SfC Home > Writing > Fiction Writing >
Deciding to Write a Book
by Ron Kurtus (updated 6 June 2022)
If you have a great idea for a book, there are steps you need to take to motivate yourself and decide to write that book. You need to know if the book is worth writing.
First of all, you should clearly define what your book is about. Then you should define your target audience and examine the demand for such a book. Finally, convince yourself to make the decision, This is often done by writing a self-publishing query letter or book proposal.
Questions you may have include:- How do you solidify your book idea?
- How do you check the market for such a book?
- How do you convince yourself?
This lesson will answer those questions.
Solidify book idea
You need to be able to explain your idea and solidify it to yourself.
You usually start with a single sentence on what your book or story is about. It is good to include a tentative title for the book.
My idea is to write a fictional book about how a young guy tried to break into show business but never made it. The title is "Justin and Peter".
Then you need to elaborate in a short paragraph. This is what you might tell someone about your idea.
(See Solidifying Your Book Idea for more information.)
Check market for such a book
You need to do some research to see if your subject would be of interest to others. This can be done by examining similar books in print, as well as by asking people what they think of the topic.
As part of this, you need to define who would buy such a book and how to let them know about it.
Consider demand for such a book (marketing research):
- Who is the intended audience?
- Would they be interested in it?
- How would I let them know about the book?
- Where can I sell such a book?
- Is it worth writing?
Convince yourself to make decision
If your idea or book concept is solidified and you see the market potential for such a book, you can then convince yourself to proceed in writing the book.
One good way to convince yourself—as well as to make the writing easier—is to write yourself a query letter.
A query letter is used to get an literary agent or publisher interested in your book idea. Writing such a query letter can solidify your idea and help to make a decision to pursue writing the book.
A simple query letter format is:
- Tell what your book is about
- State the potential market and demand for such a book
- The third paragraph in an official query letter would state your qualifications to write such a book. Stating your qualification might give you more confidence.
This document will help you decide to write your book. Make the decision and start writing.
Summary
Deciding to write a book starts with getting a great idea of a story or subject to write about. You need to take some steps to determine whether the idea is worth pursuing.
First of all, you should clearly define what your book is about. Then you should define your target audience and examine the demand for such a book. Finally, you can put these items together as a query letter or book proposal.
Make a decision and act on it
Resources and references
Websites
Books
(Notice: The School for Champions may earn commissions from book purchases)
Top-rated books on Fiction Writing
Students and researchers
The Web address of this page is:
www.school-for-champions.com/fiction/
deciding_to_write_book.htm
Please include it as a link on your website or as a reference in your report, document, or thesis.
Where are you now?
Deciding to Write a Book