How To Self-Publish The Book That’s Inside Of You

According to the New York Times, 81 percent of people say that they have at least one book in them.

That means it’s quite likely that you have a story idea that you’ve been considering for a while, maybe years.

Well now is the perfect time to write that story and publish it – not only because now is always a good time to start fulfilling your dreams, but also because with so many people being stuck at home because of the coronavirus scare that is still affecting us all, you may well be looking for something to keep you busy.

Background

Self-publishing has been on the rise for several years now, and there are no signs of it slowing down.

In fact, people are reading more now than ever before – and it’s never been easier to publish a successful book.

Digital publishing paved the way, but with the advent of print-on-demand services, offered by companies such as Amazon, the sky really is the limit.

And there is no shortage of self-publishing success stories, as you can see from these examples:

• Amanda Hocking has written over 20 novels while working full time. She self-published all of them as e-books and sold more than a million copies.
• Barbara Freethy, a romance author, has sold more than 2,000,000 books, writing about the Callaway family.
• Bella Andre, another romance author, has sold more than a million copies of her novels about the Sullivan family.
• Erika Leonard (better known as E.L. James) has sold more than 70 million copies of her “Fifty Shades” trilogy worldwide. She also sold the movie rights to her book, increasing her sales and profits.

What about you? Will you be the next big self-publishing success story?

Who knows? You may be the next self-published author to make it big, see your novel purchased by mainstream publishers, and turned into a movie!

I have a friend, Kevin Ashman, who was self-publishing when I first met him, but within a year or so, he gave up his day job to write full-time, and is now one of Amazon’s own authors, so I know it can be done. And his books, by the way, are really good (many remind me of Desmond Bagley, one of my all-time favourite adventure story writers).

Sounds pretty fun, right?

So, let’s get started with the basics.

Finding Your Fiction Idea

Most aspiring writers have a genre in mind before they begin writing – you already know what you enjoy reading and where your imagination takes you, so it makes sense to write a book in that same genre.

If you don’t have a genre in mind just yet, here are some to consider:

• Children’s
• Crime/Detective
• Fantasy and Urban Fantasy
• Horror
• Literary Fiction
• Mystery
• Poetry (including Haiku)
• Post-Apocalyptic
• Romance
• Science fiction
• Suspense/Thriller
• Western
• Young Adult

Each of these genres can have a subgenre. For example, there are young adult Fantasy books, and romance stories that are set in the Wild West. And there are literary fiction novels that are suspenseful, set in the past, or contemporary.

Why Is Choosing A Genre Important?

Your genre is important because readers tend to stick to their genre. For example, romance readers read romance, and horror fans read horror.

This loyalty gives you an opportunity to learn about your readers and write specifically for them.

Also, by choosing a genre, you can study similar books and look for patterns and rules.

For example, did you know that in a:

• mystery, you are supposed to introduce the villain in the first thirty pages?
• romance, the hero and heroine have to meet in the first three chapters or thirty pages?

If you already have a story idea, that’s fantastic.

What genre is it in, and where does it fit?

If you’re not sure, then head to the bookstore and start reading the back of books in a few genres that you are considering and look for concepts that match your own. That’s your genre.

What If You Don’t Have A Story Idea?

For a writer, there’s nothing more common or frustrating than sitting down to a computer only to stare at a blank page.

Welcome to the world of writing!

If you don’t have a story idea, don’t worry about it, because an idea will come to you.

Here are a few fun ways to find inspiration:

• Read fiction: Some of the best ideas have been inspired by reading fiction or something from a favorite genre.
• Leverage writing prompts: the Internet is packed with writing prompts and books about these helpful little starter ideas.
• Play “what if”: Start with a tiny idea. For example, a woman is driving down the street. Now ask yourself “what if?” What if she gets into an accident? What if there’s a man in the back of her car? What if she sees something she’s not supposed to? This game can help create exciting plots.
• Start writing longhand: Sometimes the computer screen can feel daunting, so grab a pencil and a notebook and start writing whatever comes to mind. You might end up journalling a bit, as you write, and that’s okay. You might also find creative inspiration.
• Watch movies: The idea here, of course, is not to copy what you see but to use the movies as inspiration for something new. Maybe you want to take a particular minor character and develop a story around just them. Or maybe you could base your book on what happens next – after the movie ends.

