Category: Uncategorised

Writing a novel isn’t easy – just ask Robert Harris.

But the author of Fatherland, Enigma and The Ghost has established himself as one of the world’s best-selling novelists through hard work and following a few golden rules.

The former journalist believes that valuable advice from three fellow writers has, for him at least, made the process of writing fiction all the more pleasurable and successful.

Harris, who has also written Pompeii, Archangel, and Munich, believes the wisdom of American novelist John Irving is his number one golden rule, and one that shouldn’t be ignored by any aspiring writer.

And he confesses it was the rule of planning that got him over the finishing line with his debut, Fatherland.

Harris explained: “John Irving maintains that any writer who embarks on a novel without knowing how it is going to end is a fool and a knave.

“A novel, he argues, recounts something that has already happened – therefore you cannot just make it up as you go along.

“This practical approach had a profound effect on me.

“Indeed, it enabled me to complete my first novel, Fatherland which, in classic rookie fashion, had trailed to a baffled halt somewhere around page 50.”

While planning the storyline is vital, according to Harris, finding your voice and style ahead of typing that first word can be just as important.

The advice offered by E L Doctrow still rings true with the Cambridge graduate.

Harris continued: “It was EL Doctorow who said you have to find the voice that allows you to write what you want to write.

“It’s a writer’s dirty little secret that language precedes the intentions.

“The shape and style of a novel is determined by the thought you give it beforehand – that the way you approach your material is at least as important, maybe more important, than the material itself.”

While Harris continues to observe the rules of plotting and planning, he admits a third rule, offered up by Philip Roth.

He concludes: “Have courage and remember the words of Philip Roth in 2003.

“Roth observed, when looking back on his career on his 70th birthday, that what you develop is a tolerance for your own crudeness.

“He said, stay with your crap and it will get better, and come back every day and keep going.”

Robert Harris’s new novel The Second Sleep is published by Hutchinson in September 2019.

Writing a good blurb is one of the most important ways to attract people to your book and encourage them to buy it.

Here, self-publishing writers can learn some tips on how to create a blurb that will help readers understand what your book is about and why they should buy it.

Firstly, what’s a blurb?

A blurb is a short description of your book.

Where does it go?

A blurb is often printed on the back cover of books, but much more importantly, it’s also the Product Description on Amazon and the other retailers.

What does it do?

You only have a few seconds to impress readers, so a blurb must quickly catch their attention and make them want to find out more.

How big should it be?

Ideally, up to 150 words.

What do I write?

Make it enticing. It’s not a book report, it’s an advertisement.

Keep it simple and avoid introducing too many characters as too many names can be confusing.

Stick with universal themes that people quickly identify with, like:

Love,

Revenge,

Desire,

Greed,

Mystery.

Well-written blurbs are easy on the eye, so avoid technical jargon and big words. Keep job titles as simple as possible, so teacher is good, but Educational Fulfillment Co-ordinator is bad!

How much of my plot should I reveal?

A good blurb is a bit of a tease!

People love a mystery and always want to know more. Introduce some intrigue so readers become curious. Give away enough to make people ask questions, but not enough to find answers – unless they buy your book!

Do I write about myself in the blurb?

No, unless it is relevant to the book content. Author information is usually separate.

Should I add good reviews to the blurb?

Yes, if you have them.

Choose the best parts of good reviews for your book, then add a line or two before and after your blurb.

If your book is part of a series, it’s good to mention this, but only towards the end of the blurb as you’ll want to use the beginning to ‘sell’ this book.

Need more help?

Imagine describing your book to someone you didn’t know and you only have a few minutes to do it.

What would you say?

What would attract people’s attention?

How would you make them curious?

Can you describe the characters easily?

What’s interesting and likeable about your book?

Narrow that down and you’ll end up with a great blurb

I give up! Can I get a professional to write a blurb for me?

Yes, contact PublishNation for details.

