How to Write a Book: The

Ultimate Guide
[Updated: 05/22/2019]

Just about everyone has thought of writing a book at some point —

even if you donʼt consider yourself a “writer,” you probably have an
inkling of a book somewhere in your head. But whether youʼve only
just had your lightbulb moment or youʼve been mulling over a great
idea for years, thereʼs no time like the present to learn how to write a
book!

Of course, thereʼs no one-size-fits-all formula here, since every

writer has their own unique process. No doubt youʼll discover what
works for you over the course of your authorial journey. That being
said, there are still certain things you absolutely need to know if you
ever want to cross the finish line! Weʼre excited to share our very
best tips, tricks, and other info in this all-inclusive guide to how to
write a book.

1. Nail down your book idea

Nailing down your book idea involves more than just being able to
state what it's about — although that is part of it. To really nail down
your book idea, you should be able to answer the three important
"W" questions:

What is it about?
Why does it matter?
Who will want to read it?

Once youʼre able to answer these questions, youʼll fill in the blanks
of the following sentence:

[The who] will read my book about [the what] because [the
why].

For example: "CEOs will read my book about workplace culture

because it offers insights into the practices of the top ten
companies voted 'best places' to work in the USA."

Or: “Female fantasy readers will read my book about the first queen
of a patriarchal land because itʼs unique and empowering to a new
generation of fantasy fans.”

Letʼs break down the various elements of this equation and show
you how to identify them in your own premise.

The What

The “what" is the seed of your book. Itʼs the beginning of

something, and before it can sprout into something more, you have
to nail down the essence of what you want to say. This often
coincides with the eventual theme of your book — but donʼt worry
too much about that right now.

Instead, just figure out how you would describe your topic to
someone in a single sentence. If someone were to ask you right
now, “Oh, what are you writing about?” then the what would be your
answer. Whether itʼs an adventurous mouseʼs tale (tail?) or a vegan
cookbook, your “what” will become the crux of your book.

On the off chance that youʼre reading this guide and donʼt yet
have a “what” — you just know that you want to write a book —
consider checking out some writing prompts to inspire you!
The Who

If youʼre writing fiction, the “who” will typically come down to genre
— “romance readers,” “fantasy readers,” “sci-fi readers,” etc. Youʼll
also consider age, i.e. if itʼs a children's, young adult, or new adult
novel.

If you're writing non-fiction, itʼs all about utility. Who will find the
information in your book most useful? The exception here is memoir,
in which case your readers may just be looking for entertainment.
But if youʼre writing a guide, an informative tell-all, or even a
historical book, your target audience will be people who want to
learn from you.

No matter your wheelhouse, itʼs extremely helpful to come up with a

proto-persona for the person whoʼll be buying your book. This
should represent your ideal customer and is key to reaching your
target audience. Coming up with a hypothetical reader makes it
much easier to specifically write to them, which will make them
more inclined to buy your book.

The Why

And finally, the “why.” With the innumerable experiences and wild
ideas that people have in their lives, we all have plenty of books that
we could write. Indeed, as we reveal in the Reedsy podcast
Bestseller, up to 81% of all people believe they have a book inside
them. (Not literally — that would be a lot of stomachaches — but in
the “potential writer” sort of way.)

So why is this particular book the one you should write? And, just as
importantly, why are you the one who should write it? What makes
you qualified, and what makes you passionate about this particular
subject? You need to determine a) why this book will matter to other
people, and b) why you are the right person to address this topic.

Your final result of answering these three "W" questions will be the
essential thesis from which you work throughout this process. Once
you have this prepared, you can move onto the next step: outlining.

2. Outline your book

Creating an outline is one of the most important parts of writing a
book — in addition to your “three Ws” thesis, your outline forms a
huge part of the foundation on which you will build your book. Even
if youʼve never worked from an outline before, or donʼt think you
need one (i.e. if you're a pantser, not a plotter), thereʼs no harm in
cobbling one together.

