Writers Guide To Write A Book

By Margaretha Combrinck

Learn everything you need to write a book. Everyone has a story to share. Tell your story to the world. Simple steps to follow. Write a book that sells and everyone will love. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Margaretha Combrinck
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201293789

Book preview

1)Writing requires knowledge

Knowledge, as in any other profession, is needed to write a book.  Writing is not just sitting down and putting your mind down on paper. You need skills to transform your work into a masterpiece. Different techniques are needed.  And it doesn't come naturally. It comes with knowledge and writing and writing again. You need to know the unique characteristics of each genre (story type) and what it has to comply with.

Any book must be planned. Stories such as murder stories has many tracks to follow and detail in the finest details must be told. Non-fiction books usually contain facts that need to be researched.

With this guideline, you will expand your knowledge of writing and you will learn about techniques and how to apply them.

Remember: writing is fun! It's a passion! Enjoy every moment of it. A writer is never fully trained in his profession. There's always something new to learn. Read others' works. Analyse it and learn from it.

2) Things to do before you start writing your book

Answer the following questions before you start writing your book.

Why do you write? Is it for fun, a hobby or to make money? Is this a passion that lets you write from your heart or is it just something you want to try?

What genre are you going to write your book in? Is it something you are acquainted with?

Do you know the structure of such a genre?

Why do you want to write in this genre?

What is the purpose of your book?

Who do you want to reach with your book?

Who is going to read it?

Did you do enough research about your book and the content?

Do you know when, where, how and why things happen your book?

What is the theme of your book?

What is the idea of your book? Just as a nice book to read/ to give information or knowledge to your reader/ to relax your reader/ to take your reader to another world or dimension/to learn something to your reader?

Who is your protagonist and antagonist? Why?

Do you have an idea what is going to happen to them?

Where is your story taking place?

When does your story took palace? Time, date, year.

Write a short synopsis of what you think your story is about. Give it to someone to read. Build on this to complete your story.

3) What is the purpose of your book. 

What is the meaning of your book?

What is your intention with it?

What do you want to achieve with you book?

Every book must have a purpose. The questions above are very important and must be answered before an author starts writing.

Why do you think people must read your book?

What will it give back to them?

If you don’t write this book, will it still not bring your message out to others or are there enough similar topics like yours?

Will your book be different from the others?

When a book has a purpose, readers finish the last page and feel the author has fulfilled his or her promises.

What is the main purpose of a book?

Inspire the reader, maybe to change.

Persuade the reader.

To share knowledge about something.

To inform readers about a topic or something.

To examine a particular issue/topic/theme.

Entertain. Just to let readers escape from reality like in fiction books.

What is the message of your book?

A story's message, or theme, is what the author wants to teach you through his or her writing. Some stories have a specific kind of message called a moral, or a life lesson. You can find the message of a story by looking at the characters' actions and focusing on what’s repeated throughout the story.

Decide what the book is about.

Good writing is always about something or someone. Write the theme of your book in a sentence, then stretch that out to a paragraph, and then to a one-page outline. After that, write a table of contents to help guide you as you write, then break each chapter into a few sections. Keep your theme and purpose in mind as you write.

Does your book have a purpose that promises to benefit your readers?

People must have a purpose in life to fulfil. If not, they are like a fading flower. The same with your book.

Your story must drive you to tell it to others.

Your story must have an impact on the lives of those who read it.

Your reader must ask: what will the benefit be for me by reading this book?

What will the outcome be that the author promises?

Create a statement as the purpose of your book.

What do you want to achieve with that? 

Who do you want to reach? 

Want to convince your reader of something? If so, what is the view here, because it will also determine your theme. Want to change his view or outlook on something or on life? Would you like to inform your reader about something or someone?

Do you merely want to entertain your reader with your book? 

Or does your book contain true events or facts?

4) Do research before you start to write

To sell a book, you have to do research even before you start writing.

Research the existing book market: see how your competitors in your genre are doing.

Research to validate your idea.

There's nothing more frustrating than writing a book and finding out later that no one will buy it. There are ways to make sure this does not happen to you. Write a book that sells.

Research who is your target market?

How many people might buy your book?

They say you must write a book YOU want to read- but actually, that doesn't work in reality. You have to write a book for others to read.

You need an audience for your book. This will be your market or target market.

