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Or direct me on where I need to go?

I have just started writing me own book. I started it in MS Word. It is aimed for teen girls, self-esteem issues, etc.

Can someone please tell me how I get started then when I finish what I need to do? I have NO idea on what to do. I want this to be on every shelf in the world!! a best seller, etc. I want every teen girl to read this and know they are not alone!

I am typing it in MS word now, but what do I do when I am done? Thanks so much!!!

Well, it's difficult to say how to start, since I don't know where you are in the process. Sooner or later, if you haven't written much before, you'll probably start wondering if there's a process to writing and if you're doing the right things or not. Published authors always seem to have an answer to "advice on how to write," and invariably the answer is always different. My advice is to experiment with all the different"techniques, be it to write and outline, have the whole story complete before you write a word, or just start banging out thoughts as they come to you. (The latter is what works best for me, and I edit and rewrite if needed after I finish)

I think you do have to have at least a basic idea of where you want your story to go, though. Nothing specific, just some key things that you want to happen and especially specific ideas you think your book should convey. Sounds like you have some of that with the self esteem them already.

As for when you finish, my personal advice is to try not to worry about that now. You;re not going to want to contact anyone until your book is finished and where you want it, and that's going to take awhile, most likely. BUT since I know you want an answer anyway, there are several books available on getting published that you should not be ashamed to look at. They can't provide a 2+2=4 guide, but I've found they are excellent for getting ideas on conduct especially.

ABOVE ALL, don't give up. You're going to face discouragement, whether its doubt in your own ability or how your work will be received. Your writing will improve pretty fast with practice, and your first draft probably won't be a masterpiece, but with time you'll get it where you want. THEN you get to face probable discouragement getting it published. Persistence is key. J.K Rowling was rejected by twelve publishers over a year-long period.

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply. I am writing my first book & I am on chapter 6 of it. I am not sure how many chapters I should have or how many words for each chapter or for the whole book. My book is aimed for tween and teen girls about fitting in, being yourself, etc.

Could you possibly help me with how many chapters I should have and the word count please? Thanks so much in advance.

I could be wrong on this, but no one's ever told me otherwise. Unless a publisher asks for a specific size, I don't think you want to worry about length, at least not until you've finished a tentative draft. A few broad spectrum guidelines, I suppose, would be that for your audience, you don't want to write a new "War and Peace," obviously. One thing you might do is go to a store and look at other books in your genre, and see how they are formatted. But don't try to restrict yourself to a certain length, or stretch your story to one either. The best book is the one you write to get your point across, not how well it conforms to a length requirement. If you decide it's too short, there may be ideas you may not have explored to their full potential, or even entirely new characters/plot lines you want to create. If it's too long, perhaps you're overworking one angle or another, but I rather doubt you'll encounter this problem.

As for chapters, this is even more subjective than overall length. They should have decent length to them, sure, (one or two pages is uncommonly short for a chapter) so I would say that would should end a chapter where it feels good to you. Whether that's at a good point in the plot or if a lengthy bit in the story needs to be broken up is mostly your discretion.

Again, I'm not a full professional, so this is just my experience as an amateur and my own opinions.

The best way to sort out your publisher is by reasearching other books of like genre. How are the chapters set out? Who are the publishers of those books? Etc..

When you feel you are ready, you can send a query letter to the relevant publishing houses to discover their requirements for a manuscript submission.

If there is a Writer's group in your area, you might like to attend meetings for advice on how to proceed, for support - and feedback on your writing if you want it.

First things first, best advice I can give is finish the book. If it's nonfiction, which it sort of sounds like, then make sure everything is well researched. Then, get some acquaintances- or better yet a reading group- to read it. I say acquaintances b/c friends might not tell you the truth about it.
Form a query letter and send it off with a prayer:-)

Ashley,

These are very good suggestions. In addition I would like to add that as you go through the writing of your book, you should keep four key areas in mind: 1. Mechanics, 2. Manuscript preparation, 3. Characterization, and 4. Plotting & Structure. Think of it as covering all the bases.

It isn’t enough to get the mechanics down, like basic grammar and avoiding word over use, but that needs to be the supporting structure to characterization and plotting to take the tension/conflict to an irresistable level. Some of the polishing may come in the form of achieving the right balance of descriptive adjectives and action verbs. Remember that under-describing something is just as bad as over-describing it. The right amount of descriptive instruments is what will help “show” the readers the scene to the point that they are completely immersed in the illusion of the story (and this is where having flawless mechanics is critical, because plotting/characterization/mechanical flaws are like bumps in the road that will distract readers from an otherwise pleasurable experience.

There are many self-help books available to assist in the development of your writing craft. The following have worked quite well for me: 1. THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by Strunk and White, 2. HOW TO PREPARE YOUR MANUSCRIPT FOR A PUBLISHER, by David Carroll, 3. CREATING UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS, by Lisa Seger, and 4. PLOT AND STRUCTURE, by James Scott Bell.

Best of luck and stay the course to finish your first novel.

--R.J. Pineiro

self help books can really help.

Congrats on focusing on an issue that lots of tweens and teens face every day and struggle with!
I am a writer and a tween so I know that my advice is not professional, but I do have experience with LOTS of books and writing.
I pretty much joined this site because, well, it's summertime and none of my friends share my writing or reading passion. I've written a few long stories, maybe not quite novels yet, but my all-time dream is to be a novelist. I understand that knowing all this didnt help you're writing progress, but all I'm saying is that I'm looking forward to reading it!

I suppose it would help that because this is a self-help book, it can't possibly have the dreaded PLOT HOLE.

self help books can really help.

I think the best way to get more information is to read other similar books, to see their structure and to make an idea. Then you'll be able to inspire yourself, to open more creation spirit.

How is the book going?

The best thing to do in my opinion as a published writer of 17 years is to write about what you love. The best way to first begin to understand story structure and your audience is read the bestselling novels in your genre, which would be YA (young adult) fiction. Get onto the YA blogs and watch YA shows, like "If you really knew me" on MTV which will give you direct insight into the minds of teenagers other than yourself (if you are in fact a teenager or were recently one!). From there just write the story and focus on your craft. Ordering a magazine like Writer's Digest will give you great articles about the craft of writing--things like characterization, plot structure, plot points, conflict, etc... The more you know about the basics of writing, the better your chances of having a publishable novel. From there you will need a literary agent, but that's still a ways a way if you haven't started yet, so don't try to take on the weight of what to do next for it can startle your creativity and that is not a good thing to do so early on. Just enjoy your story. Write it for you.