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The main barrier between an idea and the realization of it as a finished book is usually not talent but inability to finish the project, since an…
The main barrier between an idea and the realization of it as a finished book is usually not talent but inability to finish the project, since an overwhelming majority of started manuscripts fail to ever reach completion. This realization is crucial because completion of the first, rough draft is a priority over perfection of each separate page of the book since a completed draft can be improved but an uncompleted perfect draft never becomes a book. Changing the target of writing from writing something good to completing a rough draft completely transforms the process.
An interesting opening idea is not necessarily a promising book-length idea since some ideas that make a captivating story/argument in the first pages do not have the substance to carry a book-sized piece without stretching it. Checking an idea with the help of a rough outline of the entire story/argument prevents spending months on writing on something insufficient. An interesting idea is likely to be sustained through the period of a few months of work if you keep being interested in it.
Some writers create extensive outlines of their future books before even starting writing, while others develop the story/argument as they write. Both of these approaches lead to books' completion on a regular basis; therefore, none of them is objectively better. Just creating a loose outline with a few sentences per chapter will prevent the most common problem of a stuck middle without requiring the writers to create an elaborate structure in advance. Experimenting with a few test chapters can help you realize how you should plan your work.
The steady pace of writing of a few hundred words per day is more likely to result in the manuscript completion than an ambitious but unrealistic daily routine, which is unsustainable for more than a few weeks. While even a moderate daily goal results in a completed book within a few months, an overly large goal that gets abandoned after the second week leads to nothing. It is better to track your progress according to the realistic word count goal rather than to compare to other writers' claims.
Writing the first draft as badly as possible reduces the stress connected to this process and allows you to move forward. The only task of a first draft is to exist; it is easier to revise an imperfect but completed draft than to perfect an incomplete one. Avoiding the temptation of editing while creating the first draft and reserving the work with the editing for later will help you move forward with your manuscript.
The middle of the book is the place where the enthusiasm about the new idea is replaced with the dissatisfaction with the slow process of writing. The knowledge about what is going to happen next will help you cope with this phase better than only inspiration that often runs out well before the manuscript is ready. Accepting the existence of this phase and realizing that it is normal will allow you to push through.
A revision of the full manuscript is much more effective if started with checking the general structure of the book (the problems with pacing and plot/argument holes, unnecessary scenes or sections), and then with the editing of individual sentences and words. Editing the sentence-level prose in a section that is going to be deleted in the course of the later revision will only waste your time, which is why revision from large to small saves you time. It is necessary to put the completed draft aside for a few weeks before starting the revision.
The review of your manuscript by a few trusted readers will help you understand the problem that you cannot notice because of your proximity to your work. It is better to ask targeted questions, like "where did you lose your interest to reading?", "which part confused you?", than to ask "what do you think about my manuscript?" Getting feedback before you think the manuscript is finished is important because it will allow you to deal with the problems effectively.
There are two broad ways to move forward after you have the manuscript completed – you can either start searching for literary agents or self-publish your book. Both of these approaches require different efforts, which is why it is better to research them when you are really at this stage. There is no objective criteria that defines which of them is better because they differ in creative control, efforts required, and potential reach of the book. Being able to choose between them already puts you above those who started writing books but could not complete them.