What Are The First Steps To Becoming An Author Today?

2026-08-10 10:21:39
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2 Answers

Finn
Finn
Reply Helper Pharmacist
The world's really changed, hasn't it? My first thought is that the biggest hurdle now isn't getting a manuscript together—it's figuring out what path to even take. A decade ago, you'd just polish a draft and start querying agents. Now? You've got to decide if you're going traditional, self-publishing through Amazon, trying a serial platform like Royal Road, or building an audience on a blog first. Honestly, the pressure to choose the 'right' lane before you've even finished a book is overwhelming. I've seen so many talented writers get paralyzed by this.

What cleared my head was focusing on the one thing that hasn't changed: finishing something. I don't mean just a first draft, but a story that's been revised, beta-read, and polished into the best version you can make it right now. The first step is writing to 'The End,' then editing it until you're not just sick of it, but proud of it. The rest—the querying, the platform building, the cover design—is all downstream from that. Without a complete, solid manuscript, you're just planning a party for a guest of honor who hasn't arrived yet.

And a small, maybe unpopular tip: read contracts and terms of service before you post anything anywhere. I know a guy who put his whole novel on a free site for feedback, only to realize later their user agreement gave the platform broad licensing rights. He wasn't paying attention to the business side, and it came back to bite him. So yeah, write the book, make it good, and while you're doing that, start learning about the industry you're trying to enter. It's less romantic, but it's practical.
2026-08-13 18:56:49
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Zander
Zander
Bookworm Accountant
Everyone says 'just write,' but that feels incomplete. The real first step is accepting you're going to be bad for a while. I wrote three entire novels before I made one that didn't make my own skin crawl. So, start by giving yourself permission to be terrible. Write that messy, cliché-ridden first draft. Then, learn to edit. Find a writing group, online or in person, that gives honest feedback. Absorbing criticism without falling apart is a muscle you have to build early. After that, start looking at where stories like yours live—what's getting published, what's trending on serial apps. It's not about chasing trends, but understanding the landscape you're stepping into.
2026-08-16 20:45:50
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