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Have you ever thought about writing a book? Whether it be a 100,000 word novel about knights and dragons or a short 10,000 word e-Guide, becoming an author is more within your reach than you probably think.
Here are some simple steps & requirements for writing your first ever book:
A passion for writing
To write a book, it’s so important to actually enjoy writing. Not a deal breaker – but certainly key. If you’re in the market for letting the words flow from your mind to your fingertips and letting your creativity cascade onto the screen in front of you, writing a book might be right up your street. Book writing is a long process and in order to write a book, it really does help for it not to be a chore. There are enough of those in life already!
On a separate note, if you are really keen to write a book but really un-keen on writing, we have writing coaches here at Raven Crest Books who may be able to help. (Click here to contact us and find out more about our writing mentors.)
An idea!
Of course, all books start with an idea. Non-fiction manuscripts are more straight forward. Fiction books require a lot of planning and time and diagrams and rewrites. But you know what the greatest bit of advice I can give you is? Start!
Procrastination is the biggest dream killer. So don’t hesitate, take your idea, grab your laptop and a cosy corner in a coffee shop, buy a steaming hot mug of gingerbread latte (seriously, can anyone really write without an obligatory coffee?) and literally just start writing. See what appears on the page.
Time & dedication
Once you have started writing, that’s the biggest hurdle cleared. But now you are going to need to plan writing time into your schedule. This could be once a day, once a week or once a month and is completely dependent on how much free time you have to play with. If you are really committed to the idea and are confident that you can complete the book within a certain timeframe, why not take some time off work? Dedicate a whole week to the task of achieving a certain milestone in your manuscript. Give yourself achievable goals and make sure you hit them. Target yourself to write 1000 words every time you sit at your laptop for example.
Read it. Read it again... and again!
Once you have finished the first draft of your manuscript, you are going to want to read it through a whole bunch of times. You will need to look for plot holes, continuity issues, the tone of your writing and just whether the story line makes sense. Don’t be scared to do a few re-writes – don’t rush the process. There are professionals who can do this editorial work for you, but they don’t come cheaply so my best advice here would be to have your manuscript in the best possible shape it can be before you reach an editor, rather than scrap through to the end of your book only to be left with a load of errors and multiple trips to the editor (and the bank…).
How much does a proof-reader cost? It varies but you can usually expect to pay between £2 - £10 per 1000 words for a good proof-reader. So for an average length 60,000 word novel, that’s £300 - £600 to get your manuscript checked for grammar, punctuation, spelling and formatting errors. That’s without any work from an editor whose job it is to spot plot holes and continuity issues. This is exactly why triple checking your work before sending it anywhere is really important!
Congratulations
You’ve made it! See, it wasn’t that hard, was it! Was it…?
Once you are happy with your final manuscript, it’s time to start the publishing process. There are various options when it comes to publishing. Read our blog post “How to get published” to find out your next steps to becoming a published author and for more information on our publishing process, click here.
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