Get your book out more quickly by following these tips.
No matter how talented you are, writing a book takes time and patience. Depending on how many hours a day you have to write and how long you want your great work to be, penning a masterpiece will probably take you between four and eight months. Most seasoned writers would advise you to take your time with your work, but if your focus is on getting your book out fast, follow these steps to get the most out of your efforts.
Instructions
1. Concentrate on developing a solid idea that you can work from. Keep a notebook with you at all times so that you can jot down thoughts and sudden flashes of inspiration, even if you wake up with a great thought in the middle of the night. The ESL Teachers Board recommends setting up a file folder full of ideas drawn from the real world, including newspaper and magazine clippings and Web articles. Discuss possible topics with friends and colleagues, but also take time for quiet contemplation on your own. Write down some of the interesting thoughts you have come up with and think about potential connections.
2. Interview experts and do more independent research once you have an idea. Look for information specific to your chosen topic and add it to your existing idea bank of articles and websites. Think about which experts you could speak with to help ground your theory (if you're writing nonfiction) and people who could help you learn the details necessary to make your story more realistic (if you're writing fiction).
3. Create an outline for your book, drawing from all of the materials and research that you’ve gathered. Start with deciding the main themes, ideas or plot points in your story. These points you identify will be your chapters. For each chapter you define, try to break down more specifically which information you want to cover, or what needs to happen in the chapter to move your story forward. Having an outline gives you a vision to work from to keep you from getting stuck during the writing process.
4. Start writing your book. You don’t have to start at the beginning, especially with nonfiction books. Begin with whichever chapter you feel the most confident about. Write as much of the chapter as you can and don’t worry too much about perfecting grammar and sentence structure.
5. Note how long it took you to complete one chapter, and create a project plan for writing the first draft of the rest of your book. Assign a number of days or weeks for writing each remaining chapter and put your schedule on paper.
6. Assemble your book’s chapters into a coherent whole after you’ve finished your first draft. You’ll find yourself needing to write extra paragraphs and sentences to create smooth links between chapters. After you’re finished, leave your work for a few days, then do a book-wide proofread for spelling, grammar and sentence structure.
7. Hire a professional editor to look over your work. FirstEditing.com and Seo-Writer.com offer professional freelance editing at reasonable rates.
Tags: your book, your story, your work, first draft, grammar sentence, grammar sentence structure
