It’s often said that everyone has a book inside of them. Actually writing that book, however, is an entirely different story, especially if your goal is to publish your work. It requires time, dedication, patience, and learning the skills necessary for writing the book that you want to write. And those skills are different depending on whether you want to write fiction, a memoir, or other types of nonfiction.

But, before you can focus on what skills to develop, you must first decide what kind of book you want to write. If your goal is to earn money with your writing, it might be appealing to write something that speaks to what is currently trending in the marketplace. Romantasy novelist Maxym M. Martineau, in an Author Spotlight for WD, disagrees. Her advice about writing the book that you want to write is to write what you love: “It’s better to write the story of your heart than to try and write to the market. House of Blight was something that sat with me for months, and I just simply had to get it out on paper. And I love love. So, I knew I was going to put a romance in there, too. These are all concepts and themes and genres that just flow for me. If you’re writing a book, find the thing that you enjoy writing about, because inherently when you love what you’re creating, others will feel that passion and enjoy it, too.”

One of the most important reasons for focusing your attentions on writing the book that you want to write is that if you plan to publish it, you’ll likely be spending years on writing, revising, finding an agent, then revising some more, before the finished book is in the hands of readers. (Of course, if you plan to self-publish, you’ll have more control over trimming parts of that timeline.) Amy Shearn started her literary novel in 2020, and it was traditionally published in March 2025 as Animal Instinct. Her advice to other writers is, “You have to write the thing that you want to read.” Not least because you’ll end up reading it multiple times on the way to publication!

If you’re writing nonfiction, part of writing the book that you want to write might be influenced by something you like to spend a lot of time learning about or researching. Christian Cooper is the New York Times bestselling author of Better Living Through Birding, a science and comics writer and editor, and the host and consulting producer of Extraordinary Birder on Disney+. In February 2025, he published his first children’s book, The Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home, inspired by “celebrity owls” like Flaco who capture public attention. His advice for other writers is also ultimately about writing the book that you want to write: “Let your freak flag fly! No matter where your passion lies, even if it’s something (like birding) that others dismiss, give it full rein in your writing and your life, and you and the world will be better for it.”

One common suggestion for writing the book that you want to write is to read extensively within the genre or category that you want to write. It can help you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to satisfy reader expectations.

Some writers, however, may also find benefits in reading and writing outside of their usual preferences. Bestselling and award-winning novelist Neal Shusterman says, “For aspiring writers, my advice would be to read and write outside of your comfort zone. Don’t stick to a comfortable genre. Read and write things that will expand you. One of the problems that I see—especially in genre fiction—is that when you’re too steeped in a genre, all you’re doing is regurgitating what’s already there. The only way to break through to original and compelling work is to force yourself into your personal uncharted territory, rather than lingering in what you know.”

It may take time to write the book that you want to write. You may need time to finesse the idea into something that will work and keep your attention. You may realize you need to shift genres or combine them. Maybe you need to take writing classes or talk to an expert if you’re writing about something outside your area of expertise. Or maybe, as bestseller writer Erika Swyler experienced with her 2025 novel We Lived on the Horizon, both the writer and the story need time to develop and change. Swyler says, “This book needed to marinate, and I had to grow into the person who could write it. I was on submission with Light From Other Stars when I finally started drafting We Lived on the Horizon. At first, I was writing mostly about the machine potential for altruism. The idea changed radically from that initial thought, because world circumstances changed. Then there was another huge political shift, the pandemic, and then generative AI started to boom. The tone and heart of the book had to shift in order to matter to me …”

Whether you’ve already started writing the book that you want to write or still need to find that gem of an idea, keep in mind this final piece of advice: Just keep writing.