The First Three Book Writing Techniques

 

Obviously, to learn everything you need to learn about writing a book you need to study hands on with professionals like Garrett Pierson who provides would be published authors with an extensive “How to Write a Book ASAP” training course.

To get you started, however, here are the first three steps to publishing your first book:

1.       Set a schedule. The key is to find a time and a place that you can work on your book undisturbed. You want to find a time when you are awake and alert. Whatever activity you are replacing your writing with, whether it was reading or watching TV or oversleeping, commit to doing without that activity in your life until the book is finished, published and marketed.

You want to find a place where you are comfortable and alone (unless working with a partner or someone who will type while you dictate to them). There are many people who will type what you speak into a recording device for very reasonable fees. They don’t need to be present when you are working. Some people work better if they have someone keeping them on task. Some people only get distracted. Make the right choice for you.

2.       Keep to your schedule. There will be emergencies, or situations that seem like emergencies that will try to entice you away from your goal of writing a book. Be strong. Be determined. Think about the finished product. Think how proud you’ll be as a published author.

To help, create a cover page design and a back cover design for your book and look at them often. When situations come up, do everything you can to stick with the schedule you have set. Many non-published authors have found that once they have veered from their schedule – even once – it was extremely difficult to start over again.

3.       Create an outline. Some people might tell you that the next step is to begin researching. But how will you know exactly what to research if you haven’t figured out more-or-less what will be contained within the pages of your book?

Use an outline by chronology, character, plot or place. Any of these can help give your book the initial form it needs to become a living, breathing entity. After you have an outline, you can always revise it later – and most do. But knowing this, you can begin the process of researching without wasting too much time researching topics you might never use.

Those are the first three steps to writing a book. You’ll notice that not a lot of writing has taken place yet. But I promise you that you will become a published author quicker if you follow these steps instead of just starting one day with Chapter One. Most who have taken the “start with Chapter One” unrecommended route have never gotten around to Chapter Two.