How to Start a Book: Practical Advice From Published Authors
Channing Smith
The below guide on how to start a book is part of Glamour's 2024 Smart Goals series, which explores reasonable, quantifiable, and—crucially—sane ways to embark on self improvement objectives you'd like to complete this year. We all know traditional New Year's resolutions are nonsense and are mostly designed to make us feel terrible about ourselves and, as a result, spend money on things we think we need to live a more fulfilling life. Here, our senior editor—and published author—digs into how anyone can start writing the book they've always wanted by asking other authors for some of their best advice, from when to write to how to get your work noticed.
Ever since my first book was published, people keep confessing to me, “I want to write a book too, but don't know how to start a book." I get it.
Writing a book has been my goal since I was in first grade, when I proudly proclaimed in a school paper that my dream was to one day become an author. It's been such a constant in my life that I can scarcely remember when the idea wasn't in my head. But of course, it's one thing to have ambitions and it's another to sit in front of a computer with a blank document and start to you know, actually write a book.
What I've learned since finishing Swipe Up For More is that while all published authors end up with a similar product, everyone's process is very different. Some authors listen to music, others, like me, need total and complete silence. Some are staunch proponents of outlining every chapter, others just like to sit down and let it flow. It seems like every author I've spoken with since finishing my book has their own quirks, their own, unique advice, and their own process.
If you're reading this, I have a feeling you might be like my friends, family, and acquaintances. You have always dreamed of writing a book, you think you may have an idea that could actually be really good, but you're overwhelmed by the idea of starting. Why not make 2024 the year you just go for it? After all, the world always needs more books.
To help you get started, I've chatted with six published authors about their best advice that helped them go from idea to finished product. They shared with me how they decided to actually get started, their best tips for overcoming things like writer's block, and how you (yes, you!) can do it too.
Do you have a writing ritual? Where do you write best?
“I write best on deadline. I like to sit at a desk, but don't need to. I like natural light, but have written thousands of words on planes and trains. My writing ritual is waking up, looking at a calendar, and realizing, Oh God, I need to finish this.” -Mattie Kahn, former Glamour editor, journalist and author of Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America's Revolutions
“I generally write best in the morning at home after a good night’s sleep and with a hot cup of tea. I aim for 1,000 words a day. On rare occasions, I exceed that number, but most times it’s a tortuous process and I often fall short. But I’ve found that the more I treat writing like a practice instead of a hallowed vocation, the more productive I tend to be overall.” -Tomi Obaro, writer, editor, and author of Dele Weds Destiny
“I’ve found I do my best work at my desk in the house I grew up in. It’s where I ended up writing most of Dress Code (thanks, 2020), and I like being connected to the writing I did back then, when I was making up ISBN numbers for the ‘novels’ I scrawled in little spiral notebooks.” -Véronique Hyland, fashion features director at Elle and the author of Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion from the New Look to Millennial Pink
"I wrote the entirety of my debut novel in a supine position on the couch or in bed, laptop propped on knees, mostly early in the morning before work. This year I bought my first ergonomic office chair and it has changed my life. I still mostly write pre-8:00 am, but now I do it sitting up at a desk. And in general I've been trying to decouple writing and ritual, and just get the words on the page (screen) when and wherever I have the minutes to spare. -Keziah Weir, senior editor at Vanity Fair and author of The Mythmakers
“I was a newspaper reporter during the beginning of my career for the New York Daily News, and I was sent all over the country (and sometimes the world) on assignment. I learned to write from anywhere on any device. I wish I could say I have a ritual, but my ritual is really getting my words in. I truly believe that writing is a muscle that you need to strengthen every single day in order to keep the inspiration coming.” -Jo Piazza, journalist, podcaster, and author of 12 books including the forthcoming The Sicilian Inheritance
“I am obsessed with Panera's hazelnut and dark roast coffee, so I always had to have that every morning. Otherwise a comfy chair and a blanket was all I needed. And sometimes I would play episodes of The Big Bang Theory in the background just to remind myself that this should be fun because I took it so seriously.” -Jessica Radloff, senior west coast editor at Glamour and author of The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series
How do you deal with writer's block?
"The advice that is true and real is that it's easier to edit than to write, so write badly and fix it later. That's correct, except it doesn't work for me, a person who can't move on unless I'm basically happy with the sentences I have. So instead, I live by a creed I read once that's not so much a tip for writer's block as it is a prophylactic to ensure you don't experience writer's block.
