Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Book

The basic and easy steps to get you started

I’ve got 12 books under my belt so far, with another one in production as I write, and when people find out I’m an author, they always ask the same two questions. The first one is: are you rich? No, I am not rich. And the second one is: how do you go about writing a book?

This second question usually comes from people who would love to write a novel, but have no idea how to start.

So, with this in mind, I’ve pulled together a sure-fire plan for writing for people who want to write fiction or non-fiction.

Part One – planning and pre-writing

It’s really tempting to just launch into writing your book, but trust me you’ll save more time in the long run if you plan it first. Planning is essential for both non-fiction and fiction. Don’t get me wrong, there are writers who will write fiction or, indeed, their life story by ‘pantsing’ it. ‘Pantsing’ or being a ‘pantser’ are two words used in the indie writing community for people who don’t plan their writing.

I, personally, find it difficult to write anything without first planning it. I’ve written both fiction and non-fiction, and in order to keep coming back day after day, I need to know what I’m going to say. If I don’t plan, I quickly lose my excitement about the project.

So, here’s what I would suggest you do:

1. Work out what your core idea is – what are your themes? Who are your characters (fiction)? Who do you need to speak to (non-fiction)? What do you need to find out about (fiction and non-fiction)? What makes your story exciting or your non-fiction book interesting?

2. Work out who your audience is and what genre your book is – are you writing a romance for women readers of a certain age? Is it science fiction/a thriller/comedy/cosy mystery/horror or something else? What are the expectations and tropes of that genre? Is your book a history book about tractors, so are farmers and vintage farm implement fans your core audience? Work it all out before you begin.

3. Write up a short premise – summarise the story in a couple of sentences. Who are the main characters and what do they want? What is standing in their way? For non-fiction, what is it that you’re trying to tell people in your book?

4. For fiction, create the characters starting with your protagonist (your hero or heroine) and your antagonist (the baddy). Flesh out their motivations, their back stories, their goals and their flaws. Develop secondary characters who provide a support role in your story and serve the plot and theme.

5. For non-fiction, work out what you want to talk about and who you need to speak to or where to go to get more information. You’ll need to do research into your subject.

6. Fiction writers will also need to build the world of their novel. Decide on the setting, the rules of the world, its history and its cultures. It could be you are writing about the UK today or a fantasy world set in mediaeval times. It’s up to you. You need to ensure your world supports the story you’re telling, that there’s nothing there that is contrary to your story and that everything fits together.

7. Fiction writers then need to outline the plot. They need to choose the structure and what the major plot points are. Create a scene-by-scene or chapter-by-chapter road map so that you know what’s happening when and to whom.

Part Two – write the first draft

1. Firstly, set out a writing schedule and a daily word goal, and stick to it. You can download free word goal templates from the internet or make up your own.

2. Don’t edit as you go along, leave the editing until you have completed the entire story. Editing as you go along will slow you down to a snail’s pace. Trust me on this!

3. Write your first draft, write every day if you can, focus on getting the story out of your head and into your computer, and be flexible with the outline. You have a rough plan of the story, but sometimes your characters will take you to other places. The advice is the opposite for non-fiction writers, try and stick the plan as much as possible, but be open to adding things in or tweaking other sections.

4. For non-fiction writers, consider including photographs/charts/infographics/other graphics within your book to illustrate your points and make your book more reader friendly. This is something you could discuss with your designer when it comes to creating your interior. You’ll need to find or create these.

Part Three – revise and edit

1. Set your book aside for a few weeks, so that you are not so caught up in it. Then go back and edit. Read it as a reader and look for plot holes/missing information, inconsistencies and pacing issues.

2. Rewrite sections that need more clarity or (fiction writers) tension/emotional weight. Improve your characters' arcs and pacing (fiction) or add in quotes and additional information at this stage (non-fiction).

3. Edit – focus on sentence-level edits and pay close attention to grammar, flow, tone, and clarity.

4. Proofread – do another edit to weed out typos and errors, and to polish the writing. Do this yourself, but you might also want to hire someone to do it for you.

5. Send your manuscript to Beta readers (trusted readers) and ask them specific questions such as: was the ending satisfactory? Did the story flow? Do you understand the points I’m trying to make?

6. If you can, hire a professional editor to look at your book. This could be a developmental editor who will make big picture improvements, a copy editor who will sort out language or grammar mistakes, or a proofreader who will look for typos.

Part Four – publish

1. Decide whether you are going to send your book to a traditional publisher or to self-publish it.

2. For traditional publishers, write a query letter and synopsis. Then research agents and publishers who might be interested in your book. Read their submission guidelines and submit your book.

3. For self-publishing, you’ll need a professional cover and have the interior of your book formatted. You can do this yourself or hire a cover designer and formatter to do it for you. Write a compelling book blurb and choose your metadata. Upload your cover and book to platforms such as Amazon KDP or IngramSpark, and press publish.

Part Five – marketing and launching your book

1. Traditional and self-published authors both need to build an author platform via social media, their website, and possibly a digital newsletter.

2. For your book launch, create a plan, do cover reveals, send your book out to ARCs (people who will read your book and review it for you), create advertisements, and consider doing a book tour.

3. Be active online, respond to readers’ feedback, and keep marketing. Start writing your next book!