Also, donʼt make the mistake of thinking every book outline has to
look exactly the same. There are a few different methods you can
use to outline your book, which weʼve “outlined” here. Feel free to
experiment with them and go with whichever works best for you.

The mind map

This is an approach for visual thinkers. On a piece of paper, draw a
big circle and put your main idea in it. Around the large circle, draw a
series of smaller circles with supporting ideas that connect to the
main one. Next, draw and connect smaller circles around your
second series, and put related ideas in those as well.

Alternately, if you like the general concept of the mind map but feel
like you need a bit more structure with it, you can also try the
Snowflake Method.

The chapter outline (or “beat sheet”)

Often times, fiction writers arenʼt quite sure how their novel will end.
Luckily for you, nonfiction writers already have a clear idea of the
point their book is trying to make. Write an “introduction” and a
“conclusion” header. In the introduction, write down the preposition
of your book. In the conclusion, write down the main point. In
between, take note of the chapters you need to include (and the
point each one will make) to get readers from Point A to Point B.

3. Research your topic or genre

Research comes in so many shapes and sizes, depending on the
type of book you are writing, and is especially important for
nonfiction titles. Here are a few different types of research that are
suitable for different genres, though you can always mix and match
these according to what your subject matter requires.

If youʼre writing a memoir, you might start by interviewing

yourself. Though you may think you already know yourself
pretty well, youʼd be surprised at the blind spots that can be
revealed through a simple interview. You can always have
someone else interview you too!
If youʼre writing a how-to, your research might involve testing
out your own instructions, or collecting lots of existing material
on the subject — such as blog posts and previously published
essays.
If youʼre writing self-help, you might want to reach out to
experts on the topic, such as psychologists and motivational
speakers. Or if you're already an expert on this particular topic,
you can interview yourself as you would for a memoir!
If youʼre writing a history or biography, youʼll likely spend
lots of time in libraries and archives — unless youʼre writing
about someone whoʼs still alive, or something thatʼs just
recently happened, in which case youʼll likely gather the
information yourself.
As for fiction, it can still be helpful to research where your book is
set or the subject matter it involves, especially if youʼre writing
historical fiction. While you might be purely "writing what you know,"
the research phase for fiction writers can also include more literary
planning, such as theme or character development. Speaking of
which...

Incorporate themes

No matter what kind of book youʼre writing, it should have at least

one uniting theme, and probably more. Even if youʼre just writing
instructions, some kind of theme-inclusive narrative can help make
your book much more compelling!

For example, Chrissy Teigenʼs bestselling cookbook Cravings

includes personal stories along with her recipes, all about how she
came up with them and why she loves them. The theme of these
humorous anecdotes is how food is a huge part of her life, and how
getting a recipe exactly right can spark immense joy (as another
very popular instructional author would say).

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get a handle on
your theme(s), regardless of what your book is about.

`. How does my narrative reflect the human condition?

a. What (if any) social or political commentary do I want to make?
b. Why am I writing this book in the first place? (think back to your
“big Ws”)
c. What do I want my readersʼ takeaways to be?

Create character profiles

Again, this is relevant whether youʼre writing fiction or non-fiction.

While itʼs true that most people think of “characters” as people you
invent for a story, the term can apply to all figures who crop up in a
book. After all, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow is a non-fiction
biography — but what kind of narrative would it be without
Washington and Jefferson? Theyʼre essential characters in that
story! The only difference is that in non-fiction, you canʼt embellish
them like you would in fiction.

So if your book includes characters of any kind, whether theyʼre real

or not, consider putting them in a roster. The following template will
help you keep track of important character details and traits you
want to include in your book.

Enter your email address to download the Character

Template & Worksheet!

You'll get it in your email inbox right afterward.

Now itʼs time to get down to the nitty-gritty: the actual writing
process. Letʼs get into goals, routines, and what you should focus
on during your first draft.

4. Establish a writing routine

Establishing a writing routine is vital to actually completing your
manuscript. Here are the best actions you can take (or avoid!) to
establish and stick to a writing routine.

