How to Write a Book for The First Time: My Personal Journey

This is my personal journey on becoming an author and learning how to write a book; from basic idea and writing the very first word, to getting it published and creating an income (hopefully).

I provide a personal account of my journey: writing successes, my failures, the barriers I come up against, and what I do to overcome them. If you want to write your own first novel but you’re not sure how, you can follow my journey for some practical tips and inspiration.

As this is the first major blog post of my "Book Writing Project" - my documented journey of writing and publishing my first ever book - I want to share something personal with you.

Just to set you straight, I have never written a book, or had any inspiration to write one, before now.

I was an average learner at school. My grades, to be blunt, were rubbish. And I very rarely read books. I don’t enjoy reading. At the time of writing this post, I’ve probably read less books than the number of fingers on both hands.

Well, there you have it. I’m not some super-educated university graduate. So, why am I telling you this? Here's why... If I make it, I want to be able to inspire others who want to write, but think they can't.

My "Book Writing Project" Overview

My "Book Writing Project" is a step-by-step beginner's guide on learning how to write a book for the first time and getting it published. This page lists all of the updates for writing my first book.

Here you'll find my periodic reports on my book writing progress and experiences to becoming a writer; from a complete novice to being a published author.

This is a complete record of everything that has happened to me along the way - mistakes and all - that will hopefully give some useful starting tips in writing and publishing a first book.

Read the posts below to get all the detailed updates!

For a quick summary of the timeline and major milestones of the project, please see the list here:

5th June 2010: I lay out my book writing plan and strategy
12th June 2010: Author Website: Why I built my own website and how I did it