Many writers dream of writing "the" book, the one that becomes a bestseller. It is the book that makes you famous, honored and well paid. Not having written a best seller yet does not demonstrate a lack of talent, because there are tricks to make publishing success, and it's not something that pure artists are always happy with, like being trendy and letting publishers rework your manuscripts.. Give yourself a chance and try to make a bestseller. You never know what the future holds for you.
Steps
Part 1 of 6: Fiction or Realism
Step 1. Decide in which area you feel most comfortable
If you are flexible you can try both. You never know which one might work best. The next steps will tell you what you need to consider in making your choice.
Step 2. Choose the narrative
Try reading WikiHow articles on how to write a short story. Prepare your character profile and story in advance. Your bestseller must be simple to read and:
- Your readers must be able to understand the succession of events from the first to the last. A reader gives up immediately if these are unclear or mixed.
- Your readers need to be able to tell in what sequence of the book the events occurred.
- In general, you can attract and keep the attention of your readers through traits that connect your characters, an adventurous storyline and a fascinating description.
Step 3. Choose realism
Pick an important topic that interests many people. You have two angles: Find out if anyone has ever written about this topic. No? Great, you do it. Yes? What unique and specific angle can you take that has not yet been considered?
Refer to as many sources as possible regarding the topic
Step 4. Think diagonally
Who said a bestseller has to be a novel or a treatise? It can be a blog, an autobiography, a travel diary, an esteemed reference text, a children's book, a school book (compulsive reading, it will necessarily be a best seller) or a humor book. Choose the style that best suits your whims and abilities and bring it to fruition by following one of the publishing methods available today.
Part 2 of 6: Topics
Step 1. Choose your topic
In general, the selection of the topic is aided by one or more of these elements:
- The topic is passionate about. You could write it down to or wear your fingers and continue on.
- It's a very popular topic, both currently (make it moving) and perpetually (always try to give it a unique angle).
Step 2. If you are planning to write a fiction novel, some help elements can be:
- You already know your characters very well and think you have met them personally. Getting them back on paper will be very easy.
- You have an avalanche of daily fixations, delusions and attraction stored in a notebook, waiting to land on the pages and to fit into your characters to make their life complicated. People love being able to connect with everyday problems that stifle them and perplex them.
Step 3. If you write a non-narrative book, these other elements can also help you:
- It is something you are well versed in. Or are you going to do research on it until you die. Even better if you have a certificate or degree that demonstrates your experience in the research field. Help people trust what you write.
- You have the phone numbers of some expert you can call and ask questions when you get stuck or don't know how to continue.
- You like what you write. If not, you are very good at looking at things from different perspectives and staying objective. How long you manage to maintain this state will determine how successful your book will be.
Part 3 of 6: Writing the book
Step 1. Take notes continuously
Carry a notebook or notebook with you wherever you go and capture every idea that springs to mind as soon as you hear it coming.
Step 2. Take the time to write
Few people can afford to be full-time writers without an income that can allow them to eat. Unless you're Alain de Botton, who writes for a living (even though his novels have brought him more money), you'll have to do your best in your spare time. Use the time you stay on the bus when you go to and from work, for lunch, after dinner, on weekends, during holidays.
You should ask for a vacation to write a bestseller with caution. Judge the nature of your workplace first, the more conservative the status quo is, the less likely it is that it cares about your job
Step 3. Focus on the purpose of the book
Bestsellers don't need the best writers. Sure, some do, but it can take years for audiences to catch their genius, unless you plan on winning a literary award as well. If you want to be great, write first, and then revel in the details. Procrastination and perfectionism are the worst enemies of the best seller.
Step 4. Write a synopsis of your book
A plan, an outline, whatever you want. Brain storming is fine too. There are many rules for doing such a thing. You can also read them if you like. Or you can start writing, writing, writing. Not everyone chooses to do the same things, so look for your style.
- Narrative: Set the characters, their traits and their fixations, their motivations. It should be fun. Characterize them as they grow in your mind. If they are based on your neighbor or ex-lover, make sure they are not recognizable, unless you enjoy being sued. Write the situations you want to develop in the book, the plot, the series of events, whether they will be lucky or unlucky. And what will all of this lead to? Suspense, surprise, a happy ending or a huge boom in which everyone dies?
- Non-fiction: Consider the sections, methods and parts. How are you going to approach the topics? Chapters can be divided into sections, etc. Let's say you're writing about people's love for apple pies. The first section might try to explain what an apple is, with stories about how people miss the apple pies of their childhood. Section two should cover places where you can find the best apples to make a pie. Section three should be a collection of recipes. Section four should solve the problems of unsuccessful apple pies. Section five should be full of apple pie photos taken from Instagram. And so on. Some topics, like cats and beer, are never enough for people, and all you need is a modern and current point of view. There are other topics covered repeatedly, such as celebrities and pop music. You will need new and bizarre ways of portraying things to grab the reader's attention.
Step 5. Continuously review your progress
Is the manuscript going where you want it to go? It is interesting, understandable, fascinating, exciting, useful, pleasant, sparkling, intelligent, fashionable. In short, is it going where you want it to go?
Don't be afraid to split the elements in two for other projects. Sometimes when you are in the middle of writing one topic, another tends to come out all the time. Write it down, label it and set it aside for the next project. Avoid adding too many things to the single piece you are writing. After all, if your work becomes a bestseller, you will need other ideas to produce and transform into other best sellers
Step 6. Set a deadline
Miss it several times. Set other deadlines, Mancale. After all, life has a habit of getting in between the feet. Finally set the final deadline, and respect it. This time, finish the book. There is a point in life where you have to choose between being an author who waits and a published author who hopes to become a bestseller. Decide and complete the drafting.