Create word count targets

Most authors primarily think about their writing progress in terms of

word count. They set goals for how many words to write per day,
per week, and per month, so theyʼll know if theyʼre keeping up a
reasonable rate of progress.
In terms of what is a reasonable rate of progress, every writer has to
define that for themselves. However, if youʼre really determined to
make this book thing work, you should aim for at least 1,500 words a
week. Thatʼs 6,000 words a month and 72,000 a year — well past
NaNoWriMo standards for what constitutes a novel (50k words)!
Bear in mind that you can break this up however you want: 500
words per day/three days a week, one day of 1,000 words + two
shorter days of 250 each, etc.

Schedule non-negotiable-writing-time

Besides word count, itʼs important to set goals for your writing time
as well. Only you can decide whatʼs right for your schedule, but here
are some general guidelines.

Consider both a) when you have the most free time, and b) when
you have at least a little bit of free time. The trick is this: donʼt
devote every single day off to writing. Contrary to popular advice,
you donʼt really have to write every single day in order to finish a
book. The important thing is that you designate a schedule and
keep it up. Whatever schedule you set for yourself, make sure that
your friends and family are aware of it — and know not to try and
schedule other activities with you during your non-negotiable-
writing-time!

Never skip two sessions in a row

Countless writing experts champion the “two sessions” rule as the

key to writing success. Hereʼs why: skipping one writing session —
whether because youʼve had a super-busy day or you just canʼt
summon the energy — doesnʼt mean youʼve fallen off the wagon.
One missed day is a fluke, an anomaly that can easily be
compensated for over your next few sessions.
But once you skip two sessions in a row, youʼre setting a new
routine of NOT writing. And not only that, youʼre getting farther
behind on your word count goals. You start to feel like you can't
catch up, and the pressure often leads you to quit altogether. So
don't let yourself miss two consecutive sessions. Believe us, youʼll
be glad you persevered.

Get an accountability buddy

Ideally, this will be another writer who understands what youʼre

going through, and who may even be working on a project
themselves — this way you can swap encouragement, tips, and
stern lectures when needed.

If you donʼt know any other writers in real life, you can always join an
online writing community! The advice and support in the forums of
these writing websites can be an absolute lifesaver when youʼre
feeling discouraged.

Track your progress tangibly

What do we mean by “tangibly”? Well, instead of just entering data

in a spreadsheet of “words written per day,” you might actually print
out the pages youʼve finished as you complete them. As you write,
your manuscript pile will grow — plus itʼll be all ready for proofing at
the end!

You can also do something silly but fun, like making up a calendar
and putting a sticker on it for every day of accomplished writing. Or
you can put a marble in a mason jar for every 500 words written,
and when it fills up, take yourself out for a nice dinner. Rewarding
yourself at certain milestones is a particularly effective means of
staying motivated. And in that vein...
For more detailed tips on how to create a writing routine, check out
this Reedsy Live webinar from author, ghostwriter, and writing
coach Kevin T. Johns.

5. Write your first draft

Once the what, why, and who has been set, youʼve got notebooks
filled with research that have been transferred into a rock-solid
outline, and youʼve come up with a concrete and realistic writing
schedule, thereʼs nowhere left to run: itʼs time to actually sit down
and write your write draft.

Refine your “author voice”

When it comes to defining the abstract topic of author voice, author

and writing coach Gabriela Pereira says, “You have to understand
that it's kind of ingrained in your personality. There's some element
of your voice that will be part and parcel of who you are.”
Who you are is of the utmost importance when it comes to
nonfiction. When you publish nonfiction, you are asking readers to
trust your credibility to speak about the given topic. To establish
trust with readers, you need to develop a relationship with them —
and the author-reader relationship is largely established through the
reader connected to your “author voice” — the personality and
personability you inject into your writing.

