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Step 1
First, a significant amount of your time should be spent on the planning process before you even write your book's first page.
With fiction books, establishing your characters and setting prior to writing makes the process much easier. According to your writing style, you may want to outline or at least plan the general purpose of each of your scenes.
With nonfiction books, unless you're an established authority on a subject you should do a lot of outside research on your topic. This can take several weeks to months according to the depth of the subject. Again however, this will make things easier as opposed to having to go back and research more midway through the book when you could have done everything at once. -
Step 2
Writing a book takes discipline, and you have to make time for it to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.
When you make the decision to write a book, you need to get your family and everyone else around you involved to the degree that they understand what you're trying to accomplish.
After spending a lot of time preparing, I was able to write the core of a fiction novel in less than three months. I worked on it every day however--sometimes only for thirty minutes and other days three to four hours. I never ran into writer's block because I had a clear idea of what I wanted--it just became a matter of getting it all down. -
Step 3
Editing is an ongoing process--never ignore it or put it off.
You're not going to get things right on your first draft, so don't expect for it to be perfect. You almost have to think of the editing process like refining a metal--the more times you do it, the better end product you'll have.
It's good to seek out people who are strong in areas of writing where you're weak. For example, I have a good feel for character development and setting, but I consult several people who I know are grammar experts to catch thing I know I'd miss otherwise. -
Step 4
As you're writing or when you're finished with the book, consider your publishing options.
Traditional publishers can be found in books such as the Writer's Market series, and there are also self-publishing options out there as well. Beware of scams (no legitimate publisher will ask you to pay huge sums of money for the opportunity publish) and be sure to read and understand any agreement you decide to enter into.
