How To Write A Novel & Get It Published

Writing is a creative process and getting your novel published can be a tedious one as well. The good news is that there are many steps you can take to make this process easier for yourself. In this article, I’ll share some of my best tips on how to write a novel and get it published.

Takeaways
1. Plan your novel with a clear structure.
2. Develop compelling and relatable characters.
3. Craft engaging dialogue that advances the plot.
4. Edit and revise your manuscript meticulously.
5. Research publishing options for your finished work.
6. Build a strong author platform for effective promotion.
7. Consider both traditional and self-publishing routes.
8. Network with fellow writers and industry professionals.
9. Prepare a captivating query letter for literary agents.
10. Persist through rejections and keep refining your work.

Choose A Genre

Once you have an idea to write about, the next step is to choose a genre. The purpose of this section is not to tell you what genres are best you should write in whatever genre suits your style and preferences. However, here are some tips for choosing a genre:

• Choose one that you love. If you don’t enjoy writing it, it won’t be fun for anyone else to read either!
• Choose one that you can write well enough and fast enough–to finish your book before publishing deadlines come up or before demand drops off altogether (if there ever was any).
• Choose one where people will buy the book when it comes out; if no one buys your book then publishers won’t want to publish more of them either so make sure the market is strong enough before pitching anything!

Building a strong foundation for your novel is crucial. Our article on Top 10 Tips for the Aspiring Novel Writer offers valuable insights and techniques that can help you navigate the complexities of novel writing successfully.

Start With An Idea

The best way to start writing your novel is with an idea. Ideas are everywhere, but they can be difficult to spot. 

You might think you have no ideas because you’re not a writer, but this is simply not true! Ideas are a dime a dozen and everyone has them; it’s just that many people don’t recognize them when they see them.

Ideas come in all shapes and sizes: they can take the form of conversations overheard on the subway or documentaries watched late at night on YouTube or poems from your childhood. 

If you think of an idea as something small enough for one person to hold in their mind, then it’s easy to see how there are endless ideas available for writers like yourself who want their work published by major publishing companies like Amazon or Penguin Random House or Simon & Schuster (just kidding). 

As long as your story idea makes sense within its world, then there’s nothing stopping anyone from writing about it!

Create A Character

A good character has a personality. They’re not just like you, but they’re also not someone you would never want to be around.

A strong character is memorable. You’ll remember that person for years after reading about them in your book the way they talked, their mannerisms, how they dressed and moved through the world, and maybe even long after you’ve finished the book.

A weak character isn’t memorable at all; even if they did something important in the story.

They didn’t leave any sort of impression on readers because there was nothing remarkable about them at all! If a reader forgets someone’s name 2 paragraphs after meeting them in a book then clearly this person wasn’t memorable enough either!

Embrace the power of technology in your writing journey. Discover the tools that can elevate your work in our guide to The 11 Most Important Software Tools I Use to Write My Novels.

Develop Your Character

The first step in developing your character is to give them a backstory. You should know where they’ve been and what they want, as well as what makes them tick. 

For readers to connect with them, you need to show empathy for their struggles, so keep this in mind when deciding on their goals and motivations.

For example, A man named John Smith wants to become a successful writer. He has published a few short stories in the past which were well received by critics but didn’t sell many copies because they weren’t marketed properly.

Or had too many grammatical errors that made it difficult for people to understand (this is known as being “unpublished”). Therefore he has decided that he needs help getting his novels published; this is where you come in!

Plot Your Novel

Plotting your novel may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

The first thing you’ll want to do is choose a plot structure that works best for what you’re trying to tell. 

There are many different types of plots out there, and they each work differently depending on the type of story you’re telling and who your audience is going to be. 

Are you ready to embark on your novel-writing journey? Our collection of 17 Tips for Anyone Wanting to Write a Novel provides practical advice and inspiration to guide you through the process.

