In our fast-paced world, the concept of ‘creative stagnation’ is no longer a concern. With the ease of digital content and self-publishing platforms, anyone can throw up a book, blog or website and be on their way to publishing.
But what if you’re not an experienced writer? How do you write the perfect book, one that will become a bestseller?
The answer might surprise you. Putting your creative skills to the test might not be the best approach. Instead, follow these steps and learn from the experts. By working your way through this detailed guide, you will be able to successfully create an ebook that will draw in potential customers, entertain existing ones and even make you some money along the way.
Step one: Set a goal and a timeline
Setting a goal and a timeline for yourself is crucial if you want to achieve anything – especially when writing a book. Book writing can be a slow and steady process that often takes years to achieve success. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll reach your destination. To set a goal and a timeline for yourself, simply write down what you want to achieve by the end of the year. Be as detailed as possible – including financials. If possible, set a deadline for yourself (such as by the end of next month) to ensure that you’ll actually stick to it. Sticking to your plan is vital to success – you must have both the discipline and the determination to see your vision through to the end. The only way to do this is by setting a timeline for yourself.
Step two: Learn from the experts
Now that you’ve set a goal and a timeline for yourself, it’s time to turn your attention to learning. There are plenty of resources available to you, with countless blogs, podcasts, webinars and mastermind groups dedicated to helping independent book authors. These are all great places to find knowledge and inspiration, as well as answers to any questions you might have about the process. Take advantage of these opportunities and learn as much as you can. After all, knowledge is power and, in this case, might just get you to your goal faster than you could have ever imagined.
Step three: Create an outline
An outline is simply a map of the book. It will help you stay organized and ensure that you don’t get too wrapped up in details and forget about the big picture. An outline serves as a guide to keep you on track and moving in the right direction. It is extremely important that you write an outline before you start creating your book. As you learn more and more along the way, your outline will simply become more detailed, but it will never be complete. This is because, in writing your book, you will learn about details that you hadn’t even considered before, and that will cause you to change the entire course of your book. You must have an outline before you start writing, or else you’ll never know where you’re supposed to go with your story, and it will all go straight to page one.
Step four: Book title and cover design
The title and cover of your book are among the most important aspects of its design. A poorly chosen title can drastically reduce the appeal of your book, while a poorly designed cover will do the same. When choosing your title, make sure that it is concise and easy to understand. Also, consider using titles that are a Play on words or have double meanings. A fabulous cover design can make or break your book. It will help potential customers identify your book and decide whether or not to pick it up. If you decide that you want to pursue publication, the cover design is among the first things that an editor will ask you to change (if they even look at your work at all).
As mentioned above, the title and cover of your book will affect its success, so take the time to choose them carefully. There are plenty of cover design templates that you can use, and you don’t need to worry about not having a ‘theme’ for your book since you’ll have plenty of time to find one later on, as you write it.
Step five: Choose a subject
Your book’s subject determines its overall theme and tone, so it is extremely important to choose one that you feel passionate about. If you aren’t passionate about a particular subject, it will be difficult to write an interesting and engaging book on it. When choosing your subject, make sure that it is versatile enough to become the basis of an interesting conversation. For example, people will definitely want to talk about how to choose a wine to go with their food, but they may not necessarily want to read a book about it. Choose a subject that you know will inspire curiosity and interest.
It is also important that you choose a subjectivity that is broad enough to encompass a variety of topics. For example, anyone interested in fashion or lifestyle topics will enjoy ‘The Beauty Expert’s Guide to Fashion’, while those interested in sports may enjoy ‘The Footballer’s Agent’s Guide to Progression’. By choosing a broad subjectivity, you ensure that you will be able to fit in a variety of topics within the scope of your book. Having a variety of topics will not only make your book more interesting to read, but it will also allow you to choose your topic based on what will attract the most potential readers. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and it makes your book more attractive to potential customers. The more interesting your book is, the more likely it will be to stand out amongst other books on the subject, and the more likely it is to become a bestseller.
Step six: Create a short summary
A short summary is simply a summary of the book, in the form of a preview. A short summary is the bread and butter of any review, and it gives the reader an idea of what the book is about, without having to read it completely. A short summary will also help you decide whether or not you want to read the book in the first place. You can use this summary to get the attention of an editor or publisher, or to simply get more people to discover your book. Writing a good summary takes some practice, but it’s something that you can develop with time.
Step seven: Develop your thesis statement
Your thesis statement is the foundation of your book, and it is what differentiates it from other books in the same genre. The thesis statement should be short and sweet, while also being authoritative and interesting. Some examples of a good thesis statement are: “Walking is a great way to clear your mind and get some fresh air”, “Choosing the right wine to accompany your meal can be difficult”, and “Poker is a game of skill, not necessarily luck”. The last example above is an actual thesis statement from a real-life book. Developing a strong and specific thesis statement will help you narrow down the topics that you want to cover in your book, as well as establish your book as the ‘go-to’ source for information on your topic. A strong thesis statement will also help convince an editor or publisher that your book is worth considering for publication.
Step eight: Create an outline for the contents
An outline for the contents is simply an outline of the chapters that you will include in your book. It is extremely important to have an outline for the contents, as it will help you stay organized and ensure that you don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You will likely start with a chapter called ‘Introduction’ followed by ‘The Basics’ and ‘Advanced Techniques’. Your introduction should simply be an overview of your book, including its purpose and targeted audience. The basics should cover the fundamentals of the topic, while the advanced techniques should provide more in-depth information on the topic. Having an outline for the contents will also help you identify the most effective strategy for communicating your book’s information to the public. You can use the above outline as a guide, as it will help you determine what should go in the ‘Introduction’, ‘The Basics’ and ‘Advanced Techniques’ chapters.
Step nine: Create key milestones
You will need to set some key milestones in your plan, as it will be difficult to achieve your goal if you don’t reach certain points along the way. For example, if you want to write a book about fashion, you will need to start by defining your target audience and establishing what is and what isn’t acceptable dress code-wise. You can also set an initial deadline (such as by the end of this year or quarter) to give yourself a concrete goal to work towards. This way, you’ll know how much progress you’ve made and can adjust your plan if necessary.