There are probably few people who haven’t heard of George R. R. Martin, and if they haven’t heard of him, they will almost certainly be familiar with award-winning hit TV series Game of Thrones. In 1991 Martin began writing a fantasy novel, and over the years that followed, he produced several sequels that turned into the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which became an international bestseller. Then in 2011, American TV network HBO picked up his series and created Game of Thrones for TV and Martin suddenly found himself in the spotlight as it quickly became one of the world’s most popular TV shows to date.

The huge question that any would-be writer wants to know, of course, is just what is it about how Martin writes that people find so appealing? And how can they write something so convincing and compelling that people just won’t be able to get enough of it?

Here are a few tips from the great author himself on writing.

Don’t let your imagination limit you

As anyone who has read one of Martin’s books will tell you, he is fond of characters. In fact, the phrase ‘A cast of thousands’ might spring to mind. But, this is one of those things that really draws you into his work. The author says that he always knew he wanted his stories to be big and complex; before writing novels, he wrote TV scripts and the most common criticism he received was that his stories were just too big with a cast far beyond the budget available.

So, if you want lots of characters, go ahead and create them and give them fascinating identities and complex plots. Just remember, the more characters you have, the harder it might be to keep track of them, so your writing will have to be clear and the characters well-defined.

Not all writing days are good days

It’s great to have a goal when it comes to your writing and most successful authors will tell you to write a little every day and create a pattern to your work. However, this isn’t always possible, and if you can’t force yourself to be productive every day, then you shouldn’t force it. As they say, tomorrow is a new day.

Even the best authors will have bad days when it comes to writing – days when the words simply won’t flow and the ideas don’t work out as hoped. Martin himself says he has days when he struggles, and when he gets to the point where he has written only a few sentences over the course of half a day, he recognises that it is time to stop for the day and do something else in order to recharge the creative batteries.

You can borrow from history

While Martin’s novels are fantasy, there is a strong and identifiable theme of actual history that runs through them – in this case, medieval. Using history as a basis for your novel can offer you a great backdrop to work against. It can also give you a great supply of details that you may, or may not, wish to include. Martin prefers to mix and match his history and manipulate some of the details to fit in with his plots and characters.

Write from a point of view of truth

It’s always important to write from a position of truth. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should write about incidents that have happened in your own life, but rather that you should use real-life emotions to draw on for inspiration. Regardless of the genre you choose for your writing, at some point emotions will play a part in the book, and the best way to get these across is to think about situations you have experienced, emotions that you know.

It’s important to write about what you know, but this doesn’t mean you actually need to write about your own life events. Just tap into your own emotional feelings, remember how you felt when you experienced those emotions, and put it all into your writing. Giving your characters this type of emotional depth can really help your readers to connect with them.

A word of warning though – grief is a powerful emotion, so while using those real-life emotions to help you write is a good thing, be sure that you don’t overdo it.

Violence can be…violent

If you’re going to write about violence, then put in enough detail to take your reader into that setting. If you choose to write about warfare, especially when you draw on a real historical event, then you need to paint the right picture. Weapons were not just for show. War is horrific, bloody and ugly – people got maimed and left for dead – so write about the believable aftermath of war. Don’t leave out the necessary details because you believe your readers would prefer it that way.

Avoid fantasy clichés

If you want to write fantasy books, then you will probably be familiar with the genre and, therefore, the clichés that exist. The biggest of these is ‘Evil’ represented by a Dark Lord. Everything about him is dark: he lives in a dark palace in a dark land, he wears dark garments, and he is surrounded by ugly dark minions. While representing evil in this way can be very visual for the reader, it can grow to become something that they expect. Stray from the clichés and make your characters that little bit unexpected, give your reader something to think about. Martin’s own villains embody this idea – the tall and fair Lannisters would traditionally represent the good, and they are certainly not the nicest of people.

Self-editing

George R. R. Martin has a great belief in self-editing, and with a series of novels that contain as many characters as A Song Of Ice and Fire, it’s not hard to understand why. When there are plenty of opportunities to do so, going off on a tangent or getting embroiled in subplots that add nothing to a novel is all too easy. Self-editing forms an essential part of the writer’s creative process, allowing him to go back through what he has already written and trim the text, ensuring his plot is as tight as possible. Martin prefers to trim back on his word count rather than cutting entire scenes or even chapters. Keeping the story tight keeps the reader engaged, which is the primary goal.