So how can both fiction and nonfiction authors develop their writing
voice? There are a couple of exercises you might try: Pereira
suggests journaling, and a “retelling” exercise which involves
rewriting nursery rhymes in the voice of a famous author, such as F.
Scott Fitzgerald or Virginia Woolf. This will help you get a sense of
what voice is, since itʼs a pretty slippery concept — plus, the natural
tension that arises between your own voice and that authorʼs voice
should tell you about how you want your prose to sound.

Create a narrative arc

Like voice, narrative arcs are for all writers, not just fiction authors!
Every good book (that isnʼt a cookbook or reference guide) contains
conflict, tension, drama, and resolution — a collection of elements
most aptly described as a narrative arc.

Hopefully, you mapped out a pretty satisfying arc in your outline

from Step 2. But if not, hereʼs your chance to redeem yourself! Think
about the following questions in relation to the contents of your
book:

`. What are the most interesting events and elements of my

narrative?
a. How do they connect to one another and incorporate my major
themes? (from Step 3)
 b. What is the “high point” (climax) of the narrative? (should
occur toward the end)
c. How will my ending wrap everything up?

Itʼs also true that, no matter how extensively you outline, thereʼs no
telling what your final arc will look like until youʼve actually written it.
You may find yourself expanding elements you thought would be
minor; skipping over others that you thought would be integral. If
this is the case, donʼt worry too much about deviating from your
original outline — trust your gut and know that you can always edit
later.

Donʼt edit as you go

Put away your red pen and build a glass case around your “delete”
key. You donʼt need every single word, phrase, and sentence to be
well-constructed; you just need to get them down on the page.
Focus on just getting all of the content out, without censoring
yourself or wondering if what youʼre writing is
good/interesting/insightful/factual enough. Trust us, youʼll have
plenty of time to nitpick later.

Develop practices for defeating writer's block

Studies have determined four broad reasons for writerʼs block: 1)

self criticism, 2) self-consciousness that their work wonʼt be as
well-received as others, 3) lack of inspiration, or 4) lack of
motivation.

When you donʼt feel like writing right now, chances are the solution
to this creative quandary lies further back.

Self-criticism: Go back to the what. Does this idea still hold

 up? Are you still invested in this premise? Remember why you
started writing this book.
Self-consciousness: Go back to your outline. Reinvestigate
the points you make that take the reader from start to finish,
and what lessons and takeaways each chapter will leave them
with
Lack of inspiration: Go back to the who. Get better acquainted
with your ideal reader and use the image of them connecting
with your book as inspiration.
Lack of motivation: Go back to the why. Remember that sweet
spot in between why you want to write this book and why
readers will find it valuable.

In addition, a big part of avoiding writer's block is managing your

expectations. Your first book is not going to be your magnum opus,
nor should it be; you have plenty of time to get there in your writing
career! So do yourself a favor, and donʼt compare your writing to
literary giants, because itʼs not fair to you or your work. Secondly,
remember that not everyday will be full of creativity, inspiration, and
the ability to translate the value from the world around you on to the
page. Indeed, being able to stick to a routine when youʼre not in an
artistic mindset is the hallmark of a TRUE writer.

Put the reader first

Finally, and perhaps the most important piece of advice we can give
you: remember to always put the reader first. This is especially
difficult as a first-time author. For one thing, youʼll want to
demonstrate your stylistic prowess, and for another, you donʼt have
the best idea of how to implement structure yet. This combination
means that your main ideas can easily end up muddled.

So try to constantly, consciously think about the reader over

yourself. Keep the language accessible and the pacing fairly quick,
the way most readers want in a book. You might feel compelled to
write long, drawn-out metaphors to get your point across — but the
narrative should always take precedence, because thatʼs what the
reader cares about.

All right: in theory, the hard partʼs over now. But the process of
refining and deciding what to do with your book isnʼt exactly a walk
in the park. Now we'll take you through what you need to edit your
book and eventually publish it (if thatʼs the path you choose). Come
on, final push — letʼs go!

6. Revise your manuscript

The vast majority of manuscripts need to go through several rounds
of revisions before they reach their final form. So donʼt hold back:
itʼs time for some ruthless editing. And whether you do it yourself,
ask a friend, or hire a professional, itʼs important to know exactly
what needs fixing. Here are our best tips re: the editing process.

