CHAPTER TWO: Key Elements to Writing a Great Book
Step One: Writing a Great Book
The goal of every aspiring writer should be to write a great book. My suggestion to first time authors is to write what you know. Write about a topic that you are passionate about. Believe me, people who are avid readers can tell if the author loves the topic which he or she is writing about. The truth tends to show as the reader is reading the book.
7 Tips to get started on your journey to writing a great book.
1. Writing in a good environment
When you are first starting to write your book, sit down in a calm and comfortable environment that will nurture your inspiration to write. Many of the authors that I worked with have shared with me one key to their success. That is writing in a good environment. As for me, I tend to like to enjoy writing in a place that is quite. If I find that my thoughts are not flowing, then I will move my location to write at the beach or at the library.
2. Find the time to write consistently
Be consistent with your writing. I know for many people, this is one of the major challenges to writing a good book. Like me, some of you may be mom’s or dads, parents, working a full-time job, in school full-time, caring for elderly parents and the list goes on. So where in the world would you find time to write a book? You have to make time. Just like you make time to fix dinner, review homework with the children, you must find time to write your book.
3. Be clear about your topic
As you are writing, be sure that you are clear about what your topic. One of the services that I offer is manuscript evaluations. A manuscript evaluation is where an expert in the publishing industry will read your manuscript and give you feed back. The feed back consist of evaluating whether the book contains content that people would be willing to read. Do the chapters flow and make sense to someone reading it? Does the writer present the information in a manner that the reader will understand? Most importantly, especially if you are writing a book with the hopes of having it published, would anyone be willing to buy this manuscript when put into a book format?
4. It is time to start writing
Know what kind of book you want to write. Do you want to write a non-fiction or a fiction book? Know who you are writing for. Are you writing for children, teens, or adults? If you are clear about what kind of book you want to write, it will be easier to write for a particular audience. I have had clients who were not clear about the kind of book they wanted to write, or who their target audience was. I suggest that they visit a library or bookstore to do some research. Look at books written by authors that you like. Not that you want to copy their style, but this will give you ideas to they type of book you may want to write. For example, I had a client that has been writing in journals for many, many years. Her challenge was she could not figure out where to start. By visiting the bookstore and library, she was able to get ideas that helped her to organize her book. Once she published her book, it was hard for her to believe that she started out with a bunch of journals that are now organized into a non-fiction inspirational book.
5. Stop trying to be perfect and just start writing
Once you are clear about what you want to write just start writing. Get it all on paper. You can go back later and organize the information. Try not to focus on making it perfect the first time you sit down to write. It is important to just write. When you are correcting the typographical errors, be sure not to rely solely on spellchecker. There are many tools that you can use to include a good old dictionary.
6. Choosing a Marketable Subject
Non-fiction tops the list of the most marketable books. People are hungry for information. It can take the form of a book that demonstrates how to make something or gives you a formula for self-improvement. Books on how to be healthier, wealthier or sexier lead the pack in sales.
Books on fitness, health and the self-help industry can also do very well. In-depth books on specific hobbies will sell also. How-to products of all types are a good choice; especially if they teach readers a skill that will improve their income.
Exercise
What type of book have you decided to write? __________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Are there a lot of books of this type on the market or are you creating a new trend? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
7. Organize your book into chapters
The next step in the process is to organize what you have written into chapters. Once it is organized, take some time to read the information out loud. This will give you an opportunity to see how the book flows. One of the strategies that I recommend is to have one or two people to read it that will give you honest feed back. Within the self-publishing process, you will hire a professional editor to edit the book and make sure it is perfect.
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