Use the advice of George R. R. Martin to help improve your own writing and perhaps you’ll find a bit of that same success!

The creator of enigmatic Jason Bourne wrote a total of 27 thrillers and there are estimated to be between 300 and 500 million copies of his work in circulation, translated into 33 languages across 40 countries. He also wrote under the pen names of Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.

Born in 1927, Ludlum received a B.A. in Drama in 1951 and produced for the stage, and he served as a US Marine. This made him extremely well-placed to not only “write what he knew,” but also to understand how to bring the story to the public in an entertaining way.

Observe and learn

In interviews before his 2001 death, Ludlum talked about the importance of observing people and analysing how they react. He was particularly interested in people who had undertaken huge lifestyle changes, from New York businessman to Caribbean charter boat captain, for example. He utilised their experiences as a blueprint for characters such as Jason Bourne.

He was also a great fan of travel and enjoyed spending as much time travelling as he could, with his children and their families when possible. In order to use his travel experiences in his writing, he would take several photographs and keep souvenirs such as tickets, menus, and brochures. He could use these physical reminders of a place to add credibility to his writing when using it as a location for a scene.

Plotting is important…

Ludlum was keen to plot scenes in minute detail. Like creating a travel itinerary, he would outline and research until he was totally clear what was going to happen in the world he was creating. Who meets who, what information is exchanged, what else is happening off-screen. He once said, “To me, storytelling is first a craft. Then, if you’re lucky, it becomes an art form. But first, it’s got to be a craft. You’ve got to have a beginning, middle, and end.”

The basics of plotting – start at the beginning and follow through the middle to the end – are the key features of a good thriller. You have to know the story in order to be able to tell it. But once you know that story, then you can craft your novel.

He is recorded as taking 3 months just on researching his books, out of the 15 or so months he devoted to writing each one. This research time allowed him to write from a position of knowledge and to pass that on to the reader. Even if such knowledge was not for the real world – after all there are only so many situations in which knowing the precise specifications of a terrorist weapon is likely to come in useful – by researching, he was able to bring a degree of authority to his work.

… but once plotted, you are free to write

Ever wondered how Ludlum got that “seat of the pants” feel to his writing? Because despite meticulous plotting, once he started writing, he was making it up as he went along, using his outline and plot as a roadmap to understand where he needed to take the characters. “Pantsing” allowed him to craft stories that have a perfect balance of storytelling and detail. Knowing how characters will react, without giving away motivations to the reader that will ruin later twists, and ensuring that each scene begins and ends with the story in the place that the plot demands. Ludlum believed that plotting gave him the freedom to write; like a tourist in a city, he knew where he was and where the next place on his itinerary was – all he had to do was to follow the side streets until he found it.

Within this process he also liked to apply theatrical principles to his writing, advising beginner writers to, “Throw the story in the air and see what’s going to happen.”

Craft a story

Ludlum felt a kinship towards craftsmen. Instead of working with wood and taking time to shape the pieces together to make furniture, or working with clay and moulding a bowl from nothing, he took words and shaped them into novels. He found what he termed “self-indulgent” writers, who tried to make writing an art form first, very annoying. For him, writing was about telling a story and then, perhaps, it becomes a work of art. “I don’t believe that my first name is Leo, or that my last name is Tolstoy. I’m a storyteller.” He emphasised that, even selling millions of copies of books and having many of them turned into films, his business was with crafting a compelling tale rather than art.

He would rise early and work for 6 or 7 hours a day before taking a nap and reviewing what he had written earlier. If he was satisfied with it, then he would allow it to remain part of the novel.

Know your characters

Coming from a theatrical background (his first book wasn’t published until he was in his 40s, following a career in acting and producing on Broadway), he understood the necessity of knowing your character. While he resisted suggestions that he might appear in a film of one of his novels, he did act out the characters as he wrote to enable him to feel their motivations and understand how they would react in a given situation.