How Do You Get Started With Your Story Idea?

Once you have a story idea you’ll want to decide what approach to take, and there are two basic approaches to writing a story:

1. Plotting
2. Pantsing

Good old-fashioned plotting is where you sit down and create an outline of your story – you know what happens in the beginning, the middle, and the end, you know what the climax of the story is, and you plan exactly when it’s going to happen.

Some plotters outline every scene before they actually begin writing.

Pantsing, on the other hand, is the opposite of plotting, and the name is a shorthand version of “writing by the seat of your pants”.

It means that you sit down at your computer and you just start writing, with the plot unfolding as you write and each scene may even surprise you.

Plotter, Pantser, Or Somewhere In Between?

There is actually a third option and it’s where many people find themselves most comfortable.

You may have a loose idea about the plot and story arc, but what you don’t have is a formal outline or a scene-by-scene plan.

There really is no right or wrong way to approach your book or fiction material – you simply need to write in a way that feels most productive to you.

For example, you may find that writing with a structured outline feels too rigid and slow.

When I wrote my one and only action novel, Ring Of Daggers, I followed a process created by Steve Manning that was incredibly detailed in terms of the outline. For me, it was good because I may not have written the book without it because it gave me rules to follow, but I also accept that it can easily lead to a story that is too flat and one-dimensional, which is why I wouldn’t use that technique again.

Others find that without a plan, they tend to stare at blank screens because they have no idea what to do with the next scene.

As with so much in life, your best option is to try different approaches – try outlining your plot and try writing by the seat of your pants, and see which works best for you.

What’s more important than your plotting approach is your day-to-day writing approach, so let’s look at how to plan your writing.

How To Plan Your Writing

Did you know that if you write 500 words a day, you’d have written a book in about five months?

The average book length is between 70,000 and 100,000 words, although it does vary by genre.

And 500 words is about two double-spaced pages.

You can write two pages a day, right?

You can probably write more than that. Is 1,000 doable? If so, you’ll have a book in about 70 days.

As an aside, when I’m free-writing, it takes me between 10 and 15 minutes to crank out 750 words. Granted, I am simply typing what comes into my head, which I accept is faster, but you should still be able to write 1,000 words in an hour if you have a good idea of where your story is heading.

Planning your writing requires a few key elements.

The first is to set a daily writing goal, and there are two ways to approach your daily writing goal:

1. Word count goal – For example, write 1,000 words a day.
2. Time goal – For example, write for an hour.

Here’s another situation where you may want to try both to see which best suits your needs and writing style.

For example, you may be able to write 1,000 words in twenty minutes, but if you have more time in the day to write, then an hour a day may be a better goal because you’ll get more accomplished.

Another option is to set yourself a mini-habit – which can be really tiny, such as writing for five minutes or writing just 50 words. This strategy works because it’s easy to do, and once you actually start, you may well find that you keep going beyond that target.

The key thing to remember here is that, when you self-publish, there are no rules about how long your book should be.

However, don’t forget that you’re writing for your audience and they do have preferences. You can look at a dozen books in your chosen genre and average the word count.

You might notice, for example, that fantasy books tend to be longer than mysteries and that young adult books tend to be around 60,000 to 70,000 words. This information can help you set your writing goals too, especially if you have a publication date in mind.

You can also find plenty of articles on the Internet that will give you typical word counts by genre, such as this one.

By the way, if you have a publication date in mind, make sure that your first draft is completed at least one month beforehand, because you’ll still need to edit and format it, and create a cover, before it can be published.

Another element that will help you is to create a supportive writing environment.

Some people need to write in complete silence, while others write more effectively when they’re surrounded by strangers and noise.

Some write better in the morning, and others prefer the dark of night.

When striving to find your best writing time and environment think about:

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