How to Write a Christian Book

Every Christian has a story to tell. It is, after all, our calling to give our testimony to others as well as to spread the Word of God. One great way to do this is to write a book. The written word has the ability to reach people in the most unexpected of places. This brief "How-To" should help get you on your way to writing your first book.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Bible
• Computer or
• Pen & Paper

1. Pray: You first need to determine what the Lord wants you to write. Through reflection and prayer you will feel drawn to a certain topic or concept.
2. Brainstorm: Begin to list out all of the ideas and concepts that you have been thinking about. Next, come up with different titles for each idea. Look at your idea list and choose a couple of them to develop further.
3. Determine The Type of Writing: You will need to figure out what type of voice you want to give the book. Is the book a very analytical and factual work? Or will it be more anecdotal and contain stories from your life experiences and feelings?
4. Outline the Chapters: List out all of the different things you would write about for each idea. Then, for each concept, organize the different topics into a chapter outline.
5. The cover of my book, Plans To Prosper You: Find Your Purpose Through Jeremiah 29. Pick a Concept: You now have a few fully developed concepts complete with chapter outlines. At this point you will need to pick one. Pray again. Determine which concept has the most substance to it. Identify which idea excites you the most.
6. Begin to Write: Once you have chosen your concept, write the Introduction. This will probably change down the road but doing it first is a great way to set your direction for the writing. Then write one chapter at a time. As you write, you will get ideas you will want to put in future chapters. Be sure to write them down so you remember them.
7. Other Writing Details: To learn all about copyrights, ISBN #s, Barcodes, publishing, and selling read my other eHow article entitled: How To Make Money Writing Booklets. http://www.ehow.com/how_2217851_money-writing-booklets.html

Tips & Warnings

• Ask a family member or friend to read the chapters as you write them.
• Use citations of Scripture throughout your book. You can even start each chapter with a verse of Scripture.
• Spend a good amount of time on Prayer and Brainstorming. Many ideas seem like they would make great books but there is just now enough information to fill up the book.
• You are allowed to use quotes from Scripture, but you must put the appropriate copyright statement next to each usage and in the front of the book. You can find this information in the front of the Bible you use.