Want to get published? Here’s a tip, if you’re writing a novel: pick a genre.

In the four years since I wrote this blog post, First Steps To Write A Novel: Pick A Genre, I’ve had several ill-informed comments from unpublished writers who think they know how to write and sell.

That’s fine — when you’re writing a book, it’s your book, so do what you please.

But it’s advice you should consider if you’re serious about writing a book and getting published.

You can even create your own genre, as Mary Higgins Clark has done, over many years.

As this article, Mary Higgins Clark: The Case of the Best-Selling Author – WSJ.com, points out:

“Ms. Clark has perfected a formula that appeals to a broad swath of mystery readers, 70% of whom are women. Her novels feature beautiful, intelligent women in danger, who often orchestrate their own escapes. Her heroines tend to be ambitious, self-made professionals—doctors, lawyers, journalists, interior designers. “

Why pick a genre? Essentially, because readers want what they want, and they want certain types of books at certain times. Paranormal novels are a genre, which Amanda Hocking has mined to the tune of $4 million in a year.

Suspense, romance (and its many sub-genres), science fiction, mystery etc are all genres.

If you’re a new writer, writing in a genre may seem to constrain you, however those boundaries can teach you how to write — and if you’re serious about writing fiction, it’s something you need to learn.

Books surpass their genres to become mainstream bestsellers every year. So just write the best book you can.

The Write A Book Collection — the ultimate toolbox for writing and selling your books

These days it’s crazy to spend years writing a book, without having any idea as to whether or not you can make money from it. If you want to write, you can – you have a global market, which is hungry for information and entertainment. And YOU can provide it… even if you’re a brand new author.

As you may know, I write and sell many writing guides. I also sell information products in many other areas than writing.

I want to show you how you can do the same, if you wish. Your dreams of writing a book can be the spark which changes your life.

I’ve collected everything I know about writing and selling your books into my brand new Write A Book Collection: it’s the ultimate toolbox for anyone who wants to write and sell books in 2010 and beyond.

Do you want to write a book? Let’s look at three tips which will help you to success.

1. Write What You Know

“Write what you know” is time-honored advice which is given to many writers. Of course, you’re not limited to what you know from personal experience, you can do research.

However the closer your book is to your own experiences in life, the easier it will be to write, and the greater the likelihood that you will be published. Having experience in an area makes you credible to publishers.

This applies to fiction as well as nonfiction. For example, if you’re writing a novel about a medical examiner, then it’s advisable to get some experience in this area before you start writing about it.

Similarly, if you’re writing nonfiction, if you want to write about parenting it’s best to start out by being a parent — or at least an academic who’s done studies on parenting.

2. Write What People Want to Buy

Is your idea sales-worthy? It can be hard to estimate what will sell, because the books which are currently on the bestseller list were written 2 to 5 years ago. However, you can learn a lot from bestseller lists in general. Study the bestseller lists, and visit your local bookshop as often as you can.

Books which sell have a great deal in common: they’re written about topics that people care about. And again, this applies in both fiction and nonfiction.

Try using Google’s keyword research tool, to check how many searches there are on the topic of your book. If there are no searches, or just a meager four searches a month, this means that your topic isn’t of general interest, and it will be just about impossible to get publishers interested.

3. Sell Your Book Before You Write It

This tip applies only to nonfiction. If you’re writing a novel, you’ll have to complete your book before publishers will agree to give you a contract. (However, looking on bright side, if you do get a contract, it may well be a multi-book contract.)

If you’re writing nonfiction, write three chapters, and an outline of your book, and then try to sell it. Most nonfiction is sold on the basis of a proposal, which includes an overview of the book, a marketing plan, and several chapters and an outline.

Write more – become a pro writer

Yes, you can write more and become an expert writer – even if you’re a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them – they’re not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you’re struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you’ll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

Create the perfect writing business: become an ebook entrepreneur

Stop trading hours for money. You can remove the blocks on your income with my ebook-creators package. You discover my secrets, developing over years of writing and selling information products.

Ebooks and other information products are HOT. If you can write, you’re golden. Get started creating your ebook empire today.

Want to write a book? If you do, you need to decide from the outset whether you’ll sell it yourself, or will offer it to publishers. Although a book publishing credit is highly valuable, it can also be a way of losing money.

This is because the majority of published authors fail to make any profit on their books, when you consider the time and energy they invest in the process. However, if they understood the benefits and downsides to choosing a publishing method, they’d make a profit.

1. Is Book Publishing Profitable?

Sadly, for 95 per cent of authors it’s not. Here’s how it works:

* You spend one to two years writing a book and selling it (licensing it, in reality) to a publisher for an advance on royalties;

* You spend a couple of years waiting for your book to earn out, and start earning royalties… if indeed the book ever earns out.

If you add up all the time this takes, and estimate an hourly rate for published authors, you’d make more money serving burgers and fries at the golden arches.

Of course, a lucky few authors (very few), do hit the bestseller lists and make great money.

