We all have stories to tell, but we’re not always sure how to make them into a book. We might think that we need to write a novel or a memoir, but that’s not necessarily the case. There are so many different types of books out there, and each has its own set of requirements for length and tone. Whatever your story is, you can use it as the basis for a book—and you can have it published! Book Writing and publishing it isn’t quite as hard as people think, but they’re also not always exactly easy. Between the two, you’ve got to finish writing the book, then start the publishing process that might take a few months to complete.
For those who have already started writing their books, this post will still be helpful as a model for what the publishing process looks like, you can use it as a checklist along your journey as you seek an agent and publisher or self-publish your own book.
How to Decide Whether Writing a Book is the right decision?
How do you know if your book writing idea is worth pursuing? A good way to test an idea is to ask yourself these three questions:
1) Is my book idea original?
2) Does my book idea solve a problem?
3) Will other people benefit from reading my book?
If your answer to all three is yes, then you should consider writing your book.
An Overview of Book Writing:
A book is the ideal way to showcase your knowledge and expertise; it can be a literal portfolio of your best work. Think of it as a resume that is bound, that stays on shelves, and that anyone can pick up at any time to see everything you’ve done and learned.
For many people, writing a book is an intimidating task, but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of writing a book because they think they have to come up with something original. You don’t!
You just have to find a new way to say things that already exist in another format.
Publishing a book used to seem like something only major publishers could do. Suddenly, due to technology and the changing publishing landscape, anyone is able to publish a book.
The first thing you need to do is decide on the topic of your book. Is it going to be about one thing or a mixture of topics? Do you want it to be fictional or non-fiction? It shouldn’t be too broad because it might cause confusion in the reader. You should focus on one thing, but try not to make it too narrow because you will lose your audience.
The second step is doing research. If you are writing a fiction book, make sure that your characters are realistic and believable. You should have examples of real-life people as well as what they did in certain situations and how they reacted in different parts of their life. If you are doing non-fiction, make sure that everything you wrote can be backed up by facts and data.
Points to Remember When Writing your First Draft:
What is book writing? Writing a book is the process of preparing a written work for publication.
This may include some or all of the following:
- Research
- Drafting and redrafting (or, in other words, editing)
- Gathering material from interviews or from observation.
- Writing copy and possibly submitting it to clients or editors for approval or revision prior to publication
- Formatting and typesetting the text for publication
- Proofreading, copy editing, and fact checking the text once it has been typeset
- Marketing the book after it has been published.
Steps to Publish your own Book:
1) Write your book –
Depending on the type of books you’re planning to write and publish, this step may not require too much effort—for example, if yours is a simple memoir or instructional text that won’t take more than a few months to complete, you might be able to crank it out in no time. That means figuring out what story you want to tell, how you want to tell it, where it should be in terms of length (is it going to be short stories or an epic novel?), and so on.
If you’re planning on writing fiction or non-fiction that requires research or details you might not already know (in which case you’ll probably want to hire an editor), it’s safe to expect that this step could take up all or most of your free time for some period of time. You probably don’t want to do this while working a full-time job, so plan accordingly!
2) Edit your book –
You may look for a professional editor for the final editing of your book according to the publisher’s requirements. Or you may choose to edit your own book yourself (if you are confident enough in English and in writing skills).
Writing is not a process of producing words and then looking at them later to see if they make sense (although some authors will tell you otherwise). Instead, it’s about crafting sentences that are interesting and engaging for your reader.
3) Create a Title Page –
On this page you will find the title of the book, the author’s name, and the copyright information. This page should be very neat and clean looking, when you are done with it, if you go to print out 100 copies of your book, or even 10 for that matter, they will all look exactly like that one sample you created. Some people like to put their picture on this page as well, but it really isn’t necessary.
The title page is a simple sheet that includes information such as the title of your book and what type of book it is. It also includes your name and the name of the publishing company. This can be very important when selling your books at events or through online sales.
4) Choose a Font for your Book –
When you are choosing a font, there are several different things to consider: what kind of theme are you going for? Are you wanting fancy fonts or something more plain? You may even want several different fonts in one book. There are many options out there, so don’t be afraid to try new ones until you find one that fits your style the best!
There are many different fonts available, but there are two that you should avoid when publishing a book: Times New Roman and Arial. These are common fonts that are used for school papers and have been overused by other authors or editors in the past. It is best to use something like Garamond, Nunito or Minion instead, which are more stylish and original looking.
5) Get an ISBN Number –
The next step is getting an ISBN number for your book: this is short for International Standard Book Number, and it is a unique code given by the publishing industry to each book in circulation. The ISBN goes on what is called the “back cover” of your book, which contains all sorts of information about where to buy your book, who published it, etc.
6) Create the Cover of your Book –
You will also need covers for your book. Trey to make an enticing cover for your book. Make it eye-catchy and easy to understand.
7) Get listed on Amazon/Other Online Book Publishing Platforms –
After you have the manuscript that is clean and ready for book publication. The second step is formatting your manuscript for e-publishing.
The journey from book idea to book deal is not always a straightforward one. While the process of writing and publishing a book is often discussed as if it were a linear sequence of steps, it’s important to remember that the path for each writer can be different. Here, we outline some of the steps in that process and provide some of our favorite resources along the way – from inspiration to valuable information about how to get your manuscript in shape and ready for submission.