You don’t need to enter a contract with one of the leading publication houses to become a published writer. If you love doing things all by yourself, you can follow a plan that will help you publish your first book within a year.
Here are nine actionable tips that will enable you to publish your book without spending a lot of effort – keep reading!
1. Identify Your Favorite Genre
You need to be very specific about the genre you’re going to write about if you don’t want to “force” yourself to write. If you have selected a writing genre, make sure you explore its subgenres to better decide what you will write about.
Here are some questions to help you decide which genre you like the most:
- What movies do you love the most to watch?
- What is your personality type?
- What are your daydreams like?
- What type of friends do you have?
These four simple questions will allow you to find the literary genre you like the most. Make sure you discuss these questions about your personality with a friend or family member to ensure that you give the right answers.
2. Join a Writing Class
Keep in mind that you won’t be able to achieve your publishing goals if you cannot write well enough. This is why you need to identify your writing mistakes and try fixing them as soon as possible.
The best way you can sharpen your writing skills in a short time is by joining a writing class. Spending time with fellow writers and getting guidance from your mentor will help you improve your writing in a short time.
You don’t necessarily need to enroll in an in-person writing class. If you have a tight schedule, you can enroll in an online writing course to learn more things in a short time.
3. Learn How to Develop Characters
The best way you can persuade your readers to love your work is by strengthening the characters of your book. Developing strong characters helps you showcase your writing skills and also enables you to give your unique perspective on worldly matters.
A great way to learn how to develop strong characters is by reviewing some of the famous literary characters. Here is a short list of literary characters that are still praised by readers worldwide:
- Roland Deschain – The Dark Tower
- Sherlock Holmes – A Study In Scarlet
- Atticus Finch – To Kill A Mockingbird
- Rodion Raskolnikov – Crime And Punishment
- Lisbeth Salander – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Randle Patrick McMurphy – One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
You can also ask your friends and family about their favorite literary characters and ask them what makes the characters memorable for them.
4. Read More Books
It won’t be easy for you to make your book engaging for your readers if you don’t know the common elements in famous books. To make things easier for yourself as a newbie writer, you should consider reading more books so you can understand what readers want a writer to write.
Reading books doesn’t require you to squash your daily routine. If you have a tough daily schedule, you should consider allocating a little time from your day for reading books. Make sure you avoid distractions when you start reading so you can read more in less time.
Instead of buying books, you should consider borrowing books from a physical or digital library to save money.
5. Get Help from Professionals
Keep in mind that you will face challenges and hit roadblocks when you start writing your book and engage in the publication process. To save time and avoid making mistakes, it’s better to find professionals who can help you.
The assistance of skilled writers and season publication professionals will help you achieve your publishing goals in no time.
You can explore digital platforms to get in touch with professionals who can guide you. For example, if you want to write a fantasy book, you can check the list of best fantasy book editors in the USA to find an editor who can review your work and fix your mistakes.
6. Simplify Your Vocabulary
Trying to “force” difficult words in your story won’t help you keep your readers engaged. If you want to sell more copies of your book, you must ensure that you use simple words instead of jargon.
You can read a digital thesaurus daily to learn simpler alternatives to difficult terms. Alternatively, you can visit your local library to borrow a dictionary to help you use simple words/phrases when writing.
But you can consider relying on tools if you don’t have time to remove jargon yourself. For example, you can use Hemingway Editor, a free tool, to improve the readability of your writing and remove all the technical terms from your work.
7. Develop Your Writing Schedule
It won’t be easy for you to create achievable writing goals and achieve them if you don’t have a writing routine. Instead of writing whenever you find time in your day, it’s better to follow a routine that allows you to stay more focused when writing.
Developing a routine doesn’t require you to “dictate” how you will spend every single minute of your day. It’s better to develop a rough sketch of how you spend your time, so you can decide when you focus on your work properly.
8. Compare Self-Publishing Platforms
The most important thing to know when self-publishing your book is knowing about different self-publishing platforms. Your knowledge of the self-publication process will help you avoid problems and increase the sales of your book.
Most writers who rely on self-publication stick to Amazon Kindle. However, you should also explore other self-publishing platforms like:
- Kobo
- Apple Books
- IngramSpark
9. Grow Your Network
Networking is a great way to help you get your book published. Having reliable people in your network will make it easy to solve the problems you face in the publication process.
Getting started with networking doesn’t require you to spend a lot of time daily. If you have a difficult schedule, you can consider exploring online groups to connect with publication professionals in a short time.
