How to Write a Book: A Step-by-Step Guide From Idea to Finished Novel

Writing a book means taking one idea all the way to a finished, revised manuscript, usually 70,000 to 100,000 words for an adult novel. What makes it hard is rarely talent. It's that a book is too big to hold in your head at once, so you need a plan for the length, the story and the months it takes.

This guide lays out the whole path for a novel, in the order you'll meet it: the idea, the length and the deadline, planning, the first draft, revision, and what to do with the finished book. Each step links to a longer guide. If you've never finished a piece of fiction, start smaller with our guide to finishing your first short story, then come back.

At a glance

1. Pick one idea you can state in a sentence: who wants what, and what stands in the way.
2. Choose a target length and divide it by the days you have. That number is your daily goal.
3. Plan enough to know the ending and the main turns, then write the first draft without stopping to fix it.
4. Rest the draft, revise from the big problems down to the sentences, and only then decide how to publish.

The seven steps at a glance

The time shares are a rough guide, not a rule. Some writers plan for months and draft fast. Others plan almost nothing and revise heavily.

Step 1: Choose the idea

A book idea is ready when you can say it in one sentence with a character, a goal and an obstacle. “A retired lighthouse keeper has to find the ship that vanished on her last night on duty before the inquiry blames her” is a book. “A story about magic and identity” is a theme, and it won't tell you what happens on page 40.

If you have several ideas, pick the one you'd still want to work on in six months. If you have none, start from a list of story ideas and change one detail until it feels like yours.

Decide the genre now too. It sets the reader's expectations, the usual length, and later which agents or categories the book belongs to.

Step 2: Set the length and the deadline

A goal without a number is hard to keep. Pick a target length from your genre's range, then divide.

Most adult novels run 70,000 to 100,000 words, and Writer's Digest calls 80,000 to 89,999 a safe range for most debuts. Our guide to novel word counts has the ranges by genre and what they mean in pages and chapters.

Pick a daily number you can hit on a bad day. A small goal is easier to keep up for months than a big one you only meet twice a week. If a group deadline helps you, a November writing challenge gives you one.

Step 3: Plan the book

How much to plan is personal, but almost every finished book needs three things decided before the middle of the draft.

• The main characters. What each one wants, what they're afraid of, and what they'd never do. A character sheet keeps this in one place.
• The ending. It can change, but writing toward a known point keeps the middle from wandering.
• The main turns. Four or five events that change the direction of the story. A structure such as kishotenketsu or the three acts gives them a shape, and a subplot can carry the stretches between them.

As you invent names, places and rules, write them down. A story bible saves you from rereading 200 pages to check what you called the innkeeper. If your book is set in an invented world, our worldbuilding guide covers what to work out first.

A scene list helps most when you get stuck. One line per scene is enough: where it happens, who's there, what changes. At 2,500 words a scene, an 80,000-word novel is about 32 scenes.

Step 4: Write the first draft

Get to the end of the first draft before you fix anything. Most of what makes a draft good happens in revision.

• Don't revise while drafting. When a line is wrong, leave it. When you don't know what happens, write a note in brackets, like “[they fight about the letter here]”, and move to the next scene.
• Write at the same time each day if you can. A fixed slot does more than willpower.
• Skip ahead when you're stuck. Write the scene you can see, even if it's out of order.
• Expect the middle to sag. Around the 30 to 60 percent mark, the opening energy fades. Go back to your list of turns and write toward the next one.
• Keep track of what you decide. A character's eye color on page 12 will come back on page 280.

Step 5: Let it rest

Put the draft away when you finish it. Two weeks is a good minimum, longer if you can. You need to forget enough of it to read it as a reader would, not as the person who remembers what each scene was supposed to do.

Start something else in the meantime, or work on notes for the next book.

Step 6: Revise

Revise from the largest problems to the smallest. Fixing commas in a scene you'll later cut is wasted work.

1. The story. Read the whole draft quickly. Does it hold together? Do the turns come at the right moments? Does anyone act out of character? Our guide to plot holes shows what to look for.
2. The scenes. Cut scenes that don't change anything. Combine scenes that do the same job. Add the ones the story skipped.
3. The sentences. Only now: rhythm, word choice, dialogue, typos.

Then show it to other readers. A few readers who like your genre will tell you where they got bored or confused. You don't have to take every note, but when two readers stop at the same place, something is wrong there.

Step 7: Decide what happens to the book

A finished, revised manuscript has two main paths.

• Traditional publishing. For most large publishers you need a literary agent. You send a query letter and sample pages in standard manuscript format. Our guide on how to get a literary agent covers the query letter and how to send in rounds.
• Self-publishing. You publish the book yourself, for example through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, and you handle the cover, the description and the marketing. You'll need a back cover blurb either way, and our guide to book blurbs has a template.

You don't have to decide before you finish. Many writers choose once they see the finished book.

How long does it take to write a book?

It depends on your daily number more than anything. At 500 words a day, an 80,000-word draft takes about five months. Revision often takes about as long again. A year from first page to a revised manuscript is a realistic plan for someone writing around a job.

Common mistakes

• Starting over instead of finishing. A new opening feels better than a hard middle. Finish the draft, then decide what to rewrite.
• Waiting for a free month. Small daily amounts add up. 300 words a day is over 100,000 words in a year.
• Revising chapter 1 forever. The opening usually changes once you know the ending. Write it last, or at least revise it last.
• Keeping the world in your head. By the second half, names and rules drift. Write them down as you go.

Writing your book in TypeTak

TypeTak is an AI writing editor where you write alongside an agent. Here it's for getting a book-length draft finished, and keeping it consistent from the first chapter to the last.

• The whole book has a finish line. Give the manuscript a goal of 80,000 words in Goals, and its card shows how close the draft is. A daily goal of 440 words shows today's progress below the editor.
• Chapter 30 remembers chapter 3. Keep your characters, places and rules in one place. When you forget what you called the innkeeper, ask the agent, and it checks your notes and the chapters you've written.
• Know where the draft falls short before readers do. Run Feedback on a chapter after the draft has rested. You get an overall verdict, strengths, and what to improve with how to fix it, plus a separate card for places that contradict your characters or setting.

What the book is about, and how it ends, is yours to decide.

FAQ

How do I start writing a book?

Write down your idea in one sentence with a character, a goal and an obstacle. Pick a target length and a deadline, divide to get a daily word count, decide roughly how it ends, and start writing the first scene.

How many words is a book?

Most adult novels are 70,000 to 100,000 words. Anything over 40,000 words counts as a novel, and the right length depends on the genre.

How long does it take to write a book?

At 500 words a day, a first draft of 80,000 words takes about five months. Revision often takes a similar amount of time.

Should I outline my book before writing?

At least decide the ending and the main turns. Some writers plan every scene, others very little, but knowing where the story is going keeps the middle from stalling.

Can I write a book with no experience?

Yes. Many first-time novelists start with a short story to learn how to finish something, then move on to a book with a daily goal and a simple plan.

Do I need an agent to publish a book?

For most large publishers, yes. Small presses and self-publishing don't require one.

Sources

Length

Writer's Digest: word count for novels

Publishing

Authors Guild: Choosing a Literary Agent·KDP: Kindle Direct Publishing