• By Winston Kuwada
• Published 12/28/2011
• Writing

Many people, many more than you would imagine, would love to write a novel. Everybody secretly dreams of being the next best selling novelist and traveling to all the popular TV talk shows. Of course, most people never get there. They never take their dream seriously, and never follow through with specific action. If you want to become a best selling novelist, then you’ve got to avoid the common mistakes that every other would be novelist makes. First of all, you need to write about the right topic. Which topic is right? Well, the conventional wisdom says that write about what you love, and the world will beat a path to your door. But what if you love carrot farming? I don’t think many people would buy a novel that’s all about carrot farming. You’ve got to write about something your interested in, of course. But you’ve also got to write something that everybody else is interested in as well, otherwise nobody will buy your book.

You have to do a lot of research to become a best selling, or even a moderately selling novelist. Since you likely don’t have a name to rely on, you’ve got to write on a topic that is currently popul

ar. That means checking out the top ten list at Amazon, and getting a feel for what kinds of novels are popular. Also, be sure to avoid themes or genres that have only been popular for a short time. These may be flashes in the pan, and by the time you finish your book, they may not be popular any more. Try to avoid spending too much money. Many beginning novelists spend a lot of money on writing software, computers, and even expensive research. To get started, all you really need is a basic laptop, and a couple hours a day. Of course, you’ve got to spend a little bit of money. While it is theoretically possible to write an entire novel on the free computers at the public library, this isn’t such a good idea. By not investing anything, it may make it too easy to quit. Sometimes, you’ve got to follow your instincts. This means being able to listen to your gut and throw conventional wisdom out the window. This also means accepting that you’ll make mistakes sometimes. That’s OK. Just keep on chugging along.

If you follow these tips, you should be well on your way to writing a novel that will be read and enjoyed by many people. All you need to do is get started. Right now would be a good time.