Identify your readers: women/ men/ young adults and teens/ children?

How many potential readers exist for your book?

To be successful, you must have a market that produces enough book sales to reach your goals.

More readers lead to more buys, sales, and more money.

Make a profile of your readers. Demographics. Habits. Lifestyle. Income. Interests. Etc.

Let's take a book for women. Women are the biggest buyer of books, and they also love to buy books as a gift for someone.

If a woman writes a memoir on her motorcycle tours- she must try to target ALL bikers- not only women. She has to bring in things men would be interested in too. If she writes only for women, can you see how narrow her target market is? What about the people who always dreamed of becoming a biker? How can she get them involved?

If you write a novel: what can you include in the story to broaden your target market? Think about elderly people living with their kids; individuals touched by suicide; parents with gay children; singles who adopt pets as children; parents with teenagers in the house.

If you write a book, how you can broaden your target market? Bring it into your synopsis for them to see.

Or single moms: this narrows your market to only single moms. But what if you also target all moms? Or include the moms who aren't single but have a husband who works away from home?

Remember, market interest change quickly like the fashion world. Stay up to date with what people are looking for and what interests they have.

Your title will be determining who your target market will be.

Google keywords or ask questions to get information on your target market. Example: How many motorcycle owners in South Africa? Or look into motorcycle forums, blogs, associations. Research how many people search for your book idea/genre/topic/etc.

Look in bookstores or Amazon for bestseller ranks: what's the genre, topic, idea, title.

Know your target market size: then evaluate your idea with that market in mind.

Example: a self-help book for women. This narrows your target market. But what if you realize men, leaders, and corporate readers can also benefit from this book and not only women!

If you write a memoir (a book about your life experiences), do not focus on one life aspect/theme/or plot. Your target market must not only be your friends and family. Write your life story so that others would benefit and enjoy it.

Ask yourself: how can you improve or change your book to reach a bigger market?

Write to your MARKET!

Target your new and enlarged market.

What does it take to make a book a good idea?

You must love your topic/genre/idea - if YOU don't like it- who will?

You must be passionate about it - will your readers also be?

You must write a book that is discoverable; has a unique positioning. Your book must be unique.

Your book must be without hordes of competition. Toady readers can choose through millions of books. If you write a book about How to lose weight, your book will never be discovered in the sea of other books on the same topic. You must choose another title or write something other than the books on the same idea.

Tips for Writing:

Do research about your target market before you start writing.

Keep your target market in mind

Plan and outline your book.

Choose a bestselling title.

Choose a stunning book cover.

Write a good book description or synopsis. This will give your reader an idea of what your book is about and if they are interested.

Get professional editing. Don't give your readers bland or boring content with lots of errors.

5) Meaning of Words in Writing.

If you are a beginner-writer, there are going to be many new words or terms that you may not know what it means. Learn what it means to understand your writing better.

Protagonist: main character

Antagonist: opponent. Just below your main character. Make the life of your main character difficult.

Genre: type / story. Each has its own writing style and characteristics.

Narrative of your story: narrative you are the narrator.

Exposition to the story: background.

Plot: this is the turning point of your story. Walks with your intrigues. It is the course of the story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means.

Intrigues: are a secret plot. It’s complex situations (events) that a writer devises and on which his story is based, also called knot of a story. The developments that occur e.g. utilizing a cunning drug / kidney to make a character achieve his purpose (convoluted) or an illicit love affair (in novel). Intrigue is the order in which events are organized. This leads to a denouement at the end. This particular sequence of events is used to create tension / increase conflict / to keep things quiet. Intrigue is to conceive or carry out a secret plan intended to harm, to form a plot or scheme.

Story is WHAT happens; plot is HOW does it happen? It makes your reader curious to read further.

Narrator's point of view (POV): that is, who's telling the story. A I person or third person (you will learn more about this later)

Dialogue: that's when a character talks, usually with a second person /object.

Monologue: what character thinks.

Manuscript: it's the

Reviews for Writers Guide To Write A Book

[Ojih Anthonia Avwerosuoghene · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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[adebayo noah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is very informative,most importantly for beginners, I couldn't ask for more.

[Estelle Diederiks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It does a great job learning how to write a book. It covered all the basics about writing a book. Easy reading and very informative. This book was a great help.