Write A Strong First Line

The first line of your novel is the most important part. It’s what grabs a reader’s attention and makes them want to keep reading. If you don’t write an amazing first line, then you won’t have much luck getting published.

So how do you write a strong first line? Here are some tips:

Make it short and snappy. Don’t try to cram too much information into this sentence. It should be intriguing enough that readers will want to read on!

Use a question or statement that starts with “what if…” This is a common technique used by many successful writers because it makes readers curious about what might happen next in the story (and whether their questions will be answered). 

For example: “What if an evil wizard was plotting against me? Would I know how to stop him before he destroyed everything I love? And how could I possibly defeat him when he has so many dark powers at his command?”

To learn more about writing effective opening lines for your novel or short story, check out these great articles from Writer’s Digest magazine:  

Keep Writing!

As you continue to write and edit, you may wonder if you should give up on your novel. You might think that it’s not good enough or that no one will ever want to read it. 

Writing is hard work and there are a lot of reasons why people stop writing books, but don’t let any of those get in the way of your dreams.

It can be difficult to stay motivated when things aren’t going well with your book – especially if you’re working alone and nobody else can see how much effort has gone into getting all these words down on paper (or computer screen). 

But remember: every writer starts somewhere! Don’t give up before reaching the end because there will always be something more for you to learn about writing great stories – even after years of practice!

Dream of making a living as a writer? Explore the possibilities with our article on How to Make a Decent Living as an Indie Writer, and learn how to turn your passion into a sustainable career.

Make Sure Dialogue Is Balanced And Flows Naturally

As you write your novel, you want to make sure that dialogue is balanced and flows naturally. It does not have to be perfect, but it should not feel wrong for the characters or the context of the scene.

You also need to avoid having too much dialogue in a section of your novel if it’s not necessary. 

The reader might lose interest if they feel like they are just reading lines after lines of dialogue without any action happening or description given about what is going on inside the characters’ heads during this time period where there is no action happening onscreen as well as outside with other people around them talking as well (if there are).

If there isn’t much action happening between two or more characters then try using more description instead so that readers understand why exactly.

These two people are talking at this moment in time rather than having them just say things back and forth without explaining why themselves first before going into details about something else later down line…

Make Sure The Pov And Tense Matches Throughout The Novel

POV and tense are two of the most important things to keep track of when writing a novel because they determine how your story is told. POV refers to the perspective from which you tell your tale; 

For example, the first person would be “I” (or “we” if you have multiple main characters), the third person limited would be “he/she” or “they”, and omniscient is an author-as-character narrator who knows all about everyone in their fictional world.

Tense is determined by when your story takes place past, present, and future and it too should remain consistent throughout. 

Most novels are written in the past tense; however, some are written in the present tense (The Hunger Games) or even future tense (The Giver). For example:

• Past Tense: “I went to school.” “We left early.”
• Present Tense: “She goes home every day after class.” “They go out on Fridays.”
• Future Tense: “We will go shopping tomorrow at 10 AM sharp!”

Read, Read, Read!

The more you read, the better your writing will be. And that’s not just a saying: reading helps us develop our voice and style by exposing us to different genres, authors, and styles of writing. 

If you’re writing romance or thrillers, read romance/thrillers (or as many as you can get your hands on). But don’t just stick with one genre; try some sci-fi or mystery stories too. 

You can also read books written by authors that inspire you — maybe even idolize them.

But remember to look at their work objectively and critically so that you can learn from it instead of simply enjoying it for its entertainment value (and if it doesn’t teach you anything new about storytelling or characterization).

Starting your novel-writing adventure? Our comprehensive guide on How to Start Writing a Novel: A Guide for Newbies is designed to ease beginners into the world of writing, helping you overcome challenges and build confidence in your craft.

Listen To Advice From Someone Who Knows What They’re Talking About

One of the best ways to learn how to write a novel is by talking, listening, and asking questions.

