Writing isn’t for the faint of heart—you either love it or you don’t. But I have a feeling you do love it, or you wouldn’t be here at Beesville Books, browsing for your next great read—or maybe even looking to list a book of your own.
Getting Started
If you’re writing non-fiction, start with an outline. I like using index cards—write your chapter titles on the front and jot down key points on the back. Shuffle them around until they make sense. Need to add more ideas? Just slip in another card.
For fiction writers, I highly recommend Scrivener. It comes with built-in templates and a virtual corkboard for “pinning” your index cards. Best part? It’s a one-time purchase and totally worth it.
Quick Writing Tips
For the writers among our readers, here are a few tips from the trenches:
- Write when inspiration hits. Don’t wait—grab your phone and record a voice note or jot something down. Capture the moment while it’s fresh.
- Don’t self-edit as you go. Just write. When you edit mid-sentence, it’s easy to derail your train of thought. Trust me on this one.
- Write anything. Even if it doesn’t make sense yet, get it out of your head. You can rearrange everything later—editing is where the real magic happens.
The Magic Is in the Editing
We’ve all read writing so good it feels effortless—but trust me, it didn’t land on the page that way. Great writing is edited writing.
If you can afford an editor, hire one. If not, ask friends or family to read your draft. A fresh set of eyes is worth its weight in gold—don’t rush the process.
Time to Publish
Once you’ve polished your draft, it’s time to format it for print. I used to wrestle with Word (nothing personal, Word, but… yikes), until I found a much easier solution: Vellum. This software makes formatting eBooks and paperbacks a breeze. I was blown away by how clean, reliable, and user-friendly it is.