Ignore the critics

For Ludlum, writing was all about the storytelling, and he was dismissive of criticism. While his books were flying off the shelves and defining a new genre – airport fiction – the literary world was less appreciative, although several reviews did make reference to the gripping nature of his work.

Ludlum tended to brush aside the critics and once compared himself to Charles Dickens saying, “The quality of an author’s work is not usually determined until after his death.”

The fact that after his death multiple authors still work on in his name, and several “Bourne” films have been released, perhaps proves his point.

In 1986, Nora Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her first bestseller hit the list in 1991 and she publishes on average one book every 45 days. Her romances, and romantic thrillers written under the pen name J.D. Robb, are often found high in the book charts, and cumulatively she has clocked up more than 1,000 weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Her story starts in 1979 when, snowed in with her two small children, she started writing down one of the stories in her head. From the moment she began she was hooked and by the summer of 1980 her first book had been bought by Silhouette.

With five older brothers and two sons, she is known for her incredibly perceptive and well-rounded characters, especially the male protagonists, who are immensely believable. A feature she puts down to being outnumbered by men all her life.

Make Time To Write

Nora believes that if you love writing, you should be prepared to make time to write. If you try to fit it around your other interests, it becomes too easy to find yourself distracted. To be an author is to prioritise writing over other activities, such as watching television. After all, this time next year you probably won’t remember what you chose to watch instead of writing, but if you choose to write you can still be proud of your work in five, ten, or fifteen years.

Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard

Her most important piece of advice is BICHOK or Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. That means, if you’ve made time to write, then you spend that time writing. Just like a job. You can’t slope off because you don’t feel like it today. You can’t stop because you don’t feel “inspired.” If you were a doctor or accountant or salesperson or a barista, and it was time to start your shift, you’d go in, even if you didn’t really feel like it, because otherwise you’d lose your job. Treat writing in the same way. Once you’ve found your time to write, make sure you stick to it and actually write.

Being An Author Is A Job

If you want to make a living from writing, then you need to treat it as a job in the same way that any other self-employed worker, such as a plumber or hairdresser, has to. Don’t try to justify your decision to write against other obligations. If something happens during your working day, then you need to juggle things so that you aren’t forcing your writing time to compete against your other activities. Don’t shrug off your writing time as unimportant. Treat it with the respect and dedication that you would any other job.

Do The Best You Can Now

Your writing will evolve as you practice your craft. Don’t worry about the future – you don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Similarly, in ten or fifteen years down the line, don’t look back at this book when plotting and planning. You can’t change the past – you can only change the present – so put your effort into writing the best book you can today.

Nora Roberts has never taken courses in writing or read books about how to write. She’s learned her craft through trial, and error, of course! Most of her books are taken through a 3 or 4 draft process to prune out the bad bits and polish up the good. Editing is crucial to having a book that you’re happy with.

Enjoy Your Own Writing

Write what you enjoy reading. It’s something that you are familiar with already. Many aspiring new writers look at what’s fashionable and worry about the market. Many then try to write in a genre they don’t know. Don’t worry about what everyone else is reading at the moment – write what you would like to read yourself! You’ll be able to put more passion into it and that will make for a better experience for your readers.

Nora Roberts started her career writing category romance, a genre in which there are strict guidelines on what is, and isn’t, permissible. Yet, she’s never found that restrictive. By focusing on the ongoing relationship between hero and heroine, she is able to bring in elements of mystery, paranormal, science fiction, and even comedy. She calls her category romances “quick charcoal sketches” as opposed to the “detailed oils” she’s able to do in her other work.

Getting Past Writer’s Block

Nora Roberts claims to not rely on inspiration and usually has no idea what placed an idea for a story in her head. Sometimes, such as when she was writing Homeport, she has a location or area of interest and from there she follows through until she finds a story. From thinking it might be nice to write a novel based in the world of art, she became interested in how art can be authenticated, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As an author, you have to concentrate on getting words on paper. The more words you get on the paper, the better. Don’t wait for a muse that might never come. Don’t hang about for that spark of inspiration. To be a writer you need to write. So, sit down in your chair and write.

