Fiction

• 1). Decide what type of fiction that you are going to write. Know the age and genre that you are writing for as an author. Read picture books, for example, if you are going to write for a younger audience. Make sure you know how to write to an age level and not above or below your readers' capacities. Research, if you are writing for children, information about how your chosen age level has developed in their cognitive thinking and their current reading preferences. Buy literary advice magazines for children's authors to see what interests children when they read and what sells to each age level.
  
  
• 2). Research, if you are setting your manuscript as a contemporary novel, current trends in popular culture. Be careful, however, not to make you writing outdated by using too many references to current events. Give the flavor of current events by making passing references, for example, to contemporary technology such as texting. Use current magazines, online popular culture sites and newspapers to research your novel.
  
  
• 3). Research various eras in history that you are writing about if your book is historical fiction. Make a priority to get names, places and dates correct to give the book authenticity. Research the culture such as literature, clothing, politics and general society of that era to fill in the details that will make your story, characters and character actions believable. Use the library, online history and genealogy sources, museums and historical societies to research your information.
  
  
• 4). Research science fiction novels by reading current science magazines in areas such as physics, medicine, biology and computer technology. Be aware, however, that your cutting-edge ideas may soon be superseded by future discoveries. Research folklore and other traditional customs or beliefs to build fantasy novels. Have a background in languages if you want to build your own dialect for the book. Use libraries, online forums, folklore and linguistic magazines for fantasy novels.
  
  

Nonfiction

• 1). Use primary historical documents if you write about past events. Research your book at libraries and universities and through distant interlibrary loans. Go online for primary manuscripts that are more often being made available.
  
  
• 2). Read specialty publications if you are writing about current events. Research, for example, defense policy through white papers. Make sure you have permission to read these manuscripts.
  
  
• 3). Interview people who have knowledge of the subject that you want to write about in your book. Make sure that you have permission to quote the person you interview in the book and that you get their words correct.