When your done writing your first book. Set it aside then write another one. Then when your done with that one then you can go back and start editing one of them. Then when your done editing that one, start writing something new. Then edit your last book you've written. This way you will always have something to "work on" Do this and you will never run out of "Work"
1. Always include a sliver of truth to fiction, and you have the secret ingredient of relatability.
2. Start writing. Don't over think it.
3. Be honest, even about your darkest emotions. Express it through a character, and you'll find an amazing release.
4. Use actions rather than explanations. Readers want to live the moment with your characters.
5. Edit until the cows come home, once you have that all valuable first draft.
When people ask me how to start their first book, I always say pick up a pen or turn on your laptop.
It may seem obvious to the others who have written and published. However, we must all start somewhere to accomplish our dream of being a writer. It doesn't matter if your writing is awful, incoherent or dishevelled. The fact you have written it down means you are on your way. Never give up. Keep writing. When I started my first book, "For the Love of Murder: A Miscarriage of Justice!" it took me a little over nine years to complete because I kept giving in to indecision and self-doubt. My second novel took me exactly twelve months to complete and will be available on Amazon this week. The links will be provided here—the moral of my advice. Never give up, and keep writing.
There's no secret formula to follow, what works for one author may not work for another. Be prepared to spend hours on promotion until you find what works. Find a few promotional sites with longevity and a good reputation. Crave Books, Fussy Librarian, The Romance Studio, All Author are just a few that work for me.
It's never too late to chase your dreams. I was 50 when I got my first book published, thanks to the encouragement of my family. That was 45 books ago!
Write from inspiration.
Don't isolate yourself from family.
When there's a writers block find events or something you've always wanted to do. It clears the mind.
Like studying for a test in college, never write beyond 8 hours in a given day. Writers burnout.
Let the writing come to you.
Successfully marketing your book to the leadership community requires a targeted approach that focuses on providing valuable content, building credibility, and leveraging relevant platforms. By understanding the specific needs and interests of the leadership community, you can tailor your marketing efforts to effectively reach and engage with this audience. Here are five book marketing tips and insights, specifically tailored to reaching the leadership community:
1. Define Your Target Audience: To effectively market your book to the leadership community, it's crucial to clearly define your target audience within this community. Consider the specific subgroups or niches within leadership, such as executives, entrepreneurs, or aspiring leaders. Understanding their interests, challenges, and aspirations will help you tailor your marketing messages and reach the right people.
2. Leverage Thought Leadership Platforms: Position yourself as a thought leader by utilizing various platforms that cater to the leadership community. Start by creating a blog or website where you can share valuable insights, practical advice, and thought-provoking content related to leadership. Engage in guest posting on influential leadership blogs, contribute articles to relevant publications, and actively participate in leadership-focused forums and communities.
3. Build an Author Platform: Establishing a strong online presence as an author is essential for marketing your book to the leadership community. Create profiles on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter, where many leaders actively engage. Share valuable content, engage with your audience, and build relationships with influencers and industry experts. Consider hosting webinars or virtual events focused on leadership topics to further establish your expertise.
4. Seek Endorsements and Reviews: Endorsements and positive reviews from recognized leaders in the industry can significantly boost your book's credibility and attract the attention of the leadership community. Reach out to influential leaders, industry experts, and fellow authors who align with your book's themes and request endorsements or reviews. Offer them a complimentary copy of your book and express how their support will help impact and inspire other leaders.
5. Participate in Leadership Conferences and Events: Engaging in leadership conferences, industry events, and workshops provide a great opportunity to connect with your target audience directly. Attend these events as a speaker, panelist, or exhibitor, and leverage the platform to showcase your book. Offer special discounts or promotions for attendees, distribute promotional materials, and engage in networking to build relationships with potential readers and collaborators.
The first thing that an aspiring writer needs to know is identity;the second thing that a writer needs to know is the specific reality that gives birth to the elements of the equality:that is definition is general choice while discretion is unknown productivity and known discernment only imagines reality to acknowledged visible and invisible inspirational qualities. Therefore the writer must have a goal (1) to advance methodology in how utility is correlated. (2) to guide theology in rational interests. (3) to draw perspectives from facts; objectivity and meaning witnesses two confounding variables; (4) comfortable reflection, and (5) evident reporting: These are compassionate events that describe compassion as a marketing guild created to focus the guide in future written expeditions of art, noted crafts that predict the practice itself, which eliminates confirmation bias.
(1)When I am driving, I am in my most thoughtful and meditative state of mind. The voice in my head wants to be heard, and some of it is pure gold, some is garbage. I use a dictation app to capture my thoughts. I find that by taking out the process of typing, conjugating and editing my thoughts stay better on track.
