How to Start a Book: Practical Advice From Published Authors

The below guide on how to start a book is part of Glamour’s Smart Goals series, which explores reasonable, quantifiable, and—crucially—sane ways to embark on self-improvement objectives you’d like to complete this year. We all know traditional New Year’s resolutions are nonsense and designed mainly to make us feel terrible about ourselves and, as a result, spend money on things we think we need to live a more fulfilling life. Here our senior editor—and published author—digs into how anyone can start writing the book they’ve always wanted by asking other authors for some of their best advice, from when to write to how to deal with writer’s block.

Since my book was published, people often confess to me, “I want to write a book too, but don’t know how to start a book.” I get it.

Writing a book had been my goal since I was in first grade, when I proudly proclaimed in a school paper that my dream was to one day become an author. It’s been such a constant in my life that I can scarcely remember when the idea wasn’t in my head. But of course it’s one thing to have ambitions, and it’s another to sit in front of a computer with a blank document and start to, you know, actually write a book.

What I’ve learned since finishing Swipe Up for More is that, while all published authors end up with a similar product, everyone’s process is very different. Some authors listen to music; others, like me, need total and complete silence. Some are staunch proponents of outlining every chapter; others like to just sit down and let it flow. It seems like every author I’ve spoken with since finishing my book has their own quirks, their own advice, and their own process.

If you’re reading this, I have a feeling you might be like my friends, family, and acquaintances. You have always dreamed of writing a book, you think you may have an idea that could actually be really good, but you’re overwhelmed by the idea of starting. Why not make 2024 the year you just go for it? After all, the world always needs more books.

To help you get started, I’ve chatted with six published authors about their best advice that helped them go from idea to finished product. They shared with me how they decided to get started, their best tips for overcoming things like writer’s block, and how you (yes, you!) can do it too.

Do you have a writing ritual? Where do you write best?

“I write best on deadline. I like to sit at a desk, but don’t need to. I like natural light, but have written thousands of words on planes and trains. My writing ritual is waking up, looking at a calendar, and realizing, Oh God, I need to finish this.” —Mattie Kahn, former Glamour editor, journalist, and author of Young and Restless: The Girls Who Sparked America’s Revolutions