Brian Scott is founder of Book Proposal Writing a free website that teaches you how to write a book proposal. Download your free sample book proposal today. Read his blog for freelance writers at working writersnewsletter
Research is time-consuming and hard work; however, this phase in
writing is essential to write a book that readers will find
believable and original. As long as you know where to start and what
you want to achieve with your work, then research shouldn't be a
problem. Here are a few basic steps to do research for your book.
Tip 1: Identify Your Topic And Develop It
The first
step is to identify your topic. Decide what goals you want to derive
from writing about it. Develop your topic by stating it as a
question. For example, if your book topic is about love, then
identify questions on what particular aspects about love you want to
cover. This way, you begin to develop an outline about what you want
to cover as well as a clear flow on how you want your story to go.
This is a very good step to help you organize your thoughts.
Tip
2: Find Basic Background Information
Establish basic
information about your topic. Search for keywords and do preliminary
readings in encyclopedias and dictionaries that help you know what
your topic is about. Concentrate on general information as the very
basics, so that later on, you can search for other related
information to flesh out your book topic.
Tip 3: Conduct
Research on Current Studies
After you have educated yourself
about your book's topic, you can expand to specific details about
your book's theme. This may include exhausting many types of sources
including informative published articles and even current or up to
date studies that may present you with statistics and the latest
findings.
Make sure you exhaust all your sources to know as
much as you can about your topic. Use the Internet or popular
magazines to know more about how your book's topic affects popular
culture. This may even include asking people for their opinions on
the issues that you are trying to cover in your book. Outside
opinions can give you many ideas and insights that may prove useful
to your work.
Conduct extensive research according to
questions you had developed in the preliminary stages of your
research. Always go back to the root issue, and do not deviate too
much from the topic.
You probably won't use all information
from your research as sources for your book; however, you can still
use many types of information to give you ideas on what to write.
Tip 4: Evaluate Your Information
Before you close
your research, evaluate the things you have discovered about your
topic. Make sure you synthesize and separate what pieces of
information is useful for your book and decide which information is
too trivial.
Classify your information and where your sources
came from. Although you may get ideas from magazines and newspapers,
they aren’t usually used for academic purposes. Use Internet
information sparingly as this can make your book look superficial and
research-deprived.
Identify and include facts and information
that are most vivid and can help you write convincingly on your
book's topic. If you need to copy an idea from another published
writer, don't forget to give credit and cite sources.
These
simple tips can guide you in your research. Collecting facts and bits
of information is essential to write a book that speaks boldly and
convincingly to your readers.