If you’ve never written a book before, just the thought of getting that many words down can be daunting. Where do you begin? How do you get from there to the end? Do you really have enough to say to fill up a whole book?

Even if you’re not writing a book for the first time, you might feel that you need some extra guidance. Perhaps you muddled through before, but you’re not really convinced that you actually know how to write a book.

Whether you’re planning to write a novel, a short story collection, or a non-fiction book, here are the 10 steps to writing a book, from coming up with a workable idea to publishing your book.

• Step #1: Come Up With a Strong Idea for Your Book
• Step #2: Research Your Book Idea … But Set a Time Limit
• Step #3: Outline Your Whole Book (in As Much Detail As You Want)
• Step #4: Set a Writing Schedule That You Can Stick To
• Step #5: Write the First Draft of Your Book
• Step #6: Take a Break From Writing Your Book
• Step #7: Rewrite Your Book, From Start to End
• Step #8: Gather Feedback on Your Book
• Step #9: Edit Your Book, Incorporating Feedback
• Step #10: Publish Your Book, or Submit It to Agents and Publishers