2. The Benefits of Writing a Book and Having It Published by a Major Publisher

I say “benefits” but there’s really only one benefit, and it’s this: credibility. A publishing credit legitimizes you as a professional writer. It will help you to sell your writing, and writing services, for years to come. It establishes your writing career, as nothing else can.

2. The Downsides to Writing a Book and Having It Published by a Major Publisher

* You spend months and years in publishing limbo.

You wait for an agent to get back to you… you wait for your editor to get back to you…

If you’re a successful, published writer, this won’t matter much. You’ve got lots of other projects in various stages of completion, so you won’t notice these long delays.

If you’re a new writer, the delays can kill your career, because you’ll become depressed and downhearted, which means your writing suffers. You’re too busy waiting to do what you should be doing, which is writing.

* You lose money.

If a book idea is hot enough for a publishing house to give you a contract, the book idea is worth money. Guess who makes the bulk of the profits?

While you’re waiting for your book to be published, you could be selling it yourself, and earning an income. The time you spend waiting equals money you’ll never get back.

3. Make the Choice Early

It’s up to you which publishing method you choose. For many authors, writing a book and self-publishing, whether electronically or by Print on Demand (POD) is the best option — but only you can decide. But if you want to write a book and make it profitable, you must decide.

Write more: kick start your book

Yes, you can write more and kick start your book – even if you’re a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them – they’re not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you’re struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you’ll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

Are you wondering how you’ll make money while you’re writing a book? Since the writing can take several years, you need ways to survive while you’re writing. Even more importantly, you need creative ways to build buzz, so that there are eager readers waiting for your book long before it hits the bookstore shelves.

Let’s look at three ways in which you can not only make money while you’re writing your book, you can also market it. Your innovative marketing skills will make your book more attractive to a publisher, so you may even get a book contract long before your book is finished.

By the way: here’s a big tip. Realize that marketing your book is always up to you. Publishers do not market for you. While they may pay for author tours for prospective bestsellers for which they’ve paid million dollar advances, 99 per cent of authors market their books themselves. Before a publisher gives you a contract, your editor will want to see your marketing plan for your book.

Hence, if you’ve been marketing your book from the beginning, you’re much more attractive to a publisher.

1. Publish your book on your blog while you’re writing

I’ve written about blogging your book many times, so I won’t go over the same ground again: it’s essential. Moreover, your blog can earn income for you as you use it for promotion.

2. Publish magazine articles based on your book while you’re writing

Another way to build buzz for your book is to write magazine articles based on it. All magazines give you a byline, and a mini bio, in which you can say something like: “Sara Jane Masterson-Edwards currently hard at work on a book tentatively titled ________. Read her blog at _________.”

When you find checks from magazines in your mailbox every month or two, they help to defray your costs as you write, and of course they build buzz for your book, making you irresistible to publishers.

3. Publish ebooks based on your book while you’re writing

Finally consider whether you can publish ebooks based on the topic of your book while you’re writing it. Hint: fiction doesn’t sell well, so rather than publishing a chapter of your mystery novel as an ebook, publish an ebook using the research for your novel, viz: “Ten Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft”. or “49 Clever Ways to Market Your Book.”

Your ebook spin-offs may surprise you: you may make more money from your ebooks than you eventually do for your book.

OK — there you have three great ways to make money while you’re writing your book, and to generate buzz too.

Discover how to make money online in your spare time with Angela Booth’s Sell Your Writing Online NOW training Not only will you discover how to write and sell ebooks, you’ll get complete training in how the Web works, so you can take advantage of the unlimited opportunities.

For free weekly writing tips sent to your Inbox, subscribe to Angela’s Fab Freelance Writing Ezine and receive “Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report” immediately.

Novels take commitment. A book you can read in three hours can take anywhere from three months to three years to write.

Here’s a cute idea for you if you can’t get started writing: use Twitter.

How to Start a Twitter Novel suggest a plan to write a “Twitter novel”:

“1. Throw Out The Manuscript

Twitter is instantaneous. Serializing a manuscript may be easy, but trying to contract and make logical sense of it in 140 character bursts is not. By doing this, you limit the flexibility that Twitter grants in presenting your fiction. Start fresh.”

Now, of itself, a Twitter novel may be close to useless. However, it can provide you with inspiration to write if you outline your “real” novel 140 characters a time in Twitter.

Responses from your followers will help.

Recession-proof your freelance writing career

“Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” gives you all the tools you need for a thriving writing career, no matter what the economic climate.

Three weeks after completing the class one student wrote:

“Thanks Angela, for all your help and advice in class. I’m quitting my job next week. I printed out my letter of resignation tonight after landing a contract writing job that will pay me more for three months part-time work than I earned in from my day job in the whole of 2007! You were right – the great gigs are out there, and now I’ve got the skills to land them. Your class opened my eyes. Bless you…”

“Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” shows you how to thrive as a freelance writer. Would you like to write five times more than you’re writing now, and sell to higher-paying markets? Take the class.