Many writers talk about writing their first manuscript, but what exactly are manuscripts? Here are eight great tips for debut authors and aspiring writers who are writing their first manuscript.
What is a Manuscript?
A draft of a writer’s work is called a manuscript. It could be a memoir, a novel, a collection of poems, a children’s story, a nonfiction book, or something similar. Before, the word “manuscript” meant a version of a book that was written by hand or on a typewriter. Now, it means any unpublished work, even ones written on a computer using a word processor.
How to Write a Great Book: 8 Tips
Here are some tips to help you write your manuscript, whether it’s your first book or your tenth.
1. Set aside time for writing.
The most important thing to do when writing a manuscript is simple: write. Even though this may seem obvious, most writers find it hard to sit down and write every day because their lives are so busy and full of other things to do.
If you want to finish a manuscript, you need to give yourself time to work on it. You should try to set aside at least an hour a day, every day. This way, you’ll get used to it and be ready for it. You could even set a daily goal for how many words you want to write.
2. Don’t Believe in Writers’ Block.
Even if you don’t think you have anything to write, you should still try to write something during your writing time. “People love to talk about writer’s block because it sounds like something you can’t do anything about,” said award-winning author Neil Gaiman. “I can’t write anything. I’m unable to write. “And it’s what the gods want,” Neil says. “Of course, that’s not true.”
Don’t believe the myth that you have “writer’s block.” If you feel stuck, try these things:
• Do something else.
Step away for a moment and do something else. Often, your brain will keep working on the problem while you’re thinking about something else.
• Reread what you’ve written.
Come back to your work and read it from the beginning as if you’ve never seen it before. Often, you’ll be able to see very clearly where the story went “wrong,” and you can delete the part that’s not working and try again.
• Do the hard parts first.
If you’re stuck because you’re nervous or unsure about the next plot point, write it anyway. You might find that it takes the story in a new and interesting direction.
• Set a due date for yourself.
When you know you have to do something by a certain time, you’ll be more motivated to do it.
• Write what you know next.
Even if you don’t have a full story plan, you probably know where the story can go next. Write that part of the story, and then see where it can go from there.
3. Get your feet on the ground.
Writing is a lot harder if you haven’t done any planning first, whether that’s an outline, some research, a book title, or even just a quick “mission statement” or goal of your work.
If you’re facing any trouble coming up with an outline, try writing a cover letter for your manuscript idea. This is a one-page letter that pitches your work to possible book publishers or agents.
Don’t worry if you haven’t written the manuscript yet or don’t know how it ends. Just try writing the pitch for your cover letter and see what you come up with. It could lead to some cool plot twists you haven’t tried yet! You can take help from Alpha Book Writers professionals to get your manuscript reviewed by a team of professional editors. They also have experienced teams of ghostwriters depending on the writing niches.
4. Don’t stop when a paragraph ends.
When it’s time to stop writing for the day, don’t finish the scene or chapter you’re working on. Instead, leave yourself on a bit of a cliffhanger. So, when you come back to writing the next day, you won’t have to start over with a new paragraph or page. Instead, you’ll be right in the middle of the action, which will make it much easier to get back into writing.
5. Make friends with other authors.
A group of other writers is a great source of help for writers. Meeting other writers can help you in many ways, from getting tips on how to improve your writing to having a reliable group of readers who can give you feedback on your project. You might even find someone to write your manuscript with you. Keeping in touch with other writers is also helpful because they can hold you accountable for writing, which will make you more likely to set aside time to write every day.
6. Don’t worry about how to format the manuscript yet.
Title pages, indentation, chapter titles, page numbers, scene breaks, endnotes, double or single spacing—preparing a manuscript can be a confusing task, and if you’re doing it all for the first time, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So, it’s best to worry about the formatting later, so you can focus on writing interesting descriptions, strong characters, and interesting plots right now instead of worrying about whether to use Times New Roman or Arial. Right now, the only thing that matters is how easy it is to read.
7. Don’t try to be perfect.
Many fiction writers keep reading what they’ve written over and over again in order to revise, copyedit, and proofread their manuscripts, but they try to fight that urge. To finish your manuscript, the best thing you can do is to write it, and you can worry about making it perfect later. Try to make it a goal: don’t go back to the beginning of the first page until you’re done.
8. Keep writing!
Writing a manuscript is a long process that can tire out even the best writers. But don’t give up! If you want to finish your project and see your first novel on shelves in New York, the best thing you can do is keep writing and then get ready to send in your manuscript.
Conclusion
To write a good manuscript, and book writing services needs to talk to the people who will read them and learn what they want. The customer is the audience. The consumer should get what he wants, not what the author thinks the consumer should want.
