Dear Writer,
I have spoken with a few writers who aspire to be authors. Some have ideas for their books. Others want to write a book. But the questions are always the same:
“Where do I start?”
This is an important question because you won’t know where to go unless you know where you are starting from in your book. So, before we can answer that question, I have a question for you:
“Where are you at right now?”
I have learned from my conversations with other writers how we all start in different spots. Some people have written the first draft already. Others have an idea, but they haven’t tested it out anywhere. Others still don’t even have an idea, but they write online and want to write a book.
So, it’s essential to know where you are in the process. Otherwise, you won’t be able to start in the right place. So, today, I thought I would give you a behind-the-scenes look at how I start and then give you some insight into how you can too.
How I Start Writing My Books
I have a lot of ideas for books. There is an entire page in my Apple Notes with book ideas. That begin said, not all ideas are good book ideas. Not unless you know there is an audience for that topic.
I have four books published right now. One is about productivity (which I verified was a good idea from writing about on Medium). Two of my readers are Bible Study devotionals (I knew this was a good idea because Christians buy these all the time). My last one is about self-publishing books based on your Medium stories.
For my upcoming projects, I take an idea out of the bucket. I share some thoughts on social media. And I write a few posts about it on Medium and other platforms. One of them is a follow-up devotional, which I have confirmed does well based on prior devotional book sales.
It is vital to know that you have an idea that works. Otherwise, your book will fail.
How You Start Writing Your Book
What is your idea? Have you tested it out with your audience? Do you have an audience? If you have your idea and have tested it, you are ready to write. If you don’t have that idea yet, then do one of two things:
If you are a writer online already, what articles have done well regarding views, reads, likes, and shares? This is an excellent place to start.
If you aren’t writing online, sign up for a website like Medium, join the membership program, and start testing your topic.
I would highly suggest that you start sharing your idea online and see how it does. If it does well, you know you have a good chance of selling some books. If all your posts tank, you may want to abandon that idea.
Test driving ideas are essential when it comes to writing a book.
Final Thoughts
This is where you want to start. Focusing on your idea and making sure it does well will help set you up for self-publishing success.
If you have an idea but don’t know how to test drive it, feel free to comment on the Substack post!
Thanks for reading!
J.R. Heimbigner is a #1 Bestselling Author on Amazon who loves helping people grow in their faith and help writers become authors. You can connect with him on Medium, his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Substack!
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