How to write a book

If you are interested in writing a book, you might find the following tips useful:

• Think about your market before you begin writing. It will help you to focus your work and may help you to get your book published.

• Trends and tastes change regularly. Keep up-to-date with the current market for the type of book that you want to write. Find out what books are being published at the moment and try to predict what type of book will be popular in the near future.

• Seek as much expert advice as you can. Enrol on a writers' course and/or join a writers’ group.
  Make sure your vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and spelling are excellent. Although an editor will go through your work, you need to impress potential publishers with your writing abilities.
  Ask other people to read your work and give you an honest appraisal. Ask friends and family, rather than pay for this service.

• Find a place in which you are comfortable writing. Make sure that you have all the equipment you will need to hand and that there is good, natural lighting available.

• Find your creative time and ask that other people don’t disturb you.

• If you find that you suffer from writer’s block, have a break and return to your work when you feel refreshed.

• Divide your work into short periods. Also, don’t be afraid to write in the wrong order: if you are struggling move on to something else. This is no problem when you use the cut and paste facility on your computer. Brainstorm each chapter as a list and return to it when you feel comfortable writing.