How to Write A Book – 10 Simple Steps To Be An Author

Do you want to become an author and finally learn how to write a book?

First off…congrats future author — you can absolutely make it happen!

Publishing a book on Amazon helped me earn almost a $1,000 in my first month as a full -time blogger. Self-publishing is a great side hustle and is an incredibly rewarding way to share your work with readers worldwide. 

Thankfully, it’s never been easier to publish a book. Ten or twenty years ago it was nearly impossible as you had to land a book deal, work with an artist, editor and maybe even find an agent.

None of that is needed anymore. With a few clicks, you can easily publish your work.

I was able to publish my first book at 29-years-old and have published several of them since. Here’s the step by step process to learn how to write a book so you can become a self-published author.

My Author Story

I started writing my book, Advice for My Younger Self, in 2015.

At the time, I had no clue what I was doing. I was just writing about personal finance and topics that interested me. (Hint: this is a bad idea, I’ll show you why in a second).

It took years from when I first started writing to actually getting it published. One of the biggest reasons it took so long was because of lack of planning.

I had no structure to writing, no deadlines, and zero sense of urgency. Then in 2017, I decided I had to publish it before my 30th birthday.

I did meet my deadline but still disappointed it took so long to get it published. But, better late than never.

Let me help you speed up the process so you can write your book and have it published much sooner! 

How to Write a Book – 10 Simple Steps

Step 1: Pick Your Topic

Before we get into the ins and outs of how to write a book, you need to decide on your topic and format.

Ask yourself…will this book be a guide, story, how-to manual, or a fiction book?

Once you figure out what type of book you want to write about, I recommend asking yourself this question:

What do I want readers to get out of this book?”

Do you want readers to help with something in their life?

Do you just want to entertain them (in the case of fiction)?

Or do you want to share your story with in hopes that it will inspire change in the reader’s life?

There is no right answer. Asking yourself this question will help you find clarity on your book and ensure you don’t waste any time writing.

Step 2: Create Your Table of Contents

Once you’ve found your topic, it’s time to create your table of contents. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but trust me, it works.

By starting with your table of contents, you will be able to reverse engineer the content. This will make sure that each section will relate to the objective of your book.

I DID NOT do this and I ended up writing a ton of content that didn’t end up in the book.

I began writing without a specific purpose. This was a huge msitake!

I wasn’t sure if that would be for a blog, chapters of a book or a short e-book. I just wrote when I was frustrated with the financial world. It wasn’t the best idea but it did help me get into the habit of writing every day.

Don’t be surprised if the table of contents is the hardest part of writing a book.  

Once you can create the table of content,s you will be able to go to specific areas and focus on the writing. 

Step 3: Get Organized

In the last two steps, you’ve determined the vision of your book and created your table of contents. Now, it’s time to start typing and create your book!

Personally, I recommend using Google Drive to store your drafts and writing samples. Here’s why you should use Google Drive when writing your book:

1. Saves Your Content  

Every author’s nightmare is to have their work suddenly deleted. Google Drive saves every few seconds so you won’t have to worry about this ever happening to you. 

2. Easy to Access

Google Drive makes it easy to share with others. It’s also very easy to access on different computers instead of something like a Microsoft Word doc.

By having it on Google Drive, you can access at work, your laptop, desktop, etc.

3. Easy Organization

By the time I published my first book, I think I had 15 different rough drafts, photos, and tons of other files. Luckily, Google Drive makes it easy to keep track of all your book resources.

I suggest that you create a new folder for your book to save all photos, edits, Amazon listing descriptions, and ideas in one place.

Step 4: Set Writing Deadlines

At this stage you might be thinking, are four steps necessary before I’ve written nothing other than the table of contents?

YES!!!!

I started writing my book in June of 2015 but didn’t publish it until April of 2017.

Yes, it took me 22 months from start to finish!

Is my book a 500-page epic novel?

No! 

It ended up being 116 pages from cover to cover. It took so long because I didn’t have clear deadlines or any sense of urgency.

This is why I recommend creating deadlines before you begin writing. Otherwise, it’s easy to keep “pushing it out” and procrastinating.

Instead set these types of deadlines:

• First Chapter Completion Date
• First Section Completion Date
• Rough Draft Number One
• Friends-Family Edit (Rough Draft Number Two) 
• Professional Editing (Rough Draft Number Three)
• Final Draft
• Expected Submission Date

Humans need deadlines to be successful.