Get rid of glue words and intensifiers

If you want to bore your readers, all you need to do is fill your book
with sticky sentences. A sticky sentence is one that contains over
45% glue words — and glue words are the 200+ most common
words in the English language.
While there are some exceptions to this rule, a sentence with more
glue words than non-glue words tends to meander unnecessarily.
Letʼs take a look at this example from Lisa Lepki, editor of the
ProWritingAid blog:

A sentence with 64% glue words: “At that moment, Karen walked
out onto the middle of the stage with her violin and looked out
across the room at the big crowd.”

The same sentence, redrafted to contain exactly 45% glue words:

“At that moment, Karen appeared onstage with her violin, her eyes
wide as she surveyed the growing crowd.”

As you can see, the same image becomes clearer and more
succinct in the second version. So make sure you cut out those glue
words!

Tackle inconsistencies with fresh perspective

When youʼre drafting your first book ever, itʼs easy to accidentally
include inconsistencies, whether about something as minor as a
characterʼs eye color or as gap in supporting evidence for one of
your book's arguements. Naturally, one of the main objectives of
editing is to rid your manuscript of these.

Itʼs pretty hard to do when youʼve only just finished writing, however.
Youʼll be so familiar with the subject/story that gaps in logic will
automatically bridge themselves in your mind — plus, youʼre
probably feeling a bit “precious” about your writing, and may not
want to admit to any mistakes (especially if theyʼll take a lot of work
to fix).

Hence why itʼs important to wait before you edit: a useful practice
for any mode of editing, but especially when scanning for
inconsistencies. You should try to wait a week at minimum, ideally
more, before taking a close, honest look at your manuscript for
possible plot holes and overall cohesion.

If you donʼt want to wait, or if you donʼt trust your own judgment,
you can get someone else to look over your manuscript with fresh
eyes! Friends and family are a great resource, but consider looking
for beta readers, or hiring one of those pro editors we mentioned.

Donʼt try to fix every issue at the same time

These days weʼre all apparently expected to multitask flawlessly, but

take it from us: do not multitask your editing. If youʼre doing it
yourself, itʼs best to break editing tasks down into a list and
complete each item separately.

For example, your first task might be to look for glue words and
extraneous adverbs, your second task might be to break up run-on
sentences, your third task might be to look for inconsistencies, and
so on and so forth. Doing all these at once will surely lead to
oversight — and exhaustion — so just take them on one at a time.
You can go here to download a comprehensive editing checklist.

7. Write the second draft

Edits all done? That means youʼre ready for rewrites: the part where
you actually transform your first draft into the second. Itʼs a magical
process, even if does require a good deal of work. The following are
some things to think about as you take this penultimate step of
writing a book.

Nail the opening hook

Like reducing glue words, nailing the hook is another simple but
pivotal fix you can make to your manuscript. Thatʼs because both
editors and readers are prone to quick judgements. If they positively
judge your book by its cover and make it to the first page, the
opening lines are the next test — and failure to pass could mean
they give up on it entirely.

Consider the following opening lines:

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in

its own way.” — Anna Karenina

“We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones.” —
Unweaving The Rainbow

“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted

the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”
— The Bell Jar

“In the fall of 1993, a man who would upend much of what we
 know about habits walked into a laboratory in San Diego for a
scheduled appointment.” — The Power of Habit

Through the use of strong statements or interesting anecdotes,

each of these hooks creates intrigue right away. But that doesnʼt
mean you should go for clickbaity, flashy, second hand-car-
salesman exclamations here. Rather, consider the aspects of your
book that will naturally pique human interest, and lead with that.

