How to Write (and Edit) a Book

How to Write (and Edit) a Book

How to Get Your Readers to Read Just One More Chapter!

Learn how to keep your readers gripped

Abigail Fenton's avatar
Abigail Fenton
May 20, 2025
∙ Paid

When you think about the best books you’ve ever read – the ones you read late into the night, were desperate to get back to each time you had to stop reading, or even turned down social occasions for – what did they have in common? You were invested from page one and they kept you invested throughout. If you want your readers to be thinking about your book when they’re away from it – or even that they don’t go away from it, and just read it in one sitting (fun fact: I read The Secret History in one sitting, obviously pre-kids and pre-responsibilities when I could just sit on the sofa for eight hours straight reading) – you need to make sure you grip them immediately, and then don’t let them go until the end.

person holding book sitting on brown surface
Photo by Blaz Photo on Unsplash

But how do you do that? Here are five tips:

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