It's called 'parking downhill,' and it works like this: When you're almost finished with writing for the day, stop right before you finish a task. That way, when you come back to your work the next day, you don't have to start by confronting some new, huge problem. You get to return to something that's ideally 80% of the way done and just needs your polish and attention. It makes the prospect of starting work again in the morning less intimidating, and it often means you can give yourself permission to end your day earlier than you otherwise might as a ‘parking downhill’ gift to your future self." -MK
“I do one of four things. I get up and have a dance party for five minutes. I go downstairs and make myself a ridiculous cheese plate for one and then put it within eyesight of my computer and don't let myself have it until I've started writing. If I am in the Catskills in the winter where I do a lot of writing I will jump in the icy creek by our house. I also go for a walk and phone a friend and gossip and bullshit for a half hour and then return to the desk. Under no circumstances do I screw around online or on the socials.” -JP
“Give it time. Put the draft aside. Go for a walk. Pick up a book you love and reread it. Write something else. You need space from the draft to figure out why it isn’t working. When you approach the piece with fresh eyes, sometimes you can see what you need to fix and the block goes away naturally. Sometimes it doesn’t and that’s how you know to put it away a little while longer. Maybe it’s not something you’ll finish in this lifetime, but I believe that all the work you do on a stalled project builds skills that will only make you a stronger writer ultimately.” -TO
“Go for a walk, call a friend, play with your dog or cat, or borrow a neighbor's. And eat something. Then go back and write. Or skip ahead to a different chapter, or another task involving the book.” -JR
Do you write an outline? Do you think they're necessary?
“I love an outline because I find outlining so much lower stakes than writing. Outlining lets you accomplish so much of the hard thinking that sustains good writing without having to...do the writing part. To me, heaven.” -MK
“For nonfiction I have no choice but to plan and outline and report. For fiction I don't do any outlining. I let my first draft be the outline. It's not a good first draft by any means, but I swear to god that magic happens when you get into a flow and start getting words on the page. When I wrote The Sicilian Inheritance I had no idea how it would end and that was scary as fuck, but I think the ending is better for it.” -JP
“I relied on my nonfiction book proposal since that provided a great initial outline, but otherwise I didn't do much outlining. Here's the thing that's important to note though: I have three learning disabilities. I have always been extremely organized and driven and detailed, but my process is often different from others. And that's the thing about writing, no one way is 'right.' You have to go about it in a way that comes natural for you. If you start writing a book based on how you think you're supposed to write it, it won't work. Sure, it's helpful to know what you're aiming for and have an overall narrative or goal in mind, but you know how you work best. No one else does.” -JR
“Not much. I’m envious of writers who can outline their books meticulously. My mind just doesn’t work that way. Even when I try to outline, my drafts end up deviating from what I’ve written originally. For me, not necessarily knowing what’s coming next makes fiction writing fun.” -TO
"None before. With The Mythmakers I noodled around in the dark for three or four years until I had a big baggy mess of a manuscript. Then, while revising, I wrote something of an optimistic outline, which included what I'd written but also scenes that still existed only in my brain. Then more writing, much of which departed chaotically from the outline. Unfortunately this continues to be my ‘process."’ -KW
What book or books influenced your writing the most?
“Judy Blume inspired me to be an author. I devoured her books as a kid (and as a grownup). She wrote about ordinary suburban kids like me and it made me realize that I had stories worth telling.” -JP
“There have been so many, and more all the time, but the big ones for The Mythmakers were Vladimir Nabokov's Pnin, Philip Roth's Zuckerman novels, Nicole Krauss' Great House, Zadie Smith's essays, Lan Samantha Chang's All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost.” -KW
The books that have influenced my writing the most are the books I have loved reading: Middlemarch, Fierce Attachments, White Teeth, Say Nothing, Portrait of a Lady, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. -MK
I can’t pinpoint one book. I honestly believe that my writing has been influenced by every book I’ve ever read in some way—whether they were good books or bad. This is generally why I try to avoid reading bad books. -TO
Finally, if you could just give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?
“For someone like me who is used to a quick turnaround on everything I write, the biggest adjustment was the pace. You just have to accept that book publishing moves slower, and learn to thrive within that.” -VH
"I don't know if I have a good enough handle on any of it to dole out advice, but I've never been failed by the words of my undergrad thesis advisor, the brilliant author Paul LaFarge, who once told me that “nothing says 'writer at work' like going to a movie in the afternoon.” -KW
“Get your ass in the chair. Seriously. You won't know if you have a book in you until you start to write it. You have to sit down and start writing and do it every damn day. Don't go back and reread or edit until you're at least 20,000 words in. Just keep going and keep moving the story for you. It sounds terrifying but it has worked for me for 12 books.” -JP
“Timing is everything, and be passionate about what you're writing. Don't write a book because people have said you should, or if you're lukewarm about it. If you're not passionate about what you're writing, it's going to be 10 times harder, and it's hard enough as is. But also, trust yourself. Trust your instincts. A fellow author/editor friend gave me the best advice, which was: 'Write that book you want to read.' And that's what I did.” -JR
“Write. The only way to become an author is to actually write the book you have in your head. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do it. You don’t need a fancy degree. Just write! (And read. This should go without saying. One inspires the other).” -TO
“If you write one sentence every day, eventually you'll have a book. If you write no sentences every day, you'll never have a book.” -MK
More Smart Goals:
How to Quit Smoking
How to Start a Podcast
How to Start Going to the Gym
How to Start the Divorce Process
How to Quit Drinking
How to Quit a Job
Originally Appeared on Glamour
