A fantastic piece of dialogue that gets our interest immediately. Who’s talking? Who are they talking to? What are they warning against talking about? I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.” J.K. rowling Your details and logic and technical and historical details must be right for your novel to be believable.

Intentional structure. Although an outline is equally applicable to nonfiction and fiction, an outline can help you create a solid structure for your novel. This can result in a better quality piece of literature.This gets you thinking without even trying. Why is the speaker sleeping in a gym? Why isn’t it a gym anymore? Why is that important to know? Examples of edits you can easily make yourself: fixing spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as rephrasing certain things. Do I really need to edit my book? And don’t worry if you’ve forgotten the basics of classic outlining or have never felt comfortable with the concept. The outline is 95 percent of the book. Then I sit down and write, and that's the easy part.” Jeffery Deaver

Don't feel rushed to get your outline done. And always remember your outline is not cast in stone – you can change it how many times you want to. Investing the time in writing a detailed outline will save you time when you write your book. Make a game plan. Create an outline for your project, even if it’s just a rough web of ideas on a napkin. Having a (flexible!) plan will always make writing easier. It’s not necessary to plot out the entire book, but you’ll at least want a high level roadmap, so you know the big ideas the story should include, and have a sense of how to get there. This plan can save a lot of time in the editing process, reducing the likelihood of needing a lot of rewrites. If you’re writing a nonfiction book, figure in research time. Consider experimenting with your book writing software to learn how it will handle any charts, graphs, or photos you may wish to include. While the process is similar to the fiction outline steps, it's also very different, because of the differing structure. Before the book is acquired I will also appraise the project financially together with our Head of Commercial Affairs, determining whether it meets our financial criteria and what level we might set the advance at. The editor: Tom Avery, Editorial Director at William Heinemann

How to start writing a book

Many writers insist they have no time to write, but they always seem to catch the latest Netflix original series, or go to the next big Hollywood feature. They enjoy concerts, parties, ball games, whatever.

Liking a book is instinctive, and if you feel a genuine passion for it, then it’s highly likely that it is publishable as there will be other readers who feel as strongly as you do. The question you then ask is how you would position the book in the market and whether it would be for a very broad audience or a more limited one because of the type of story that it is. A great story is a great story whether it’s aimed at children or at adults. A marketing and publicity campaign is essentially all about telling people about a brilliant book. So, a campaign begins with the book – but does not end there. The book is merely the jumping-off point for us to work out all the ways we can bring it to the right attention in the right way. But even if it’s a straightforward how-to book, stay as close to this structure as possible, and you’ll see your manuscript come alive.There are a lot of strategies and frameworks when it comes to writing a book outline. There are some effective ways to outline a novel or nonfiction book, and many authors find success using popular book outlining strategies. World Almanacs: These alone list almost everything you need for accurate prose: facts, data, government information, and more. For my novels, I often use these to come up with ethnically accurate character names. The first thing to do is look at who the book’s audience is and all the different ways we can reach them. This involves sales and editorial too, whom publicity and marketing will work with incredibly closely. A publicity and marketing campaign is a crucial part of the publication and sales strategy, and we need to make sure everyone is on board with how we have decided to position the book in the market. Think about it: A nonfiction book is likely based on facts and real life, whereas a fiction book is based on imagination.