Most people dream of becoming an author one day and publishing a book in the market with their name on it. Are you someone who aspires to be an author one day? Do you want to win the hearts of people through the magic of words? Do you have expertise in a subject and want to help others by sharing your knowledge and experience with them?
Most people, just like you, don’t know where to begin their career as an author. Even though someone knows that he/she wants to become an author, there are certain barriers or obstacles in the way. The first and most commonly seen challenge that stands in the way of an individual’s dream of becoming an author is: "How and where do I get started"? Some other challenges faced by people are the lack of confidence and not enough time for writing.
The skills that you require to be an author
There is a difference between a writer and an author.
A writer is someone who expresses his or her thoughts, ideas, or concepts through written words. A writer may write content for the expression of his/her thoughts or it may be a part of the job.
An author is someone who has written and published a complete work of literature on the market. The novels, books, stories, poems, etc. that we come across are all written by authors.
In order to communicate your message effectively to the audience, you need to master communication skills. It involves the use of words to illustrate a concept, or put forth your idea or thoughts and communicate your message clearly to the audience. Communicating clearly and precisely is important for an author. What is even more important is to understand the pain points of the audience and provide them with the solutions or answers they are looking for. As an author, these communication skills also help you to market your book effectively and network with other authors and publishers.
If you want to become an author, you need to stay focused on writing without delay. On the path to becoming an author, it is vital to set a schedule and prioritize tasks. You need to choose a time of the day or night where you can focus and concentrate without any distractions. For most, this time will be early in the morning when you have fresh thoughts coming to your mind, or probably late at night when everyone is asleep and there is no one to disturb you.
Many other people who aspire to become authors just like you may have a similar idea just like you. Creativity is a key element in writing a book. As an author, you need to be creative and offer something unique and distinct from the others. Successful writers have their own unique style of writing. It is vital to follow your own unique style and come up with creative thoughts that can make the world a better place to live in and improve the lives of the readers.
Here are the steps that will help you achieve your dream of becoming an author.
In order to become a successful author, you need to have powerful and creative writing skills. Aside from writing skills, an author must also be skilled in storytelling, observation, research, concentration, discipline, determination, and other areas. You can acquire the skills by practicing often, enrolling in a formal course in writing, or attending training programs, workshops, etc. In today’s digital world, there are online writing and self-publishing courses as well that provide a real-world experience and help you master the basics of writing.
To write well, you need to be an avid reader. Reading forms the basis and the key to your journey as a writer. Reading will help you build your writing skills and also develop the patience you need to write. Becoming an avid, deep reader helps you to understand the basics of writing and how an author communicates his/her thoughts in the form of words. Set aside a specific time for reading books, novels, and fictional and non-fictional writing. Read everything that you can. The more you read, the better you become.
There is no need to pursue a formal writing degree or course to become an author. However, pursuing a formal course or degree in writing will help you improve significantly. The technical books on various subjects like science, economics, humanities, etc. are written by subject-specific authors who have had formal training in and degrees in those subjects. There are several online writing courses available for you to choose from. These courses can help you learn the fundamentals of writing.
Practice makes a man perfect. This is true in the case of an author as well. The more you practice writing, the better you will get with time. Practice doesn’t mean that you start writing a novel right away. You can begin with small stories, letters to friends and relatives, short essays, quotes, poems, etc. Start small to achieve success in the long term as an author.
As an author, you must be open to constructive feedback and criticism, especially from other professionals in the industry. Asking for feedback helps you to improve your existing content and come up with something even better.
Whether you write a fictional or nonfictional book, creating an outline will act as a blueprint and a roadmap as you get involved in writing.
You can only finish the book if you begin writing it. Set a time for writing every day according to your schedule and convenience.
Use the outline to complete the draft copy of your book.
Once you have completed the book, you need to edit it to remove any grammatical or typographical errors.
Once the book is ready, you can approach a publisher to get your book published. You also have the self-publishing option, where you can publish the book yourself without waiting for a publishing house to accept your manuscript.
Rome was not built in a day.
Writing a book for the first time is always difficult. However, once you have the learning and experience, you can keep publishing and progress in your career as an author. The more you write and publish, the better you will get.