How to become an author

There’s a very simple answer if you’re wondering how to become an author, and that’s to get something published.

But how do you turn your writing into a sustainable self-employed career – rather than a fun hobby?

Technically authors and writers are very interchangeable terms, but the former tend to have originated the ideas and content, along with getting their work published. A desk drawer of stories makes you a writer, rather than a published author.

While you can be an author of an article or blog post, we’ve covered shorter written work in our guide on how to become a freelance writer (along with the related topics of becoming a freelance proofreader or editor). And hopefully the advice below will help you to build a successful side income or full-time career from books, whether it’s a collection of short stories, or a definitive work of nonfiction.

• Why become an author?
• What skills or qualifications do you need?
• How much can you earn as an author?
• Great books for aspiring authors
• More resources and support to become an author

Why become an author?

If you just want to write as a hobby, or possibly self-publish your work as a vanity project, then asking yourself why you want to become an author isn’t necessarily important. But if you’re considering it as a career choice, then it’s a vital first step.

Making a living as any kind of writer takes a large amount of determination and perseverance. And that’s even more true when you’re committing to something the length of a typical book or novel.

A relatively small number of professional authors make a good, sustainable living solely from their books. Many either write around a different day job, or split their time between other writing and editing work.

Reasons to become an author include;

• A compulsion to write
• Creating an acclaimed work of literature
• Making money and becoming famous
• Supporting an existing business, or establishing yourself as a ‘thought leader’

It’s easy for anyone to identify with the first two reasons. But it’s equally fine to become an author with the aim of becoming financially successful, or to use it as a way to build an existing career or business.

The romantic ideal of a novelist sitting at a desk in a remote villa creating the next classic work of fiction might seem more appealing than someone self-publishing guides to filing your business taxes or using word processing software, but both are valid authors as long as the work is published, and people are buying and reading it.

Nonfiction authors will tend to write around areas of specialism, so their passion may be the subject matter itself, rather than writing. Situations like these often see an expert or celebrity team with a co-author who can provide literary skills, or might mean that they hire an uncredited ghostwriter.

What skills or qualifications do you need?

There are no formal requirements to become an author, and famous writers throughout history have come from a fairly wide range of backgrounds. A significant number have also started concentrating on writing later in life, including Maya Angelou, Truman Capote, and J.R.R Tolkien.

Academic training and qualifications can help you develop both a critical eye for literature and your own writing style. And may help you to find work as a freelance writer, journalist or in another related field to support yourself alongside your literary aspirations.

There are also a very wide range of courses available to aspiring authors, ranging from how to come up with ideas and outlines, to the publishing process. With any training, it’s important to look at what’s covered by it, who it’s being offered by, and what value you’re likely to get from it.

Important skills for any author start with research and observation. It’s understandable that nonfiction requires a good depth of knowledge in the subject, but even the most imaginative writing needs some understanding of sometimes bizarre topics or items to make it believable to the reader. If you want to know the future of technology, for example, you can usually find it in science fiction.

You’ll also need to develop your writing process and technique. Some authors prefer to plan in detail, while others let their characters and narrative guide them. But they all need to self-edit initial drafts, and to respond to feedback and constructive criticism, whether it’s from family members or an editor provided by a publishing house. So, you need to be open to suggestions for improvements, and why they have been made. Even if you don’t always agree.

With any creative freelancing or self-employment, the foundation of any success is delivering a final project. Developing a writing habit and routine is key to reaching the finishing line. Whether it’s a chapter, page or single line that needs to be done each day, having a timetable helps you to get into a writing mood, and also forces you to continue even if you’re suffering from a lack of inspiration.