HOW TO: BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR

Walk into a bookstore these days and scan the shelves. Thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of books, are competing with yours and the front of the store is dominated by brand-name authors.

These days, it seems there are only three ways for an author to hit the best-seller list with a first novel: Over time, quality work will lead to an audience for your work. In the end, readers always choose. You have successfully joined Nicholas's private mailing list and will receive an email confirmation shortly.

No further action is required. Subscribers to Nicholas's private mailing list receive email updates about his upcoming projects, events, and other newsworthy items. Provide your email below to join the list. We will not share your email address with anyone and you can unsubscribe at anytime. Write down every possible thing you can think of until you've exhausted your brain.

Now go back through that list and pick topics that you would actually enjoy writing about. If you hate the topic, writing will be drudgery.

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Once you have a few possible topics, break those down into possible sub-topics. For example, if you have an interest in sewing, sub-topics might include how to sew curtains or hand stitching.

You want your topic to be broad enough that you could write a series of books about various elements of it. It's better to go deep into one aspect of a subject than to try to cover everything in one book. This gives you the opportunity to build a catalog of books, and it gives your reader more bang for the buck with each book you write. After you've selected a few topics, you'll need to do some research to see if the topic is viable and has enough interested readers to make it profitable for you.

We explain exactly how to do that research in the free video series I mentioned earlier, so be sure to watch so you understand this critical part of the process.

This research can make or break the success of your book. Let me tell you upfront -- you don't have to be an extraordinary writer to write a good book.

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You just need to be good enough to communicate what you have to say in a clear, concise, and interesting way. Write a "crappy first draft. So with complete permission to write a crappy first draft, you can get started with these steps:. Decide how much time you can devote to writing each day. Even if it's just 5 minutes, carve that time out as sacred writing time. Don't allow anything or anyone to disturb or distract you. Write an outline first. Break your topic down into possible chapters or sections, and then bullet point the info that will fit into each of them.

Sit down and write for your allotted time. Just write even if you aren't happy with it. Write in a conversational way so your authentic voice comes through.

Advice for Writers

Increase your writing time or word count over time. If you want to get more done, set increasingly bigger goals for yourself. For example, you might have a goal to write words a day. You could finish a 30, word non-fiction book in a month or two. For reference, I've written almost words to this point in my post. We strongly recommend you get an editor to go through your book before you publish.

Even if you're the most amazing writer in the world, you still need an editor. You need someone to polish your work, make sure it flows, and catch any mistakes.

1. Choose a topic.

Please don't skip this step. Of course you'll want to edit your own book several times before you send it to an editor. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb and re-write and edit carefully. You might even ask someone who's your ideal reader to look at your manuscript before you send it to an editor. For example, if you're writing a book on parenting teenagers, find someone you know who is the parent of a teenager and ask them to read your draft.

Ask for honest feedback so you can make sure the book appeals to the audience you're trying to reach. Try to have a thick skin when getting this feedback and see it as an opportunity to make your book the best it can be. Once you feel the book is ready for the editor's finishing touches, start looking for a good editor. You can find them at places like Upwork, ArchangelInk , and Elance. Interview a few people and look at some of the books they've edited, particularly in your niche. Many editors can also format your book for publishing on Kindle and for print.

There's a real art and science to choosing a good title for your book. You want a title that has a "hook" -- something short and pithy that really grabs the reader's attention. The subtitle can be longer with more explanation about how the book benefits the reader. I've learned a lot in the three short months of being a published author.

There's been a mix of positive and negative aspects, highs and lows, and laughs and tears. I am embracing it all and learning more about myself every single day, and Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. Maybe it's the nature of my memoir, which at its core deals with the hot-topic of public education, but it has been almost impossible to keep up with the onslaught of emails I am receiving from readers across the country. I'm doing my best to answer them as they come in, but in hindsight, perhaps I should have had a better plan of what types of emails I would answer.

At this point, my goal is to answer everyone at least once I never wanted to be that author that was impersonal and a recluse. The requests for interviews, podcasts, and speaking opportunities have been numerous, and that is flattering and exciting, but there are only so many hours in a day. Once again, having a strategy or standard around how many I will accept in a given period of time, would have been helpful for me. There's much time and energy that goes into preparing for these events, so just thinking, as I did, that I can fix "x" number into a period, wasn't realistic. I've learned that I need to account for time to prepare, travel time, and just my overall energy levels so that each time I "show up" for an appearance, I am in my best form!

I wasn't prepared for the haters. I wasn't ready for the people who not only disagree, which is fine, but do it in such a blatantly hateful and disrespectful manner -- most of which is online and now public for the world to see. The good news is, at least for now, for every disgruntled, angry person that posted something somewhere, 20 more people were there to support my message and book.

I have been able to build some quality, loving relationships with people who were just complete strangers only a few months ago. Using social media as a tool to build relationships is a powerful strategy!