Start, like Nora often does, with a situation and ask yourself the question, “What if….?” See what happens if you change the characters or location. If another “what if” question arises, then explore that to see what happens. Instead of plotting and then writing to that plot, Nora simply tells a story and sees how it unravels.

Don’t Expect Instant Results

Nora Roberts’ first book was published in 1980 and her first bestseller was in 1991. If you want to make a career from being a writer, you need to create a compelling catalogue of work that will retain your readers and keep them coming back for more – and pass the message on to their friends! That takes a lot of time, patience, and above all, lots and lots of words, but as Nora Roberts and others have proven, it’s a goal that is attainable.

Trained as a lawyer, John Grisham is arguably one of the most popular writers of legal thrillers around. He didn’t begin writing seriously until the late 80s, and his first novel took him 3 years to complete, but he has now penned 40 novels with more than 300 million copies in print.

For any writer looking to emulate his success, there is plenty to learn from this accomplished novelist. Grisham has several tips to share, and here we list the things that have helped him to become a best-selling author.

Little and Often

Grisham is a firm believer in the concept that any aspiring writer should aim to write at least a small amount every day. Around 200 words a day would easily give you 1000 words per week which, if done for two years, is enough for a novel. It doesn’t matter how difficult it is, it is important to find the time to write a little each day, and if the ideas flow and time is on your side, then write a little more. Make it a habit and whether you sit with your morning coffee and write a page, or do it in the evening, making it part of your routine will make it easier to accomplish.

He also feels that using the same location to do your writing each day is a must to help set your routine.

Very soon you will have a full manuscript that you are ready to start proofreading and editing. Ideas are all very well, but if they are stuck in your head and you are not writing them down, then your book is not progressing.

Throw Out the Thesaurus

This is a rule that Grisham believes far too many writers ignore. He feels that words can be divided into three simple categories: the words that we all know, the words we should all know, and the words that very few people know. If you use too many of the last category of words, then your novel will simply not flow well as the reader will struggle to grasp your meaning. If you want to write something that people will read, and enjoy reading, then use the first group with a smattering of the second. Grisham claims this is a trap that many novice writers fall into, believing that big complex words will help them create a bestseller, when, unfortunately, it won’t.

Edit, Edit, Edit

Editing is your best friend when it comes to writing a bestseller. Grisham recommends that any aspiring writer should read through their manuscript several times and look for words that can be cut. “Read each sentence at least three times and see if you can cut any words,” he suggests. He believes many writers use too many words where there is no need – just because you have the space, it doesn’t mean that you need to fill it with excess words.

Research Everything

Although Grisham had a strong background in law that helped him significantly with his novels, he firmly believes that research is key to any great novel. For his own novels, he has read over 100 biographies and interviewed dozens of people over a lengthy period in order to make sure that the details he uses in his novels are accurate. They say you should write about what you know, and in Grisham’s case this certainly proves to be true, but it is worth remembering that there will always be someone reading your novels who knows more than you do, so do thorough research and check facts, as detail is everything.

Plot

You don’t have to start at the beginning. The beginning of any plot seems the logical place to begin writing a novel, but Grisham advises that the best place to begin writing any novel is in fact at the end. Write the ending so you know where you are heading and then go back and start with chapter one. The end you have written may not be perfect, but it gives you a real direction for your novel.

If it helps, make a rough outline of where you want your novel to go. This is a common trap that many writers, Grisham included, fall into, especially when it comes to their first novel.  When he finished A Time to Kill, Grisham discovered that he had 900 pages that were disorganised at best. To make it a useable novel he ended up cutting around 300 pages. Having learnt his lesson the hard way, he now spends time planning out his novels before he really begins writing them. In his own words, “The more time I spend on the outline, the easier it is to write the book.” His first novel took him three years to write, but since then he has been averaging one novel per year.

Characters

There is nothing worse than meeting everyone in the first few pages of a book. Choose your characters carefully and introduce them slowly. Don’t bombard your reader with identities all at once – instead, choose around 5 characters and introduce them properly. Let the reader get to know them before you introduce a few more. Too many people all at once can be confusing in real life, and it is much worse on paper.

