Becoming an Author in the UK

You've got story ideas and characters buzzing around in your mind. This guide will help you develop them into something substantial. The path to becoming an author is in essence fairly straightforward, though the details of each step and the work involved might make it appear complex and even a bit overwhelming. But with an idea, just nurture it with imagination and detail, and it will eventually bloom into something exciting and engaging. Build your own world, create the characters to populate it, and see where they take you.

Step 1: A Love of Reading

A step which is likely to help is read as much as you can. Reading widely is a very good way to learn about storytelling. Discover different styles, explore the authors’ worlds and see how they bring their stories to life. 

Step 2: Start Writing Your Own Stories

Starting with the idea you've chosen to explore, outline a plot of how the story could go. It doesn’t have to be a fully baked plot line, just get the jist of it written down. Then you can flesh it out, work it around, and continue to improve it. Start writing regularly. Write a certain number of words per day or set aside a slot of time within which you write. Writing is a skill like any other that will improve with practice.

Step 3: Get Feedback

Once you’ve fleshed out your story, refine it and then get feedback from family and friends or even from a writing group. Having an outsider’s view is essential if you want to grow as an author. Don’t be discouraged by critiques; even the best authors edit and revise based on suggestions. 

Step 4: Publish

Getting your book into the marketplace can be one of the easiest steps now that Amazon KDP and similar platforms are available for self-publishing.

But ensure you have all your ducks in a row as in the UK, as even with self-publishing through platforms such as Amazon KDP, you may be required to register as self-employed with HMRC and comply with any other UK-specific business regulations.

Get your book done by following the above steps and stick with it until you are satisfied. You are your first customer and if you love the story, it's likely others will love it too.