So you want to write a book: 15 questions to ask yourself

Your book. In a bookstore. Front facing, prime placement.

BESTSELLER.

It’s something many aspiring authors dream of having. It’s their end goal. But in order to get there, you have to write the book first, right?

Right.

Writing a book is hard work. Like, really hard. You toil and slave and spend hours in front of a computer writing and deleting and writing and deleting and some days you think you’ve written gold and other days you think you’ve written crap. Most likely, it’s somewhere in between (that’s what editors are for!).

And that’s all okay.

But before you get that far, and before you make the commitment to write a book, you should probably ask yourself some questions:

1. What kind of book do I want to write?
2. Why do I want to write it?
3. What’s my end goal for the book?
4. How is it different from other books in the same niche or on the same topic?
5. What are some other books on the topic?
6. What do I want my book to look like? Is it a collection of interviews or essays? A narrative? How about the cover?
7. How much time can I commit to writing my book?
8. What question will it answer or problem will it solve?
9. Am I passionate about what I want to write?
10. Do I have a platform? How can I use it? If I don’t have one, am I willing to spend the time to create and cultivate one?
11. Do I want to self-publish or traditionally publish?
12. What’s my budget for services like editing and cover design (for self-publishing)?
13. Do I want an agent (for traditional publishing)? How do I find one?
14. When it comes to marketing, what am I willing to do? How much time and possibly money do I have to spend on it?
15. Am I a good writer? If not, but I know my idea is good, can I afford a ghostwriter to bring my idea to life?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and you don’t have to answer them in order. But by going through it and honestly answering the questions, you should be able to steer yourself in a direction and settle some thoughts about writing your book.