By having these deadlines, you will be in such a great position to actually finish and publish your book. So many people have drafts of unpublished books because they started and never finished.

Don’t be one of those stories!

When you set deadlines, it’s important to be realistic with your time, but make them motivating. Ensure your deadlines are realistic, attainable, and motivating so you’re more likely to achieve them.

Once you create your deadlines, print or write them out in large font and place them somewhere you can see them daily.

Print out several copies of your deadlines to have them anywhere that you write. 

Step 5: Start Writing!

Now that you’re organized and have a vision, it’s time to actually start writing!

Everyone has different schedules so I don’t think there is a one size fits all approach. My biggest piece of advice to write every day, even if it’s for 30 minutes.

I recommend writing in the early morning when your brain is fresh and creative. You might find that after meditation or exercise are some of the best time to write a ton of great content. 

If you really want it you’ll find a way to write something every single day. Doing it over and over will build consistency and help you get it done sooner. 

Step 6: Edit Your Work

Once you are done writing, it’s time to edit your rough draft and don’t worry if it really owns up being “rough.”My first draft barely resembled my final, published draft.

As you begin editing, you will have a sense of accomplishment for actually creating an entire book. Even if your rough draft sucks, you will gain momentum for setting a deadline and completing it.

I will say that editing was one of the hardest parts when I published my first book. You spend so much time writing, sometimes it’s hard to get out of your own head (the author) and become a reader.

One resource that helped me was “Apple Voice.” This allows you to highlight the text of your work and have a voice read from your computer.

Sometimes it’s much easier to edit when you hear someone speaking your words instead of reading in your head.

Once your “Siri editing” is completed, find a friend, significant other or family member you trust to take the first look. They don’t have to have an education degree, but let them know it is a rough draft so don’t be too harsh!

Since you’ve created your content in Google Drive, it’s very easy to share with others. Once they return the copy make sure to ask for constructive feedback and begin creating rough draft number two.

After you have completed rough draft number two, ask the same person or another to take a look at the revised version. Rinse and repeat.

Step 7: Consider Professional Editing

The best money I spent on my book was on professional editing. There are tons of editing services you can choose to do but as always you get what you pay for.

I ended up using Amazon Createspace to publish my book and use their editing team. You can also find editors on Fiverr, Upwork or post it to job boards as well. This is money well spent! 

Once I submitted my book, I waited around a week to hear back on the revisions from Amazon. The editing was very thorough and I was excited with how much it helped me in finalizing the book.

Step 8: Design a Book Cover

First off, congrats! You’ve submitted your book to professional editing, you are so close to being able to show it off to the world.

While you’re waiting (patiently) for editing to come back, it’s time to create your cover art. I used Fiverr to design my cover and absolutely love it. You can use any service but make sure the designer has experience with book and e-book covers.

Ask for changes if you need and make sure your cover represents your book perfectly. Despite the saying, people still judge a book by its cover.

Here were some of my previous drafts.

 Step 9: Complete the Final Draft of Your Book

At this point, you are so close to becoming a published author. The day I got my first round of edits back I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.

Much to my surprise, the editor gave me tons of praise with constructive criticism sprinkled in. It was at this point I realized how important professional editing was to the book.

Don’t skimp on editing, make sure to get it professionally edited so you can publish your best work.

Once completed, make any last minute changes to your book so you can submit to Amazon.

Step 10: Become a Published Author

You did it!

Make sure you save a copy of your book and cover art in your Google Drive folder. Pat yourself on the back, drink some champagne and enjoy what you accomplished. 

A very small percentage of the world can say they have published a book! Now start sharing on social media, spreading word of mouth with friends and create awareness!

If you’d like to read my book click here for 3 free chapters or BUY NOW on Amazon.

How to Write a Book for Beginners Summary

Hopefully, this simple step by step strategy will help you get your first book published.

Personally, writing this book changed my life. It helped me grow my blog, land freelance writing clients, and start me on the path to entrepreneurship.

Now, I’m a writer, coach, and podcaster. All of it started from wanting to publish a few pages to help people with their finances.

Even if your books aren’t a best-seller, it might start something that can change your life forever.

Use these tips to get started toward publishing your first book.

Have you ever wanted to publish a book? If so, what’s stopped you from doing it…time, money, or something else?

Let me know in the comments! 

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Michael Leonard

Creator at Inspire Your Success

My name is Michael and I'm the creator of Inspire Your Success. My goal is to give you the tools, resources, and inspiration to build an epic freelance writing business.

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