10 Steps to Writing a Book People Will Actually Want to Read

Life… is a tale told by an idiot.

William Shakespeare

I remember the first time I tried to write a book like it was yesterday.

I was just a young girl wanting to put an idea into an awesome story that people would actually want to read. So what did I do? I researched and watched about fifteen different Youtube videos with the same title as this blog post.

Do you want to know what I found? Nothing helpful. So here I am, giving you what I didn’t have as a fresh new author in middle school.

I am in the process of writing my eighth book right now. That doesn’t make me an expert, but I at least have enough knowledge to help somebody else who is trying to start.

Here are 10 steps to writing a book people will actually want to read:

1.Have a basic idea of what you want.

This doesn’t have to be a detailed layout of every chapter and plot point, but a general idea of the storyline should be there. Even if all it is is “teenagers in a post-apocopytic universe.”

That at least gives you a genre, a basic idea in your mind, and an outline for what types of characters you want to write.

2. Invest in your characters.

Characters make the story. That’s a fact.

The reason everybody loves Pride and Prejudice isn’t because of the storyline itself, it’s because the readers become so invested in Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy that they just have to see whether or not they end up together.

Spend a whole day simply creating your characters. Discover them inside and out so that you know every little thing about them. The more in-depth you go, the more realistic they will feel, and then you can sit back and watch your babies come to life.

My blogpost “Creating Lovable Characters” gives more advice and tricks on that score.

3. Create a rough outline.

Sit down, get your favorite notebook and pen, and write out a basic outline of the main events that need to happen in your story. It doesn’t have to be neat, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and it definitely doesn’t have to be final.

All this is, is a way to put your thoughts down and organize all the amazing ideas that are jumping around inside your brain, just waiting to be put onto paper.

Try not to go into much detail yet, but instead stay focused on the main plot points. And remember that some of it will probably change as you go, so don’t get discouraged!

4. Settle on what roles your characters play.

Part of this process was probably done as you created your characters, but now is the time to really decide on where they stand in the book.

Who is the protagonist? Who is his sidekick or best friend? Are their multiple main characters? Just one? Who is the antagonist? Is there an anti-hero?

This is also the time to figure out why the characters are in the story in the first place. What are they trying to accomplish?

Were they thrown into something against their will? Are they trying to avenge the death of a family member? Did they murder somebody, and are now on the run? Are they simply looking for love?

If they have no reason to be there, they shouldn’t be. Don’t create characters just for the sake of creating them. They need to move the story along in some way, or the readers will grow bored with them.

5. Plan out the chapters.

This is a step that some authors do differently, or skip entirely, but I’ve found it very helpful to do this.

Basically what you want to do is write out a 1-2 sentence description of every chapter you’re hoping to write. This is when you start to go back to add more details and subplots.

I find this step extremely helpful because when I don’t do it, I end up with scenes that have nothing to do with the ultimate story. It’s nice to know where you’re going next so that the current chapter fits into the story well.

6. Start writing.

Now comes both the hardest part, and the most exciting.

Writing the actual meat of the story will take the most time out of any of the steps, but if you enjoy to write, it will without-a-doubt be your favorite.

The key to doing this is to simply do it. It’ll be easy in the beginning, but eventually the momentum starts to fade the further you go.

DON’T GIVE UP!

I promise, you’ll get through those rough patches. My favorite way to do that is to skip to a chapter I’m super excited about and to write that instead. Nobody ever said you can’t write your book out of order, so here’s me, telling you you can!

Chances are, after you write one exciting chapter, your adrenaline will start up again and you’ll be writing multiple chapters a day. I wrote a whole book in four months thanks to doing it out of order.

7. Finish up the rough draft and read it.

Yes, I said rough draft. Nobody writes a whole book publish-ready the first time, but that’s okay.

Once you’ve finished all the chapters, put them in order and read through it from start to finish. You’ll probably find mistakes right away on your own to fix. You may even have whole sections to change or take out entirely, but that’s normal! Don’t get discouraged.

8. Send it to a friend.

After you have your book to a point where you’re pretty happy with it, go to a friend who you know enjoys to read and have them read it for you.

Print it out for them so they can mark up the pages and leave you little notes. Tell them to fix any grammar mistakes they find, point out any dragging or slow scenes, and mark the parts that they loved. Don’t only have them write down the negative, but the positives too!

One of my favorite things in the world is getting my book back from a friend and reading all the stupid little notes they left for me. Not only that, but they usually catch so many more problems that I didn’t even notice.

The more people you have read it, the better feedback you will get.

9. Re-write, re-write, re-write.

You’re almost there! Keep up the hard work!

Now, take the notes from your friends and go back to your book. I know it’s hard and it hurts sometimes after you’ve spent so much time on it, but the best way to make a scene better is to re-write it.

Don’t just go in and fix the little mistakes, but see how you can make it better by totally re-sculpting the sentences. It’ll surprise you how much better it can sound.

10. Repeat, then celebrate!

After you’ve re-written your book and fixed everything that needed to be fixed, send it back to your friends to read again. Maybe even switch it up and send it to a few new ones as well.

There may be a few more things to catch, but that’s okay! Just keep repeating steps 7-9 until you have your book exactly the way you want it.

Once you are satisfied with your finished product, CONGRATULATIONS!! You’ve just written your first book!

Want to write a sequel? Follow these steps again and watch your ideas take flight!

I hope this was helpful to you guys! Let me know of any additional tips and tricks you know, I’d love to learn from you!

-Caylie ❤