(2)When I read books by others, I pay attention to how they develop characters, plots, etc. I remember what works well and what does not. From this practice, I hone my own skills regarding these elements.
(3)When writing, I do well in cool, quiet places. (4)When editing, I can be in a busy environment. I can hear music. (5)When I have 'writers block', I pause to sort M&Ms. I often have a bag of M&Ms on hand and I eat them by color; first all the reds, then the blues, yellows, and so on. The process of sorting often gets the words flowing before I run out of colors.
1. Listen at least as much as you write. Writing without listening to the people, elements and sensations around you is preaching. I listen to my world constantly, with all my senses and sensibilities. I find I don’t learn much when I’m doing all the talking.
2. Don’t get bogged down with rules or guidelines that may apply to others but not you. There’s no magic number of words or minutes you must write per day, no standard length a chapter or a book should be, no words you should never use. Trust your rhythms and instincts. Avoid absolutes like must, always, or never.
3. Reject sabotaging language. The lexicon of writing and publishing is fraught with negatives like rejection, writer’s block, false start. Reframe these energy drainers as tools. Rejection is a favor from a publisher who wasn’t going to do right by your work — a bullet dodged. Writer’s block is an invitation to take time to refill your creative well, consider directions previously unexplored. There’s no such thing as a false start, but there are warm-ups, practice, creative experimentation, freewriting. I frequently remind myself to not be my own biggest obstacle.
4. Dream in stages. All writing starts with a sentence. Sentences become paragraphs, paragraphs form scenes, scenes make up chapters, and the totality of the chapters renders a book. To miss the joy of creating beautiful sentences that then flow into paragraphs, and on to scenes, etc. is, to me, to miss the point of writing at all.
5. Don’t compartmentalize your writing. A wise mentor many years ago wrote these word to live by: “Expand your definition of what it means ‘to be writing’ if your definition doesn’t include daydreaming, false starts, walks in the woods, reading or watching a bird. You can be ‘working on a piece’ in many different ways.”
[This is condensed from my interview with Authority magazine titled Five Things You Need to Know to Become a Great Author. Also available on my blog The Writer by Starlight.]
1. Write from the heart
2. Try and imagine how you would feel in the characters situations
3. If you’re experiencing writers block, don’t give up! Everyone gets stuck sometimes, you just have to take a break and clear your mind before writing again.
4. Writing is about emotion, ideas, and beliefs. It’s about conveying your thoughts from your mind to a reader, not creating an action-packed scene just for shock value. Unless if you’re Shakespeare, then you can do both.
5. Read, read, read. A good writer wouldn’t know how to write if they hadn’t read the books to influence them first.
1. Find a place to write.
2. Set it up the way you want.
3. Keep it for yourself no matter what.
4. Try to write a little bit every day at least five days a week.
5. Read everything you can.
Eat a healthy meal whenever you have accrued 7 hours of writing. This law was created by Yahshua who was taught writing by Allah. Surah Al-Ma'idah - 110 [The Day] when Allāh will say, "O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit [i.e., the angel Gabriel] and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and [remember] when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind [from birth] and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, "This is not but obvious magic."
Set aside time to write every day and pick time that you are only focused on your writing.
Write all ideas down in a journal. Even if you think they aren't great ideas, you can turn them into great ideas to a new story. If you experience writer's block, put things aside and take time for yourself to just relax, regroup, and come back to it later.
Write about topics that you love and use your creative mind to make them great. I write my ending to the story before I write the whole book so that in my mind I know where the flow of the story needs to take me. I also choose a title to the book after the story is completed and try to match the title to a summary of what the book is most focused on.
I found that it is important to create your characters and keep notes on each of them so that it stays consistent throughout your book. I noticed I spelled the name differently in the book and did not notice that, and Grammarly is what I used wouldn't pick that up because technically it isn't spelled wrong. Proofread many times before submitting it for final. Happy writing everyone!
1. Write what you love
2. If you're able - write the genre which is popular - this method is not always certain.
3. Home work. Research your characters - their careers, their medical history, even their clothing and cars. - Readers pick up on what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to certain topics.
4. If you think you are finished your manuscript, put it aside for a couple of weeks then go back over it. You will pick up mistakes, typos and rewrite paragraphs. Or change chapters. Look at it with fresh eyes.
5. Bad reviews are wasted words. Most of the bad one-or-two-star reviews are trolls copying and pasting a standard scripted paragraph to make you look bad. Did they even buy your book or read it? Never take a bad review to heart. If it is a real review - what are the positives to it? Or maybe use it to your advantage in your social media posts. Turn it around and make a negative to a positive and create new sales