| | Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | Advice to Would-Be Book Authors | Question from reader: What advice do you have for aspiring authors who are not yet motivated enough or knowledgeable enough to get started?John's Answer: First, people who are not yet motivated enough to get started are not really authors. People who are not yet knowledgeable enough are also not really authors. At least not professional authors. Now, given that, authors who want to write a book but do not yet know how to go about it and don't quite know how to get started -- the desire is enough. If you have a passion for your topic and for your book, you can write a book. Start simply. 1. Begin by reading a lot of books on the subject you want to write about. Get educated. Discover what others have written so you can make your book better, different, or more targeted. If you are writing a novel, then read good novels in your genre (romance, mysteries, fantasy, etc.). Read some of the classics as well as some more recent fiction. Get to know the history and current style of the genre you want to write.
2. Sit down and start writing. Write one to four pages a day. Don't worry about how good it is. Just get started writing.
3. Once you've gotten a week or two worth of writing collected, begin to outline how you want to write your book. If nonfiction, outline the chapters or step-by-step description you want to focus on. If fiction, develop and outline your plot, setting, and major characters. 4. Once you have an idea of the whole shape of your book (chapter by chapter outline or a plot), now begin writing your book. Write something every day. Set aside some time to write. 5. If you find as you write your book that you need to do some more research, do that now. Then go back to writing. 6. Get feedback from someone you trust, someone who will not criticize but who can give you honest feedback. 7. Don't give up. If you write four pages a day, you'll have a book in less than six months. If you write five pages a week, you'll have a book within a year. 8. If you can't write a book despite all this advice, then create a tape, do a video, write a blog, create a new website. Get your content and inspiration out somehow. You can always write a book later. | | |
