Want to write a book? It’s more than just typing.

You’ll love this article from the WSJ, How to Write a Great Novel: Junot Diaz, Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood and Other Authors Tell – WSJ.com, in which many writers tell you how they write.

Excellent tips for new writers..

I especially liked this quote from Hilary Mantel:

“British novelist Hilary Mantel likes to write first thing in the morning, before she has uttered a word or had a sip of coffee. She usually jots down ideas and notes about her dreams. ‘I get very jangled if I can’t do it,’ she says.

She’s an obsessive note taker and always carries a notebook. Odd phrases, bits of dialogue and descriptions that come to her get tacked to a 7-foot-tall bulletin board in her kitchen; they remain there until Ms. Mantel finds a place for them in her narrative.”

Writing is the first thing I do every day too.

BTW, if you haven’t read Wolf Hall; read it. It’s wonderful. I’ve always been prejudiced against novels written in the second person, but in Wolf Hall, it works.

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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.

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Want to write a book? It’s a process, and once you see how simple the process is, it will motivate you to write. Here it is in a nutshell.

1. Start With a Blurb: a Short Description

You need a blurb. Think of it as the anchor for your book. Go to a bookstore, and start reading the back cover material on books. This material is called a “blurb”, and it’s a description of your book.

However, it’s a description written in an interesting and intriguing way — essentially it’s promotional.

Before you start any book, you should write the blurb. You need to know what the book is about. It’s always amazing to me when I asked somebody what their book is about, and they can’t tell me. If you don’t have a handle on your book before you start writing, then you’re unlikely to complete it.

Expect writing your blurb to take time. Take as long as you need. It’s very much easier to change your blurb than it is to change your book when you’ve written 200 pages. Aim to write a blurb that is around 100 words long and which encapsulates exactly what you want to say in your book.

2. Outline Your Book: It Will Change As You Write

Your next step is to outline your book. Your blurb should make this relatively easy. Don’t worry about creating a fancy outline as you were taught in English class; a list will do just fine.

3. Write the First Chapter

Once you’ve completed the outline, write the first chapter. Write this chapter straight through. Don’t stop for anything, you need to keep up your forward momentum.

4. Create a Book Proposal

Now you’ve written the outline and first chapter, it’s time to sell your book.

You do this by creating a book proposal. All professional writers sell their books on proposals; this saves a lot of time and energy. Publishers would rather read proposals than read a complete manuscript (in fact most publishers won’t read a manuscript).

When you sell your book on proposal you have enough money to live on while you write the book.

Want to write a book? Angela Booth’s “Write More” class will help you to get your book written fast.

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.

Do you use mind mapping as you’re writing your book? I’m an avid mind mapper — I tend to think in mind maps, after using them daily for many years.

NovaMind’s (mind mapping software developer) latest newsletter contained this snippet:

Author makes over $500,000 using NovaMind; eagerly awaiting NovaMind 5

Juan Gómez-Jurado uses NovaMind Mind Mapping software to write his books…and apparently it is working out rather well for him, seeing as he has sold over a million copies of his book “God’s Spy”, and has also received over half a million dollars for his last book.

If you’re not using mind maps, get acquainted with them and start using them — they can help you at all stages of writing your books, or of doing anything else.

What can you use mind maps for?

* Every stage of the writing process

* To do lists

* Thinking — discovering what you really think about something

* Planning

* Studying

* Fun

* Presentations, speeches

* ???

Everyone’s an individual, so you’ll find your own unique processes for using mind maps. As stated, I use them every day, usually I draw them on index cards, and use the iSight camera in my iMac to transfer them to my computer — EverNote does this in just one second.

(If you’re an iPhone/ iPod touch user, watch for NovaMind’s new iBlueSky mind mapping for the iPhone.)

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.