There’s a lot of things an author needs to know before they start creating. A basic grasp of the language they are writing in is probably the most essential part. While you may have grown up speaking one way, writing for readers is a whole other thing. Learning to adapt your natural speaking style to a proper writing style will determine if a reader will finish your book or not. This applies to all genre, markets, and stories.
What can you do to help yourself better understand what type of writing is needed for a book? Read. Read daily in the genre you want to create in. Pick up a book on language style and read it thoroughly. For English, that would be a guide to AP style and a guide to Chicago style. Read it a lot and learn what you can. When you begin writing, apply your best lessons to your first draft.
The next most important thing you must do when you are writing a book is to finish that first draft. It doesn’t matter if that draft is 5 thousand words or 105 thousand. Write it in full. Know you’ve completed the work and feel good you have. Then, put it down. Walk away. Come back to it after reading more and see what you like, adjust what you don’t, and refresh the manuscript. Keep reading.
When you believe you’ve created a book worth publishing, read it out loud or get a service to read the book to you. Make changes where you missed something. It’s a great thing to see your product ready for the next step. When you think you’re there … watch for our next post.
Are you an experienced author? We would love to read your tips for beginning authors. Share some in the comments or visit our page on Facebook.