Do you want to write a book? Let's look at three tips which will help you to success.

1. Write What You Know

"Write what you know" is time-honored advice which is given to many writers. Of course, you're not limited to what you know from personal experience, you can do research. However the closer your book is to your own experiences in life, the easier it will be to write, and the greater the likelihood that you will be published. Having experience in an area makes you credible to publishers.

This applies to fiction as well as nonfiction. For example, if you're writing a novel about a medical examiner, then it's advisable to get some experience in this area before you start writing about it. Similarly, if you're writing nonfiction, if you want to write about parenting it's best to start out by being a parent -- or at least an academic who's done studies on parenting.

2. Write What People Want to Buy

Is your idea sales-worthy? It can be hard to estimate what will sell, because the books which are currently on the bestseller list were written 2 to 5 years ago. However, you can learn a lot from bestseller lists in general. Study the bestseller lists, and visit your local bookshop as often as you can.

Books which sell have a great deal in common: they're written about topics that people care about. And again, this applies in both fiction and nonfiction.

Try using Google's keyword research tool, to check how many searches there are on the topic of your book. If there are no searches, or just a meager four searches a month, this means that your topic isn't of general interest, and it will be just about impossible to get publishers interested.

3. Sell Your Book Before You Write It

This tip applies only to nonfiction. If you're writing a novel, you'll have to complete your book before publishers will agree to give you a contract. (However, looking on bright side, if you do get a contract, it may well be a multi-book contract.)

If you're writing nonfiction, write three chapters, and an outline of your book, and then try to sell it. Most nonfiction is sold on the basis of a proposal, which includes an overview of the book, a marketing plan, and several chapters and an outline.