Basic Writing Tips

These may seem obvious, but there are a few basic writing tips that Grisham recommends every aspiring author adheres to.

Do use quotation marks for any dialogue. This is important as quotation marks help the reader to understand what is happening.

While prologues may be popular, Grisham advises that would-be writers should avoid them and begin with chapter one. Get into the story as soon as possible.

Read and re-read everything you have written and be your own critic before you give others the chance to be.

And finally

One of Grisham’s biggest tips for the aspiring writer is to make sure that you enjoy your writing. Do not rely on writing to provide you with financial security. Find a career you love and keep your writing as a hobby. If you have your income from another source, then you will be able to relax with your writing, making it an enjoyable experience and this should, hopefully, allow you to produce great work.

Do you aspire to be a novelist like Grisham? Will his tips inspire you, or do you disagree with his methods? Either way, they certainly seem to work for the man himself, so he must be doing something right!

Dame Agatha Christie remains among the world’s most well-known authors, having written 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as several romance novels. She is responsible for not only the longest-running play in the world – The Mousetrap – but also for one of literature’s most famous fictional detectives, Hercule Poirot.

Aspiring writers can learn a lot from her if they wish to emulate her staggering success. Follow these tips and learn the secrets to great writing from the best-selling author in history.

Learn Your Trade!

Forget any preconceived notion you may have about writers locking themselves away in a cottage by the sea to turn out their masterpieces one after the other. Writing does undoubtedly come easier to some than to others, but Agatha Christie often referred to her work as a ‘trade’. She very much believed that to write a successful novel, you have to put in the effort: research your market in order to write what is required and apply good old-fashioned discipline when writing. She said, “…. one is a tradesman…. you must learn the technical skills and then, within that trade, you can apply your own creative ideas, but you must submit to the discipline of form.” Lesson one then is – knuckle down to it!

Craft your Characters Well

Successful authors understand that the main key to keeping a reader hooked lies in the quality of the characterisation. Your characters have to be ones the reader can relate to, either to root for or to despise. In other words, your characters should inspire emotion. Agatha understood this and she would often base her characters on real people she knew and took many cues from her surroundings in order to inject realism into her storylines. However, she sometimes had difficulty in imagining familiar characters doing the things she wrote about, such as murder. In these cases, she would invent characters using the physical appearance and mannerisms of strangers in the street. Observing the people around you can help enormously when it comes to character development. Sometimes it helps to exaggerate some aspects of your character’s personality, habits, or appearance to make them memorable. Her fictional detective Poirot, for instance, was presented as a man whose manners, sharp mind, wardrobe, and extravagant moustache were reminiscent of a previous era. In contrast, Christie’s Mrs Marple was presented as a rather naive elderly lady. Agatha made sure her characters would appeal to readers of all societal classes. Christie always emphasised her support of the victims in her stories rather than the criminals. Whether you are on the side of the ‘goodie’ or the ‘baddie’, write your characters with passion and realism to make your readers believe in them.

The Plot’s the Thing

Every good story needs a good, solid plot. Christie was masterful at creating intriguing plotlines. She would begin the story with the murder itself in great detail, deciding on the reason for it, the mode of murder, and the murderer. Then she would decide who the other suspects were before setting out clues and diversions in order to send the readers in various directions on the journey to the conclusion of the case. Her mysteries were always devised to manipulate the reader’s feelings, to involve them in the mystery and use their own powers of deduction to try to solve the case. Agatha’s most famous detective, Poirot, frequently spoke of using his ‘little grey cells’ to solve a mystery and so she would invite her readers to do the same. She never underestimated the intelligence of her readers. She often developed her stories along the same lines: the murder would be discovered either by the main detective character or a character associated with the event. So, would begin the investigation of the crime and the main character would helpfully analyse all aspects of the murder, including the forensic detailing of all the clues. This encourages the reader to put themselves in the detective’s shoes. Christie would always keep the reader on their toes by killing off suspects along the way until eventually the remaining suspects are brought together for the big reveal, along with previously unknown secrets and facts. This part of the story would always make up a substantial part of the book – usually around 20 to 30 pages.

