There seems to be more business writing than fiction writing these days. There are a lot of people who have stories to tell, experience, knowledge, and a vision of “how things should be. What if you’ve made the decision to write your own book and it’s not a novel about love and adventure?

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I should say at once: I – like the author of the original post – is not a writer, but I write and read a lot, so I share many of his views on the process of creating books and interesting new content in general.

Tip one: don’t tell anyone you’re about to write a book (or even have already started writing one

Very often, having just made a list of tasks or getting ready to do something, people rush to notify all their friends and acquaintances that here, “I’m going to be a writer.” If you don’t succeed – and 90% of the time you don’t succeed the first time – you will be judged and discussed behind your back, you don’t want that.

Tip two: Writing a book and the process of promoting it to publishers is not an easy stage

 and therefore you will have the feeling that your book is almost genius in the course of all the work and all the negotiations. Moreover: even the worst author has an ironclad confidence that his book is a real treasure for the publisher. Do not set the bar high for yourself and others, try to look at things soberly.

Tip number three: It may not be too late to change your mind.

For example, do some project, become a columnist, start a startup – to find a lot of other activities in which the likelihood of making substantial money is much higher than in writing a book. Even fiction rarely becomes a bestseller; business or niche books, and those from first-time authors, are almost never commercially successful. So if you’re writing a book to make money – this option is immediately out of the question.

Fourth advice: despite the first three tips, you should still try your hand

and take up the book, if you have such a desire. If the book seems too voluminous a project for you, start writing. But don’t “hit” freelance journalism or write a few lengthy, good pieces a couple of times a year. Even selling them to The New York Times or the Atlantic won’t make you financially independent. Don’t take up writing and journalism at all if your goal is to make money. Extremely narrow circle of people who make a living from books or articles (creations like “Harry Potter” and “50 Shades of Grey” and numerous “Darya Dontsova-styles” literary fiction – the exception to the rule, not the rule).

Tip five: forget about the fact that writers are admired by anyone.

They are envied, they are criticized, many “colleagues in the shop” they are washed up and said that “so-and-so – a mere mediocrity,” but they – unappreciated genius. Noise and talk, popularity and attempts to “make a name for themselves” – this is not why people start writing books. At least – those books that are not disgusting and not boring to read. Many aspiring authors “write in the desk” or send manuscripts in the hope that someone will notice them and make them a millionaire. Neither of these things brings you results in the current moment: neither financially nor morally.

Next tip: listen to reasonable criticism, to constructive criticism

seek advice and opinions not from dilettantes or even your friends, but from people who have more professional and life experience than you do. And don’t pay attention to “haters” and know-it-alls, of which there are plenty on the Internet (and in offline life, too, there are quite a few). Distinguish criticism from publishers, editors, and reviewers from the flood of “muck” generated by your acquaintances and strangers.

Don’t forget to work on errors, authorial style, and accessibility. Appreciate the work of your editor: he or she often receives an extremely “raw” text from you, in which you do not notice many errors. Your editor, on the other hand, corrects flaws and “imperfections” and helps you create a stylistically coherent, literate and easy-to-read text. Yes, editors can often be too harsh and abrupt; but it is the result of their work that ultimately determines how successful the book will be.

The success of a good book lies in the author’s ability not to complain to readers or to show them the story “from the outside,” but to make the reader feel in your own shoes, “in your own skin. No one cares about your difficult childhood, your parents’ divorce, or the fact that at school you were a fat, ugly kid with glasses. But if the difficulties you have experienced are presented in such a way that the reader learns from them and has important emotional or moral implications for himself or herself, if he or she feels as if it were happening to him or her, then it is a successful book.

Books can be very useful in a number of ways. Some of the benefits of reading books include:

1. Improving knowledge and understanding: Books can provide information and perspectives on a wide range of subjects, helping you to learn new things and gain a deeper understanding of the world around you.
2. Developing critical thinking skills: Reading books requires you to think critically and analyze what you are reading, which can help you to develop strong critical thinking skills.
3. Expanding vocabulary: Books often contain a wide range of words and ideas, which can help you to expand your vocabulary and improve your language skills.
4. Improving communication skills: Reading and discussing books can help you to improve your ability to communicate effectively with others.
5. Relaxation and stress relief: Reading can be a relaxing and enjoyable activity that can help you to reduce stress and improve your mental health.
6. Providing entertainment: Books can be a source of entertainment and can help to pass the time in a enjoyable way.
7. Improving focus and concentration: Reading requires focus and concentration, which can help to improve these skills over time.
8. Inspiring creativity and imagination: Books can spark the imagination and inspire creative thinking.
9. Encouraging empathy: Reading about the experiences and perspectives of others can help you to develop empathy and understanding for people who are different from you.

Let’s say you have taken all the above tips into account, written your first book or a series of author’s articles, published them and even attracted the attention of the audience. And then you still begin to feel that you are “in the shadows. And this shadow is cast by more famous and “promoted” authors. It’s time to remember that the fruits of their “creativity” and popularity are the result of hard work, lots of mistakes, and a life that “screwed” them (or they screwed it) both literally and figuratively. Should you be jealous of someone else’s success if you don’t know its true price?

Becoming a good writer or writing an interesting book is no easy task. Not everything depends on diligence, diligence and regular “training”: you can sit for eight hours a day with a laptop, paper, pen and dictaphone – and you will still get something dull and colorless that no one wants to read. Not always the desire to write a book coincides with the capabilities and talent. But to make efforts and improve all the same it is necessary. Anyone who wants to write the first book of his life should read a lot, write even more, try different styles and genres, listen to the world around you. Most importantly, trash all those “musts” and “deserves/not deserves attention” that novice authors so often suffer from.