How to Write a Book: The Ultimate Guide (with Free Book Idea Worksheet!)

How to Write a Book: The Ultimate Guide (with Free Book Idea Worksheet!)

You want to write a book. Maybe you have a great story idea. Maybe you have a big idea you want to share with the world. Maybe people have told you, “Your life should be made into a book!” But first, you have to learn how to write a book.

The problem for the first-time author is figuring out how to get started. What are the writing habits you need to finish the actual writing for an entire book? And what comes next: traditional publishing? Self-publishing? Becoming a New York Times bestselling book?

Because after coaching thousands of writers to write and finish their books, and also writing fifteen books of my own, I know exactly how much hard work it takes to finish a book.

It’s not enough to want to write, you need to know how to write a book.

You need to have the right process. The write process, you might say (sorry, I had to!).

In this guide, we’re going to learn everything about how to write a nonfiction book, from how to defeat procrastination and find writing time, all the way to revising and the editing process—and even to the publishing process.

If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, whether a memoir, a big idea book, or a self help book, you’re in the right place.

If, on the other hand, you’re a fiction writer and have a main character who you know is going to take the world by storm, we have a complete guide on novel writing here. For you nonfiction writers, though, read on for all our best writing tips.

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises

Want to become a better writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing assignments, or maybe you’d like to start a popular blog.

If you want to write better, you need practice. But what does a writing practice actually look like? In this post, I’m going to give you everything you need to kick off your writing practice and become a better writer faster.

What Is Liminality in Literature?

What Is Liminality in Literature?

Chuck Wendig says writing the middle of a novel is the hardest part. He calls it the Mushy Middle. Others call it the Sagging Middle. Or even the Middle-of-the-Novel Mud.

Many writers know how to begin their story and how it will end, but what’s supposed to happen in the middle?

Finish Writing Your Book: 3 Big Reasons Holding You Back

Finish Writing Your Book: 3 Big Reasons Holding You Back

Do you struggle to finish writing your book, or really anything you start? If you said  yes, you’re not alone. In a poll we conducted (with real people!), seventy-two percent gave us the same answer.

Finishing writing projects can be tough! That doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

Here’s an important truth: you don’t have to be the next Ernest Hemingway or Stephen King in order to finish writing a book. It’s possible for you to find the writing time you need. But before you tackle your creative project, it’s worth examining why you haven’t been able to finish your story idea in the past.

In this article, I’m going to share three giant reasons most writers don’t finish writing their books—and how you can carve out everything you need to complete your current project.

Book Writing Strategies: 10 Book Writing Tactics that End in Failure

Book Writing Strategies: 10 Book Writing Tactics that End in Failure

Do you have trouble finishing a book? When you stop, do you ever consider what causes writer’s block—what caused your writer’s block or reason to stop writing?

In a recent YouTube video, I talked about how hard it is to write a book, how it took me years to write a book, and how I hear from writers on a daily basis who are struggling with the writing process.

The good news, you don’t have to be alone when you get stuck like this.

Today, I want to talk about why it’s hard to finish a book. Specifically, I’ll cover ten things that people try when they’re struggling to finish writing a book that don’t work—and why this ends in giving up on a book, or paralyzes them due to writer’s block.