- Be realistic. A book about the last group of rice-eating wildebeest in outer Mongolia will take longer than the story of some vampire destroying the neighborhood people's party. Especially if you need to travel and money to be able to go to Mongolia to do some research. Extensive research can take years, you can urge your imagination to move faster.
- The holes can be filled later. That's what friendly critics and not-so-friendly editors are for, before publication. Listen to them, they can see the tree that you cannot see because you have gone too far into the forest.
Part 4 of 6: Reviewing the Job
Step 1. Go through the text meticulously
Read your work after taking a break. Correct grammatical and pronunciation errors. Remove meaningless situations, which add nothing special.
Step 2. Have colleagues, acquaintances, or classmates review the work
You may be tempted to show your work to family or friends. Do you really think they will be able to make an honest criticism? Be realistic and only ask people who are least likely to praise your work. For example, you might join a writers' club and meet some critics who can give you advice or suggest improvements.
Step 3. Think of a unique and captivating title
For example, if your book is about global warming, the title could be "Coats are useless": The uselessness of coats indicates the impossibility of winter, because during that season we wear coats. Many authors waste a lot of time trying to come up with the perfect title, only to have the publisher change it. Strive to find a good title, but do it in your spare time.
Step 4. Submit your book to a reputable reporter (who doesn't trample the work of writers)
Maybe it's not specific. You can keep your book relegated to a catalog or you can write to a newspaper or magazine to advertise it. Better if you include positive comments from other magazines or reputable critics in your letters.
Part 5 of 6: Be Humble
Step 1. Let the editor do the work in pieces
Don't pontificate about how wonderful your book is. Publishers are artisans, just like writers and are there to "help" not to hinder you. They are there to polish the gems and show their best potential, in the hope that it will be bestselling potential. Accept this help for what it's worth and leave room for suggestions. Take advice seriously.
- Friendly editors are useful to help you easily survive the editorial experience. The evil ones are just bad, they serve to make you more cunning and to make you self-pity. At the end of the fair, in any case, try to pay attention to the intermediate one. Nice when you invite him to dinner, but terrible when it comes to work and how to improve it.
- Only submit your book to a publisher if you don't mind it being edited impersonally. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you choose to view it. Overall, the experience of a publisher, the publishing house behind him and his reputation can only do you good. There are people who buy a book only for those who "publish" it, not for those who write it.
Step 2. Make essential changes
Finally, you will have to judge what to leave, what to rewrite and what to delete, based on the comments of the editor and critics. Trust what they say and your gut, but pay attention to both. Your instincts might just be stubbornness disguised as truth, while not all editors and critics can grasp the essence of what you write. Try to distance yourself from your work, give yourself time to consider the comments that have been addressed to you and then resume it to assemble it in its last phase, publication.
Part 6 of 6: Publication and Waiting …
Step 1. Decide how the book will be published
There are several possibilities, such as using a renowned publishing house, contacting paid publishing (self-publishing), or publishing the book as an E-book or as an online blog.
Choose a well-known publisher and you've won half the battle to become a bestseller. You can try with Mondadori, Carrocci, Salani, they publish many best sellers. However, publishing houses "reject" many manuscripts, so get yourself a nice list of publishers and don't give up. Continue to submit the manuscripts, again and again until they are accepted. Otherwise try to publish it independently
Step 2. Have the publisher take care of the marketing part
If you have chosen to use a publishing house and they have accepted your job, have them take care of the marketing part of the book. If they don't intend to, ask them why. If you don't like the answer, you may have to go back to the list, but at least it's worth persisting before you quit.
Step 3. Wait
Some bestsellers are dormant. Others may need a few nudges from you. Share the pages where you can buy it, on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. Tell your friends or family that it has been released (in this case you can ask them to help you. Give some copies for Christmas. Send copies to your favorite artists. Advertise.)
Step 4. Know that there is no guarantee that the bestseller spell will come true
It totally depends on the situation, the buyers' trends, the season, the astrological influences… Really, there are many factors that make a viral or bestselling writing job. You can do your best to do it, but aside from well-known authors and safe genres (detective and romance novels), most thrive on hope. Your editor can do something but can't work miracles, so be patient. If, after a year or two, the book makes regular sales, retrace your steps and get back to writing. It just means you have yet to write your bestseller, so don't give up.
Consider sending your book to some group that deals with literary awards. In some cases, the publisher takes care of it directly. Receiving a literary award can be useful, both for recognition of work and for financial gain
Step 5. Start writing the sequel
Get started right away if the book becomes a bestseller. Your readers still want to read you. Ditto if it doesn't become a bestseller, the sooner you come back to believe what you write, the better it will be.
Advice
- If you get the contract for a book, get it checked by a lawyer. The rights of a best seller are not something to be overlooked.
- Book presentation parties are useful. People like parties, and those who like books like parties that have a book as a purpose. Use this opportunity to make the book known. Sing and smile a lot.
- Get translated. Encourage people living in other countries to learn about your talent. The more sales, the better. As far as you know, the Japanese or the Swedes may be more on your wavelength than the Italians.
- Hear criticism of your book or work. You need them to make changes. Except if they are malicious, then you are free to burn them.
- Be conscientious. What is it that matters to people, who want to know and what they can't get enough of? Find out how to keep your readers interested when writing a bestseller. You can always leave the more esoteric and profound writings for when you need to write the sequel to your editorial success.
- Keep a record of how many books you have sold and how many bestseller lists it has entered.