You should get advice from people who have written books. You should ask your friends and family members for any suggestions they have. If you belong to a writing group, you can also talk about it with them.

Read books on how to write a novel or articles online that discuss the subject matter in detail so you can learn more about what it takes to create an interesting story and make sure your characters are well-developed enough for readers not only to enjoy reading about them.

But also relate their own experiences with those characters’ problems or successes throughout their journey through life (or whatever setting your book takes place in).

Some other ideas include looking at other authors’ work such as Stephen King’s “On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft” or Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast.” 

Read these types of works over again while paying close attention as they’ll offer plenty insight into what makes some pieces so memorable while others fall flat

Get Feedback!

It’s crucial to get feedback from people who know what they’re talking about. If you’ve been writing for a while, consider asking your trusted beta readers to provide another round of notes and suggestions. If not, there are plenty of resources available online:

• Reddit (/r/Writing) has an excellent beginner’s guide on how to write a book (and publish it).
• The Writing Cooperative offers free writing workshops in New York City and Nashville, TN. They also offer paid critique services for your manuscript if it needs more work before publication.
• The League Of Extraordinary Writers can help you find an editor through their network of professional editors who charge reasonable fees for their services.

Listen To All Criticism On Your Work

You will get a lot of feedback on your work. This is important because it helps you understand what people want in their stories, and how they see your story. However, some writers can be very sensitive to criticism, so they don’t listen to any of it.

This is not necessarily a good idea. You need to be able to take criticism because there are going to be mistakes in your work that others can spot better than you can and if you don’t fix those mistakes, then readers won’t enjoy the book as much as they could have! 

So always listen closely when someone gives you advice or comments on what might make something better for them (even if it does not affect everyone else). 

If someone says something’s boring or confusing, then go back through again carefully looking for places where this might happen so that when readers get there themselves later on down the line; they won’t have any problems understanding where everything is happening.”

Don’t Get Disheartened

This is a tough one to follow. As a writer, you will experience rejection. You may even be rejected by everyone to you submit your manuscript. Writers have been known to have “the book inside them” for 50 years before they finally get published! 

If that happens to you, don’t take it personally or let it discourage your writing career aspirations just keep sending out queries and putting words on paper until someone says yes!

Disheartened doesn’t just mean being sad about not being published; it also means being discouraged and defeated by the process of trying to be a writer in general. There’s no reason why anyone should feel disheartened as long as they keep working hard at their craft!

Conclusion

Congratulations! You now know how to write a novel and get it published. This was a long post, so if you made it all the way through, I applaud your tenacity. 

Writing a novel can be intimidating as hell and getting published is no cakewalk, but if you give yourself enough time and keep at it with persistence, it will happen for you too.

Further Reading

Explore these additional resources to enhance your knowledge on writing and publishing:

Self-Publishing School: How to Publish a Book Learn the step-by-step process of publishing your book independently, from writing to marketing.

Now Novel: How to Write a Book and Get Published Discover expert insights and strategies for both writing your book and navigating the path to publication.

Reedsy Blog: How to Publish a Book Dive into this guide that covers the intricacies of the publishing journey, from manuscript to distribution.

FAQs

How to Publish a Book: FAQs

How do I begin the book publishing process?

Starting the book publishing process involves completing your manuscript, editing it thoroughly, and researching publishing options that suit your goals.

What are the benefits of self-publishing?

Self-publishing offers creative control, faster publication timelines, and potentially higher royalties. It’s a viable option for authors seeking independence.

How important is professional editing before publishing?

Professional editing is crucial for ensuring your book is polished, error-free, and ready to impress readers. It enhances the overall quality of your work.

What’s the role of a literary agent in traditional publishing?

Literary agents help authors secure book deals with traditional publishing houses. They negotiate contracts, advocate for authors, and offer industry expertise.

How can I effectively market my published book?

Marketing your published book involves building an author platform, leveraging social media, engaging with readers, and considering promotional strategies like book tours and giveaways.