Rework those inconsistencies

Inconsistencies are the plague of edits and rewrites: you have to

deal with them or theyʼll just get worse. So after highlighting them
(or having someone else point them out) during the editing process,
you need to prioritize inconsistencies in rewrites. Basic factual
inconsistencies and superficial descriptive contradictions should be
pretty quick to deal with. But for deeper plot/structural problems,
here are a few tactics you can try:

1. Examine character dynamics. One of the most obvious

indicators of inconsistent characterization is character dynamics —
think of them as the canary in the coal mine. If character dynamics
seem unnatural, thereʼs probably something else wrong… probably
because you havenʼt made your characters well-rounded enough to
sustain themselves.

As a result, this is one of those fixes that will probably take some
time. But if you sense something wrong with your character
dynamics, donʼt be afraid to take a deeper dive into overall
characterization.

2. Eliminate subplots. Luckily, this one's a bit less labor-intensive.

Sometimes to root out confusing inconsistencies, you need to
delete subplots or side stories that contradict either the main
narrative, or your charactersʼ personalities and motivations. You
may also have a subplot or secondary story that you love, but that
doesnʼt really go anywhere. We know that cutting it out will be hard;
just bite the bullet and do it.

3. Explore different endings. The ending is often where spotty

characterization rears its ugly head. For instance, a character who
hates another character throughout the book does a 180 and falls in
love with them (how many poorly plotted romances fall victim to
this?). Or maybe a character who was seemingly making progress
reverts to their previous, terrible self (weʼll call this the Andy
Bernard phenomenon, one that any devoted fan of The Office will
recognize).

So donʼt just leave a bad ending in place if it contradicts what would

realistically happen. Again, it might be a lot of work to change, but
your readers will thank you for “keeping it real” (as the kids say).

Consider your conclusion

Speaking of your bookʼs ending, itʼs important to consider not just

potential inconsistencies, but the overall impact of your ending.
Have you worked through all the problems youʼve posed throughout
the book? Did you tie in all the themes you wanted to address, and
does the ending subtly re-emphasize them? Will readers be
satisfied with this point of resolution? (You may have to ask other
people for their opinion on this.)

Unlike rewriting your hook/intro, reworking your conclusion may

involve going back throughout your book to insert other bits and
pieces as well. For example, you might realize that you havenʼt
incorporated a certain theme enough for it to resonate in the
conclusion. This means you have to retroactively work it into
previous chapters. Again, donʼt be afraid of the workload: embrace
it as the thing that will make your book the best that it can be.

8. Publish your book (if you want to!)

Our heartiest congratulations to you — youʼve written a book!
Your journeyʼs not quite over, though: now you get to decide what to
do with it.

Though weʼve titled this step “get it published,” thatʼs not

necessarily what you have to do next. Maybe youʼve written a book
just to prove you that you could. But even so, itʼs good to have the
necessary information, in case you do eventually decide to pursue
that route.

Hereʼs a selection of our best resources on both traditional

publishing and self-publishing, in the order that youʼd most likely
have to use them.

Self-publishing

If you want to self-publish your book, but donʼt know where to start:

How to Self-Publish a Book (free course)

All the considerations and requirements that go into self-publishing:

The Essential Self-Publishing Checklist (blog post)

For after youʼve self-published and youʼre ready to start marketing:

How to Create the Ultimate Book Marketing Plan (blog post)

Traditional publishing
Want to lock in a publisher before you start your non-fiction book?

How to Submit a Non-Fiction Book Proposal (free course)

If youʼre hoping to acquire an agent who will represent your book:

How to Write a Query Letter That Agents Can't Resist (free course)

A comprehensive overview of traditional publishing:

Traditional Publishing 101 (free course)

Ultimately, what you do with your manuscript is up to you. But

whether you keep locked in a chest (/untouched folder on your
desktop) or publish it for all the world to see, just know that youʼve
achieved something amazing — something you may not have
believed possible just a few short months ago! So once again, well
done. And if you do decide to publish, we canʼt wait to see what
youʼve created.

Before you go, we canʼt forget our last tip: once youʼre finished,
reach out to us with your top tips so we can add them to this
post, and help other aspiring authors reach their goals. Or if you
have some already, leave them in the comments below!