Have you always wanted to write a book (or even a short story) and just didn’t know where to begin?
I know how intimidating the whole idea can be if you think about how much work is involved before you reach your end goal. It’s the same for anything you want to accomplish, whether it be losing weight, a home renovation or publishing your story.
But what if you break your whole goal up into smaller, more achievable steps? Studies show that when you create project milestones, you are more likely to see a plan through to completion!
So, where do you start?
Brainstorm. Before any great project, your first need a plan—and that starts with brainstorming. Ask yourself: what do I want to write about? What messages do I want to convey? Who are some of my characters? What are they like? What situations do they find themselves in? Let yourself start just by having fun doodling ideas down. Buy a journal and keep it within reach or use voice memos on your phone to record thoughts that pop up randomly. Don’t worry if it becomes a hodge podge of thoughts; we’ll clean it up later.
Outline. Now, you can take all the jumbled thoughts and create a semblance of organization. Create a rough outline. When do each of your ideas happen—beginning, middle or end? What else comes up as you set a general timeline and storyboard for how it all unfolds? Speaking of which, visuals can help with character development. Take a page and draw or describe each character. Even if you never use that terminology in your writing, defining each personality, physical features and core characteristics will help you later to show instead of tell who your character is all about. There are even special writer’s notebooks out there that will help you with all kinds of story development before you even get to writing.
Create Chapters. Now that you have a general idea of how the story timeline flows, you can further divide your information up into draft chapters. This can (and will!) change as you go along, but this will give you a structure as you begin to write. What happens (generally) in chapter one? What comes next in chapter two? And so on, until you reach a chapter where you are ready to conclude. Remember, you are not at the point of full writing yet; it’s just a start for creating a master flow of your ideas.
Start Writing. There really is no rhyme or reason to how writers go about this part. Some are disciplined to write from the beginning until the end. Some know the end and need to work backwards towards the beginning. Some write chapter 5 then got back to 1 and back to 5. Whatever method works best for you is the way to go! No one is judging your process. However, part of the process needs to include a time commitment. Will you write a minimum of an hour a day? Two hours twice a week? Dedicate one full day to writing a week? It doesn’t need to be a strict schedule (that’s not really conducive to free-flowing writing!), but having some time commitment and accountability will help keep the creativity flowing forward.
Finish a First Draft. Once you are in the flow and writing, this is when you can create a soft deadline for when you’d like to finish a first draft. Be reasonable. Wait until you have finished a chapter or two to see how long it takes before committing to a completion date. Understand this is a work in progress and that as long as you remain consistent, it will get done in perfect timing. You can even break this part up into deadlines for finishing part one and part two, or three chapters at a time. Celebrate the milestones as you reach them, too!
Revise, Revise, Revise. Just like all other artists, you will never feel like your work is done. However, there is great power in reading through your piece several times to make adjustments. Don’t be surprised if you make quite a few changes, deletions and chapter swaps. In fact, you should expect them as part of the process. It is equally important to step away from your work for a few weeks. Return back after a while with fresh eyes and read it again. Once you are satisfied with how it came out, read it again. Then you are ready to get some feedback!
Get Feedback. If you are publishing your book, feedback comes with the territory. Even so, you can also glean some insight into how your book would fare before getting to that level (and this is highly recommended for self-publishers, as well). Find “beta readers”—they can be friends, colleagues or strangers who are willing to read your draft and give you their opinion. Be choosy in who you pick; you don’t want someone like your mom, who will tell you she loves it no matter what. Find respectable readers who can provide constructive feedback and valuable takeaways that will sincerely improve your book from a reader’s perspective.
Other Book Elements. What do you want your book cover to look like? Determine who can you source to proofread, edit and/or design the book cover and book interior. Will it be hardback, paperback, ebook or all of the above? Sign up for an ISBN number, unless your publisher (if being published) handles that. Write your book excerpt in a way that will capture the audience’s attention. Decide what marketing channels, books stores, etc. you expect to find your target audience looking for your masterpiece. What’s your price point? These are all things to consider along the way.
Research Publishing Choices. This can happen simultaneously while you write, by the way. Consider your publishing options. Will you self-publish or publish through a professional? If self-publishing: what platform will you use to self-publish; what are their uploading requirements, book sizing and pricing; and how will you market? If publishing: what agents/publishers are in your genre; who can help with your query letter; what are the publishing requirements; and so on and so forth depending on who you partner with. Don’t be overwhelmed by this step—this is where talking with other published authors and getting their advice might help you to weigh your options. People love to help others—let others help you on this journey! Ask questions. Read success stories. Find a model that will work best for you.
Promote Your Book. You’ve written this amazing book from your heart. You’ve decided on a publishing option and have made it through all the steps and are ready to go. You now have to consider such marketing elements as pre-launch, launch and ongoing promotions. You might want to research some book marketers and follow your favorite authors to see what they set up. You did the work; now my wish for you is that you feel the fulfillment of completing this project and sharing it with the world.
As you can tell, there are many components to writing a book, all of which are not listed here in detail. My hope is to get you started! Don’t let the pressure of the “end game” stop you from getting out on the field. Take it step by step. It will all unfold if you just allow the process to guide you along this new and exciting journey. Before you know it, you could be holding that best seller in your hand!
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