Your next audience and critics are the readers. Once the readers put in their two cents, you can finally get the final verdict on your book.
Hopefully, your book is a success. If not, the only thing you can do is try again. Write more books. Write more ideas. As the experts say, “Never stop writing.”
