How To Write A Book With No Experience In 10 Steps

The biggest pain point that a new writer can encounter is dealing with the writing process. As a writer, getting an idea for your book is not enough, but actualising it in the form of the written content, i.e., through composing a manuscript, is also important. The process could be more daunting, especially when you are writing for the first time. However, the good news is that you don’t need a degree or years of literary experience to write a book. What you all need is dedication, discipline, and organisation of both the idea and the process. In this blog, we will be guiding you on how to write a book even as a first-time author in 10 easy steps.

Key Steps to Write a Book

1.       Find the Idea of Your Book

The first and foremost step that you need to take is to brainstorm the reasons and the motivations that are driving you to write the book. You should be looking to answer questions like What problem are you looking to solve? What fascinates you and can become the subject of discussion for your book? For this, you can think of your life experiences, interests, and the subjects that you want to speak for or against in your story. After figuring out the reason to write, the next thing that you need to look for is identifying your genre and the audience. For example, if you are writing fiction, then you need to identify the right sub-genre and the kind of audience that you will be catering to.

2.       Gather Knowledge Regarding Your Book

As a fiction or non-fiction writer, it is essential to do research and have knowledge regarding your topic. You should ensure the integration of correct and accurate information in your book to prevent misleading your readers. This helps in maintaining the authenticity and credibility of your work and of you as a writer. If you are writing a non-fiction book, you should be making sure to reference correct case studies, statistics, and historical records.

3.       Outline Your Story

After getting done with researching the facts, you should start working on creating the outline for your book. The creation of such an outline would be in the form of a draft. For a genre like fiction, you will be outlining the plot of your story that will include: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Furthermore, you need to work on the characterisation of the characters, figuring out the primary ones and the secondary ones. Moreover, you need to look for the setting of your story that includes the period during which the story has taken place, the time of the day, the location of the story, and the duration. In addition, you need to break down your plot into chapters and parts. For non-fiction, you will be dividing your book into chapters and discussing each core idea within these chapters.

4.       Start Working on Your First Draft

On completing your outline, the next step that you move onto is creating your first draft. As a beginner, there could be a possibility that you experience writer’s block, strive for perfection, and overthink the plot, rectifying its parts and characters. This all could hinder the actual process of writing and disrupt the flow. We, however, recommend that you accept the flow of the writing, avoid overthinking, and do not make the structural and grammatical edits yet. You should also schedule the creation of the chapters by reserving each one for each week. You can even look for an online book writing helper to guide you through your first draft.

5.       Revising and Editing the Final Draft

Following your first draft, you should now be focusing on revising and editing your work. Start by first revising and editing the major structural issues, including plot holes, logical flow, pacing, and examining the presentation of the themes within the story. The next step is to move on to revising and making the edits chapter by chapter. During this, you need to ensure the accuracy in structure, how each chapter begins and ends, and look for spelling and grammatical errors.

6.       Get Feedback on Your Work

Getting feedback for your work is also essential to assess its success rate. For this, you can share your work with Beta readers or fellow writers through online mediums and platforms like social media groups and forums. You can also ask your family and friends for feedback on your writing. The key to receiving constructive feedback is your openness to criticism.

7.       Go for Professional Editing (If Required)

To polish your work, you can also go for professional editing. For this, you can hire an editor or a proofreader to revise and edit your manuscript by looking for and rectifying mistakes in plot, characters, structure, themes, in the use of rhetorical devices (in case of fiction), and structural and grammatical mistakes. You can utilise online book proofreading services for this purpose.

8.       Select Your Publishing Choice

While picking your preferred publication route, you have two options. You can either go for traditional publishing, which requires finding a good publishing house and looking for an agent that can help you with both the editing and publishing process. Another is going for self-publishing options like IngramSpark, Amazon KDP, Kobo Books, Apple Books, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble Press.

9.       Build Your Audience

Building an audience, either online or offline, is essential, depending on your preference and feasibility. You can join book clubs and festivals to find interested readers there. Furthermore, reaching out to your family and friends to ask them to give your book a read can be beneficial; if they enjoy it, they can refer it to others. Additionally, you can explore online platforms to connect with potential readers, which can gradually help in creating your online fan base. Collaborating with a book cover designer can also enhance your book's appeal, making it more attractive to potential readers and increasing your chances of building a dedicated audience.

10.   Market Your Work

The final step in book writing is marketing your book. For this, you can go for either the traditional way of selling and marketing your book by attending book fairs and promoting your work, or selling your work to bookstore chains, independent bookstores, and wholesalers. The easiest and cost-effective strategy, though, is promoting your work through online means, i.e., on social media and creating a blog about it and sharing its link on these platforms.

FAQs

1.       What is the first thing to look for in writing a book?

The first thing that you should look for in writing a book is the core concept, motivation, and purpose of your writing.

2.       How to overcome writer’s block?

You can overcome writer’s block by focusing mainly on quantity over quality while creating your first draft.

3.       Should I go for a professional editor to edit and proofread my book?

You can go for a professional editor to get a polished and professional quality book, but only if your budget allows.

Final Thoughts

Writing your book for the first time, especially as an inexperienced writer, could be quite tough. There are prospects of spending days just figuring out how to begin. This article, however, has listed some of the easy steps that you can follow to write and publish your first book.