How To Start Writing A Book About Your Life – Learning how to write and publish a book is a multi-part process, so it’s wise to be systematic. Here are 10 steps to writing your own bestseller and finding an interested publisher:
Choosing a strong, standout story idea is the first step toward publication. When you pitch a novel to publishers, your plot summary is the first thing people notice (along with your credentials, the language and wording of your submission, and the title of your manuscript).
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How To Start Writing A Book About Your Life
A publishable story is a story that readers go into to find out who the story’s characters are and how their story unfolds.
Write Your Novel From The Middle: Book Review & Template Based On James Scott Bell’s Novel Writing Method — Jen Terpstra
The central idea of all the books that have achieved phenomenal publishing success in recent years contains the promise of conflict and dramatic tension. In J.K. Rowling
, an ordinary boy discovers that he will attend a fantastic wizarding school, but also discovers that the wizarding world faces great dangers. By Suzanne Collins
In the trilogy, children living in the dystopian country of Panem must fight to the death each year in a televised event.
Both series have sold millions of books (Rowling’s fantasy series is the best-selling series of all time, with over 450 million copies sold). While fantasy books following the trials of the “chosen” are nothing new, Rowling has embraced familiar genre tropes.
An Effective Beginner’s Guide To Writing Books (infographic)
For example, wizards see ordinary people (or “Muggles” as they are called in the fictional world of the books) as strange and different, which inverts the more general view that wizards are fantastic and unusual compared to ourselves.
You don’t have to reinvent romance to fill a niche. You can create your own niche by following the usual conventions of a genre and adding a refreshing new twist of your own.
Once you’ve found a new idea that you like, it’s time to get ready to write the book:
If the story idea requires specific research, do some quick preliminary research before you start the outline. Things you might want to research for your book:
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It may seem like a lot to keep track of, but a basic research paper can be put together quickly. Do this:
Once you feel you have the basic information you need to write, plan your writing schedule and outline your book:
What is annoying writing time? It’s time to put it aside to focus entirely on your writing. Many aspiring writers report that they don’t have time to write, but making time to write a book is crucial.
If you don’t have a plan to help you avoid writer’s block, you can get stuck. Some writers gasp and swear, but remember the benefits of outlining a novel:
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If you’ve never outlined a book before (or want to try a different approach), learn how to write a book with Now Novel’s outline toolkit and our ever-helpful critique community.
Once you have a workable draft, it’s time to set a deadline and start the first draft:
Another benefit of creating an outline for your book is that you will have a better idea of how many chapters or sections it will contain. This makes it easier to choose an informed deadline. When you set a first draft deadline in your Now Novel profile, it automatically calculates when you’ll finish the book and calculates how many hours you have per week to write.
Choose a realistic deadline. While NaNoWriMo success stories prove that you can write a first draft in 30 days, giving your novel enough time to be awesome will increase your chances of publication.
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When you start sketching, the size of the task at hand can seem overwhelming. So break it down into smaller, manageable steps. Some tips for faster and more productive novel writing:
Always remember that the first draft has one purpose: to get your story onto the page. The revisions and edits transform the basic story into something more immersive.
Reviewing can be a complicated process. You may notice that the chronology of events in your novel is wrong, or that characters change their names, or that other gremlins appear in the story during the first draft. Review and be ruthless. Janice Hardy of Janice Hardy’s Fiction University offers an excellent series of tips for revising a novel in 31 days. Topics include “eliminating redundant prose” and “clarifying ambiguous pronouns”.
Since proofreading your own work is a challenge, getting an editor who knows how to write and publish a book is essential:
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Why do you need a publisher for your novel if you want it to be published? For many reasons:
How do you find a good book publisher? Friedman advises attending writing conferences where editors speak. This is a good option (at Now Novel we also have our own in-house editor who is an experienced book editor with a PhD).
The first page is what attracts a new reader, and the last page leaves a lasting impression. A great title is just as important. Friedman points out that if you sign a book deal with a major publisher, you may not have much say in the final title. However, if you plan to self-publish, you have more freedom.
Think about the most unusual and effective book titles from the publisher. A novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino
The Everything Guide To Writing Your First Novel: All The Tools You Need To Write And Sell Your First Novel (everything® Series): Ephron, Hallie: 0001440509573: Amazon.com: Books
Good example. The title arouses curiosity because it is an incomplete conditional clause (we immediately ask “what does a traveler do on a winter’s night?”)
A somewhat fictional biography of the author. The ironic grandeur of the title immediately arouses interest, and the size of the title’s claim arouses curiosity.
After turning your book into an impressive manuscript, titled:
Many new authors want to join many major publishing houses. The four largest publishers are Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House and Hachette Livre.
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Simon & Schuster does not actually review unsolicited manuscripts and recommends seeking an agent through the literary marketplace. Penguin Random House offers the same service. HarperCollins also does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but manages three digital imprints, Avon Impulse, Witness Impulse, and HarperLegend, which accept submissions in the genres of romance, mystery/thriller, and transformative fiction.
Smaller publishers often post their submission guidelines prominently on their websites. It’s also helpful to stay up-to-date on publishing trends.
Given the difficulty of securing a book publishing contract with a major publisher as a first-time author, it is often wiser to choose a smaller publisher or self-publisher. These can be separate paths to a publishing deal because:
Independent publishers can also help you gain significant author recognition if your manuscript is accepted. An example of this is Publishing Genius (publishers’ authors have in some cases been republished by Penguin Random House, or their books have been taken over for film adaptations). Publishing Genius’ submission guidelines can be found here (advice applies wherever you submit).
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One of the first things you must master when learning to write and publish a book is the query letter. Janet Reid’s Query Shark is an excellent resource for writers looking for advice on agencies and editors. A standard query letter (according to Friedman) should contain 5 elements:
Read Friedman’s definitive post on queries if you have time, it’s full of useful information.
To maximize your chances of publication, create a table of publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts in your genre, along with details of submission requirements (eg word count, formatting, etc.). you can review the list while submitting without having to search for contact information.
As Friedman states, you will get all kinds of responses, some of them rejections (even JK Rowling received 12 rejections before the Bloomsbury editor’s daughter demanded she read the rest of the book).
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If your book is not accepted for publication on the first try, don’t worry. You are in the company of 99.99% of aspiring authors. Keep submitting your manuscript if it’s well done and you have a great story idea.
If rejection letters have a pattern that explains why your book isn’t a good fit, make a note of it. With a few minor tweaks, your book might be accepted on the next try. Also consider self-publishing. While this doesn’t give you the credibility of a major label endorsement, it’s a viable way to grow your own dedicated audience. For more information, read the pros and cons of self-publishing on Amazon.
Take a structured course, How to Publish and Promote Your Novel, which teaches you everything you need to know to create a publishing plan and launch your book.
Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He holds a BA in English Literature and a BA in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town. But it may be more than a dream. While inside
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