Devise a Plot Twist

Agatha Christie was the queen of the plot twist because she knew that the worst thing any writer could do is to make a story predictable. She knew that her readers would expect the unexpected and would enjoy the twists and turns involved in figuring out who the murderer was. Involving your reader in the story is the key to keeping them reading right to the very end and looking forward to your next novel.

The Perfect Setting

Christie set great store by creating a perfect setting for the story. She knew that small details of an area, such as a locked room in a manor house, or a dark, winding country lane, were the building blocks which allowed the reader to become absorbed in the atmosphere of the place and therefore to become aware that something was just around the corner.

Mind Your Language

Agatha Christie was careful to write in a style using simple language in short sentences which readers of all ages and classes could understand and enjoy. This simplicity of language, along with her heavy use of dialogue, meant that readers could follow the plots and sub-plots to get to the ‘whodunnit’. She used dialogue as a tool to move the story along at a steady pace to draw the reader into the mystery.

Never Lose Hope

Every author knows the sting of rejection and Agatha Christie was no exception. Her first novel, ‘Snow Upon the Desert,’ received rejections from many publishers and so remained unpublished – although these days with the self-publishing options available, we’d bet she’d have brought it to print. Undeterred, she kept on, even though she would, by her own admission, get “tired and cross” when working on a new novel.

It’s possible to learn from each piece of work, so don’t give up.  Use these tips above, write what you know about, and you’re sure to improve enough to finish a book you’re proud to publish.

Learn how to appeal to an age group with a massive appetite for well-written books.

Fiction for young adults is a very distinct genre – no longer children’s stories, but not quite adult fiction. There’s a tough line to draw in content and style, but if done well, you can break through to this large market.

Even if you have already been writing for adults or children, the recipe for success is made of different ingredients in this genre. Follow these great pieces of advice and start your journey to teen fiction success!

Ensure your age fits your audience

It can be difficult to judge the age-appropriate content for young adults, as it varies hugely between the younger and older ages on the spectrum. Choose your audience’s age and stick with it to then judge how you should write, what you should cover, and what tone to use. If you’re stuck on whether something’s age appropriate or not, ideally speak directly to someone in the targeted age, or to a parent with a child of that age, to help you make an informed decision.

Use a suitable point of view

The concept of an adult looking back on teenage experiences is never popular with young adults, as it reflects on the power of hindsight, which is rarely prevalent in their minds! Writing in the past tense is fine if done not too far in the future, but present tense is preferred. Try to think and speak as a young adult would to appear as genuine as possible.

Use appropriate language

How do young adults of your targeted age speak? Use this voice in your narration and dialogue and stick to it. There is a balance to be made here between not patronising the reader and not complicating or confusing matters with vocabulary that’s too difficult. To ensure you’ve got the right voice nailed, spend time around those of the correct age and research them through the media and online. Where do they spend time? How do they express themselves? What are their likes and dislikes?

Don’t preach, but keep hope

Whatever the main ‘message’ of your book may be, don’t preach it too hard. Your Amazon readers will see right through a loosely-stranded story constructed just to make a point. Instead, tell a character’s story, and if it’s an unhappy one, end it on a hopeful note, helping to remind your audience that there’s always a possibility for brighter futures and positivity, even through dark times and difficult situations. If that’s all they take away from the story, that’s still something beneficial.

Young adult fiction may be difficult to get into, but there’s huge room for growth and development within the genre. If written well, readers will flock to your book and look for more. Remember to stay relatable, relevant, and easy-to-read.

Share your knowledge and experience to help others cope with challenges you have overcome.

Self-help is a fantastic genre with a keen audience willing to read new books and explore new options. If you can name a life problem, tricky situation, or awkward circumstances, there’ll be someone going through it, no matter how niche it may seem! If you can offer practical guidance and advice to make the journey through it all easier, then writing a self-help book on the topic is a great idea for you to explore.

