The decision to start writing a book is a really exciting one. You might love to right and it’s also an additional source of income for you. This is a time you should cherish and remember, but it can also feel incredibly overwhelming. You’re about to embark on an amazing journey, but it’s hard to even know where to begin and what you should start doing first. This article is going to focus on the first steps you should take before you start writing your book to achieve maximum success and make the process go faster and easier.
Start Small
The very first thing to mention when it comes to writing a book is to start small. You shouldn’t start off trying to write 3,000 words a day because it’s a big undertaking and can make the whole process seem even more overwhelming. Instead, start with 300 words a day and slowly increase that over time. This will make it easier to accomplish your goals and it will ease you into the process so after a couple of weeks you’ll feel comfortable with your work rather than stressed out from the get-go.
Make An Outline
While it’s great to just start writing, you should have a basic outline of where you plan for the story to go, a basic idea of what it’s going to be about and a general idea of who your characters are going to be. Without this outline you may find yourself stumped and frustrated after a while and may find halfway through it’s not working and you’ll have to start again. Wasting that valuable time isn’t good for you and not productive.
Give Yourself Deadlines
As with anything, if you don’t give yourself a deadline to get it done by, you’ll procrastinate and procrastinate and possibly never even do it or finish it. When writing a book, it’s important to set yourself specific deadlines throughout the process to help you keep a schedule and keep things under control.
A good rule of thumb is to have a deadline for every 50 pages or so.
Have A Set Word Count
Just like you should have deadlines for yourself, you should also make sure you have a set word count in mind. Whether it’s only 10,000 words or more or as much as 80,000 words or more, you should decide this ahead of time so you know what you’re working towards.
Get Feedback Early
When writing anything, it’s always great to get a second, even third, opinion and writing is no different. When you’re writing a book it’s important to start getting feedback, if not only from friends and family, early on to make sure you’re on the right track so you can make suitable changes along the way without needing to completely rewrite once you finish.
These tips will help you succeed in your writing endeavor and will ensure you get maximum quality out of your time. For more tips, this article by Forbes will help you succeed even more.
