How to Become an Author: 7 Step Guide to a Writing Career

Why do you want to be an author?

• Do you want to inspire, entertain, or educate readers?
• Are you passionate about a specific genre or topic?
• Is your goal to build a career or simply share your stories with the world?
• What type of writing are you interested in (books, articles, screenplays)?
• Are you more interested in the title of “author” or the actual day to day life (more on this below)?
• Is there a specific author you’re inspired and motivated by?

The average daily life of an author nowadays: self-published vs traditional

Self-published author:

• Writing Time: They manage their own schedules, which can mean writing in the mornings or evenings while juggling other tasks. If you doing this, you’ll probably work from home. Before then, you’d have to fit writing time into your other work schedule. 
• Publishing Tasks: Formatting the manuscript, designing covers, and uploading the book to platforms like Amazon KDP or IngramSpark are common activities once the book is actually done. That can also include managing contractors you pay for these services through email or other platforms. You’ll have several accounts and moving pieces to account for.
• Marketing Efforts: Social media, email marketing, ads, and author websites are crucial for visibility. And they’re ongoing pieces of this puzzle. You’ll really never not be if your goal is to become a full time author. So while you may want to write, you’ll still be putting effort toward posting on social, running ads, or whatever other tactic you decide works best for you.
• Royalties: They retain a higher percentage of royalties but are responsible for all expenses upfront. Which means you’ll make more money for each sale, but you have to put money in before you’re making anything back.
• Legalities: Because you’re not protected by a large business like a publishing house, you’ll be responsible for all the . Which can look like taxes, trademarks, copyrights, and anything else you might run into. While it’s not common to face issues, you still have to be informed and on top of things.

Traditionally published author:

• Writing Time: They follow deadlines set by publishers, with time for editing and rewriting as part of the process. So you do answer to someone else and have to be more strict with your schedule to finish writing. And don’t count on your advance to keep you out of a day job until your book proves to make money. Most first-time advances aren’t more than $10,000.
• Publishing Tasks: While publishers handle book design, distribution, and some marketing, authors often participate in book tours, interviews, and promotional events. You are still a part of the title and cover design process, but less so.
• Marketing Efforts: Building a platform (social media, website, and appearances) is still expected. While the publisher would handle things like ads if they choose to run them, you are still expected to show up online and promote your own books. If you don’t, and therefore sell very few books, publishers aren’t likely to purchase more books from you and you’ll be out of a job fairly quickly.
• Royalties: They earn advances and a smaller royalty percentage but benefit from a professional team and distribution network. To be clear, if you earn a $10,000 advance, you will have to sell enough books to cover that before you start earning additional income. However, if your books sell well, you can usually negotiate a higher royalty rate. They just won’t be close to those of self-published authors.

How to become an author step by step

1. Find Your Passion and Genre

2. Develop Your Writing Skills

• Writing daily or setting a regular schedule.
• Joining writing groups or workshops.
• Reading books on writing, like On Writing by Stephen King or Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. 

3. Plan Your First Book

4. Write the First Draft

5. Revise and Edit

6. Build Your Author Platform

7. Publish and Market Your Book