Daily Times

Literature transcends borders and connects minds. It enables the readers to tread through the various eras of time and regions of the worlds that the authors explore and discuss in their books.

Whether fiction or non-fiction, books bring to the fore the realities of life. In fiction, it is the authors’ fictional world – either inspired by the real world or one present in their mind, that creates a society the readers can relate to. These societies can be in the past or the future, they can be dystopian or utopian, they can be futuristic, fantastical, or ancient. Similarly, the characters, too, reflect upon the authors’ imagination, life events, or inspiration that – through storytelling – connects the readers to the characters’ intention and journey.

Writing non-fiction is not an easy task. Such books can be a biography, explore an incident or an era in world history, and discuss geopolitics, economy, industries, technology, and media, among others. It takes authors to undertake extensive planning before they can begin to write. They conduct research and confirm facts. The facts must be credible and up-to-date. They must be added to the book with sources. A non-fictional book must be a beautiful combination of the author’s ideas and insights, opinions and experiences, blended with facts and figures. They should include quotes from relevant professionals, industry experts, government officials, and men of scholars who are related to the topic that the book explores.

Writing a book is not an easy task. Authors spend weeks and even months collecting information and data. They understand the information by reading and cross-referencing facts. They then begin developing their content. While the facts remain the same for all authors, they must develop original content – the one that is embedded with their signature writing style. This is called the authors’ style of writing. Any non-fictional book should be thoroughly edited. It should be free from errors related to spelling, facts, grammar, syntax, and tenses. When it comes to editing, some authors edit the manuscript after writing it. Some like to write a chapter and edit it, before moving on to writing the next chapter.

Authors must write for themselves but edit it for the readers. They must write from their heart, write without hesitation and write as if casually conversing with the readers. This will help them to write without any reluctance. However, when editing, they must set aside their self-image and edit it as if they are the ones who will read the published book. Authors must empathize with the readers and should edit the manuscript by adding statements, sentences, examples, and references that the readers can relate with. This helps the authors to build a psychological connection with the readers. Authors must hire an editor who organises and simplifies the content. An author must also show the final manuscript to some beta readers to receive their reviews and suggestions. These beta readers must be reliable contacts who are expected not to share the contents of the manuscript with anyone until the book is published. Indeed, the process of writing a book is tedious and requires careful planning, but the result in the form of a published manuscript is a dream of all writers.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @omariftikhar