For some of us, writing a book – whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, a children’s book, a young adult book, a novel, a volume of poems or short stories, a self-help book, a cookbook, or a business book – is something that feels like a need or desire. Maybe it has been a longtime dream, maybe you’ve come up with a great idea that you want to share with the world, or maybe you want to promote your business. Whatever your reason for even thinking about writing a book, the task probably still seems daunting!
But here’s the good news – you don’t have to start by writing the next great American novel. You can start with a handy how-to guide for carving pumpkins, a short bedtime story you tell your children, or tips on how to be a successful salesperson. The possibilities are endless and completely up to you! Here are some tips to get your writing started:
Start with one idea. Start small. Start with what you know. If you’re reading this, you probably already have an idea. If not, just focus on a topic you know a lot about. You may want to sketch a brief outline for the points you want to make, your characters, your plot, etc., but if you find that difficult to do, don’t let it hold you back.
Give yourself 10 minutes of distraction-free writing time a day and commit to that routine for two weeks. Work your way up to 15 minutes a day, commit to it for two weeks, and see what happens. It’s likely that you will begin writing for longer than the allotted time because it’s part of your routine, and you’ll find you enjoy it. Soon you may find you’re writing for an hour a day without even trying.
Write. Write. Write. Even if it’s a few random thoughts or ideas. Whether you’re using a pen and paper or a computer, just start by going through the motion of physically writing or typing to engage your brain with that activity. It’s amazing, but after a little while real words, thoughts, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs will begin to emerge. Before you know it, that writer’s block will be gone.
These are just some basic tips to help ignite the spark you already have. Once you have the raw material for your book written down, you can go back and cut, edit, and rewrite. Don’t get caught up in perfection; it can impede any progress whatsoever.
Remember, all you have to do is just do one thing to get started – write. Take that first step toward writing your book. At SDP Publishing Solutions, we work with authors in a wide range of genres, and once you have your book, we are ready to help you move forward with publishing it. If after reading this you still feel stuck, call us. We’ll help you with other ideas to get your book jump-started.
SDP Publishing Solutions offers optimal publishing solutions for authors worldwide. From literary agency representation to worldwide marketing – including international rights – and self-publishing and independent publishing, we provide the best solutions for our authors. Our services include developmental editing and copyediting, book marketing developing pitch proposals, literary agency representation, print and e-book development, and providing overall book exposure.
