If you’re wondering how to choose what book to write first, you’re definitely not alone. Let’s jump back in time to fall many years ago.
I had just been accepted to beta test a New York Times bestselling author’s new writing course. To do so, I needed to write what would become my very first upmarket fiction novel, but at the time, I didn’t know how to choose what book to write first.
Of course I had ideas, but how was I supposed to know which one to go with? I didn’t want to make the wrong decision. The good news is, I now know the secret to choosing the best book idea.
Additionally, we’ve taught over 8,000 authors how to write, publish, and market their books over the last 10 years. You better believe that has included guiding our students on how to choose the right book idea.
If you want to make money publishing books but feel unclear on which idea to run with, I’ve got you. Let’s get straight into it.
How to choose what book to write first: the details we cover
- What kind of book should I write first?
- 4 Steps for how to choose what book to write first
- What is the most life-changing book?
- FAQs for how to choose what book to write first
What kind of book should I write first?
The first book you write does not need to be a particular “kind” or genre, as long as it’s the type of book you long to write.
For example, when I first had to learn how to choose what book to write first, I was naive (or brilliant) enough not to focus on what was selling.
Instead, I just focused on the idea that I couldn’t get out of my head: a dystopian society I had come up with during one of my college communication classes (apologies, Professor).
In fact, one of the most important aspects of learning how to choose what book to write first actually relies on what you are most interested in, not the book genres that are currently flying off the shelves.
My book coach, a New York Times bestselling author, said that if we had a plethora of ideas and didn’t know which one to choose, simply choose the one we felt most passionate about.
This is tremendously freeing advice. Why? It means you can dive into plotting the book you want to write, not the one you believe will sell.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, what often sells best is passion, not a poorly written book in a genre that’s said to be “selling.”
4 Steps for how to choose what book to write first
It’s one thing to say “pick the idea you’re most passionate about” and another thing entirely to know how to do that. Let’s get into the details.
1. Pair your passion with expertise
When I beta tested that bestseller’s course, I was passionate about dystopian books but I also needed to assess if I had the expertise to write a dystopian novel.
One aspect I particularly love about the dystopian genre is that each character should have a well-rounded psychological background.
While all characters should feel human, due to the nature of dystopian settings, characters in this genre need to have some concrete strengths and weaknesses they’ve embodied from living in such a society.
My undergraduate studies helped equip me to write this type of novel. You can rely on your hobbies, unique interests, or studies to guide you in your chosen genre. If you don’t have expertise to match your passion, just know you’ll need to study up!
2. Build your scaffolding
Part of learning how to choose what book to write first is choosing where to start, the goal to reach for, and how to end.
I find that if I can’t visualize a beginning, middle, and end, it’s going to be difficult to make it as a writer.
It’s not that you need a fully outlined manuscript, but if you can’t build these three core aspects of your book, you will want to consider a different idea.
3. Dream up your beginning
In light of the above, if you don’t know where to start…well, you’ll never finish. You could have twenty ideas running around in your mind and feel passionate about all of them.
Narrow these ideas down to the several you can imagine a beginning for, then from these, build the scaffolding mentioned above.
4. Practice talking about your book
This is perhaps one of the biggest differentiators in learning how to choose what book to write first: talk about it.
Now there is a bit of conflicting information out there on whether or not you should talk about your book before writing it.
Some writers feel this undermines the writing process, replacing the need to write about the idea with the satisfaction of talking about it.
I understand this, and also find it very beneficial to practice talking about the characters or topics you want to spend 50-100k words writing about.
If you find you can talk about your book idea with anyone in any setting for any length of time, chances are this is the book you should write first!
What is the most life-changing book?
The most life-changing book to write is usually the one you are most passionate about, and therefore the one that helps you learn how to choose what book to write first.
One of the first books I wrote largely focused on character development and emotional honesty. It took me quite a few rounds of edits, and by few I mean enough I’m not sure I can count them, to finally have a draft I felt satisfied with.
The process of learning how to rely on creativity as a skill, not mistaking it as a muse, and sticking with it when I wanted to give up, was truly life changing.
As you learn how to choose what book to write first, you’ll quickly find that the idea you’re most passionate about proves to be utterly life changing.
When you settle on a topic you’re passionate about and commit to the writing process, you open yourself up to:
- Interacting with industry professionals you wouldn’t otherwise gain access to
- Meeting readers (even if it’s beta readers) whose feedback will grow your understanding of story
- Developing mental toughness that enables you to come back to the keyboard and write that bestseller
Learning how to choose what book to write first is crucial in writing a book that will become life-changing. Consider our Founder and CEO, Chandler Bolt, and how writing a book he was passionate about changed his life and thousands of other writers’ lives, forever.
(You can find his book, Published., here!)
FAQs for how to choose what book to write first
Here are just a few FAQs about how to choose what book to write first as it relates to the writing process and the big question of sales.
In what order should you write a book?
While there is no wrong way to write a book, it’s often helpful to write a fiction book chronologically and a nonfiction book either chronologically or as the scenes come to you.
The reason for this is that fiction often relies on character subtext to communicate to readers. It’s difficult to build on subtext if you, the author, haven’t written, say, the breakup chapter in chapter 4 when you are writing the getting-back-together chapter in chapter 17.
Nonfiction also builds upon previous chapters, but each chapter is usually a bit more of a standalone chapter than a fiction chapter is.
That said, a while back I saw that a New York Times bestselling author writes her novels as scenes come to her, as well as drafting more chronologically. She has sold the film rights to several of her novels, so the point is, do what works best for you!
How many books to sell to make $100,000?
How many books you need to sell to make six figures depends on whether you self-publish (higher royalties) or traditionally publish (an advance but lesser percentage of royalties) and your book’s price point.
However, I have an author colleague who writes fiction full-time and makes a good living, and there are countless other self-publishing success stories as well.
If you want to make a living writing, check out this post on how to publish a book for free.
What if someone else has already written about my book idea?
The bestselling Book of all time says there is nothing new under the sun. The good news is, while pretty much every trope, plot point, and theme has already been written on over and over again, you bring a unique perspective to the page.
It doesn’t matter if your idea has been written on before, you make it unique by sharing yourself on the page. Write with emotional honestly, from your own perspective, and with your own original focus, and you’ll be surprised how much it can stand out.
How to choose what book to write first: moving forward
Now you know the New York Times bestselling author’s trick to learning how to choose what book to write first, choose the idea you’re most passionate about…
Then, take your next step in your author journey by accessing our free resource below!
