You probably know about famous Harry Potter author J.
K.
Rowling.
She came up with the idea for her books on a train trip, and wrote some of the most important parts of them sitting in a café! She's gone on to become one of the highest paid writers in the world.
I read somewhere that she earns £5 a second! So is it a good idea to think about writing a novel? I'm not a novelist, but I do know a couple of writers who've had some modest success with writing fiction.
And I can tell you writing a novel isn't the easiest way to make money from writing.
In fact it's one of the most difficult ways.
But if you're really interested in writing one there are a few ways you can make it a whole lot easier for yourself.
* First of all do a search on good old Amazon or at the library.
Make sure there aren't any existing novels that are too similar to your novel idea.
While it's true many novels follow a formula..
..
body is discovered, slightly eccentric but brilliant detective tracks murderer down etc.
etc..
...
every one should have its own unique twist.
* Have a look at how those similar novels rate in the sales ranking on Amazon.
J.
K.
Rowling's are usually in the top 200 or so.
That's very good.
If the similar novels have a massive sales ranking (over 500,000 and so on) your idea is probably never going to be a big seller.
* Next - and this is very important - never, ever think about writing your novel and then trying to find a buyer for it.
That could lead to years of painstaking work being wasted.
Instead do this: Make a note of all the publishers who publish that type of novel when you do your research.
Then write or call and ask them for their Contributor's Guidelines.
These will clearly set down what type of novels they are and are not looking for - and particularly what 'must have' elements any novels they publish must include.
Some of these are also available on publishers' websites.
Say, for example, you're interested in writing a bodice-ripper for the famous Mills & Boon you'll find full details of how to do it here: http://www.
millsandboon.
co.
uk/aspiringauthors.
asp * If your initial research suggests that your idea could appeal to a publisher write a proposal explaining the plot, and give a pen portrait of the main characters.
Send it off to the publisher and ask if they'd be interested in seeing a sample chapter.
I'd be very reluctant to write at least a page of your novel without checking that the publisher is at least interested in the idea and, above all, thinks it would sell.
* If the publisher isn't interested in your idea then all isn't lost.
Listen to what they say.
Then tweak your idea and try it with another publisher.
(That's another good reason for not writing a novel before you try to sell it.
) Quite honestly, if you're interested in writing fiction I'd suggest you take a look at writing short stories first.
Apart from being a lot easier to write you'll make a fair bit more money from them in relation to the time involved.
If you're interested in knowing more about short story writing take a look at some of my other articles.