For more general or popular topics, self-help can be a crowded market on Amazon, so you’ll need to make your book stand out from the crowd. Follow our top writing tips and you’ll soon find your place on the shelf!

Be specific

It may seem like narrowing down your potential audience is counter-intuitive, but in this genre, it may be the key to your success. Broad topics will already be covered by other authors and many will be household names and bestsellers. Instead, envision a single type of person who will benefit from your self-published book – if it’s not too general or wide-ranging, you’ve found your niche.

Write to your reader

Consider your reader’s demographic in your writing style. Remain empathetic and avoid including jargon or abbreviations that they may not have come across before. Remember: you are an expert in this field and have likely experienced more of the journey through this situation than those reading, so don’t assume they have the same level of knowledge as you do. The language you use is key to building rapport.

Do your research

Whilst writing from personal experience is perfectly apt for self-help, it’s important that you are aware of the bigger picture, too. Are there psychological references and theories that tie in with what you’re saying? Has this situation, the root causes and solutions, been researched into before? Seek out academic research, any relevant charities or third-party bodies, and other people with similar experiences, as you write.

Include examples

Your own anecdotes and examples will add real value to your writing and allow your readers to understand the practicalities of your suggestions and solutions. If you have permission to, include quotes and stories from others, too, in order to demonstrate that your reader is not alone in their circumstances, however much they may be feeling so.

Summarise

Self-help books can require the reader to take in a lot of information in a period where they may not be in the best frame of mind to take lots on-board coherently. Short summaries and round-ups of the information covered in each section or chapter will allow for quick and easy reference of what’s been said and the key points or take-aways, without the reader having to remember every word or struggle to find a specific sentence on a page.

Help yourself get started in self-help with this guide, and you’ll soon be helping others, too!

There are just a handful of authors who make it to the big time and enjoy the heights of household-name fame, where consumers will buy a book when they see it just because their name is on the cover. British novelist Roald Dahl and romance writer Danielle Steel are two of this elite group, and thankfully for us self-publishing novices, they’ve been willing to share their wealth of knowledge and give advice to newbies on how best to tackle a writing challenge ahead. Read on for their best advice!

Have a lively imagination – Roald Dahl

If you’ve ever opened a Roald Dahl book, you’ll know that he had an extremely active imagination that seemed to result in a never-ending wealth of ideas, characters, and storylines. Even if you don’t feel that this comes as naturally to you as it did for Dahl, nurture your imagination by indulging yourself in new experiences and new places where you can to stimulate idea generation and free thinking.

Stay committed – Danielle Steel

Before she hit the ‘big time’ as an author, Danielle wrote for up to five hours a day – while still working full time. Now, of course, she’s writing full time, but it was that initial commitment and hard work that helped her reach the level she enjoys today. Even if you have a million and one other responsibilities and things to do (and who doesn’t?), try to make time to sit down and just write, whether it’s idea brainstorming, character development work, or actual storytelling.

Re-write, again and again – Roald Dahl

Once you’ve finished writing your book, read through it and make any changes needed. It’s up to you whether or not you do this section by section or by editing the entire thing, but either way, it needs to happen. Sometimes we become blind to our own work, and the typos, and need to set the book aside for a few weeks before we can ‘see’ it again. Dahl re-wrote his books over and over again until he could no longer find fault in the writing, but if you don’t have the time or patience to do this, hand it over to someone else for a second opinion before your final polish.

If it helps, stick to a routine – Danielle Steel

When you find an environment that’s conducive to free thinking and quick pen (or keyboard) results, stick to it! Danielle prefers writing in the evening and during the night when she feels at her most peaceful and is unlikely to be distracted. She also always chooses to sit at a desk, where she can focus on just the task ahead and feels like there’s a job to be done. Everyone’s different, of course, so you may have other preferences, but when you find a combination that works for you, stay with it and witness your creativity flow!

It’s not easy being a blossoming writer, but there’s no one better to take advice from than those already at the top of the game. Give each of the above a go, and use whatever works for you.