To become a successful author, you need to have the strength of character and determination required to plan, write and edit a book of around 100,000 words.

That’s no mean feat, but there are some traits common to all successfully published authors that make them brilliant at this craft.

In today’s blog, we’ll reveal the character traits we think lie behind the best in the business.

Discipline

Anyone who can sit down every day to commit their novel plan to paper needs strong determination. They also need to deal with edits and rewrites and various improvements to their work, which for many can result in being unable to see the wood for the trees.

An effective writer is one who is able to distil their ideas and thoughts into clear and simple language that can be easily understood by the reader.

Discipline is what you’ll need to turn those words into something engaging enough to draw in the right audience – particularly if you’re dealing with complex subject matter.

A great attention span

As part of the planning and writing process, there’s a need for you to pay attention to the detail in your novel.

Not only are the best authors great observers who constantly make mental notes about the characters they meet and situations they encounter in real life, they can also rely on an attention span in the office that enables them to spot even the smallest grammatical errors when editing their work.

Patience

While you may be committed enough as a writer to sit down every day to work, writing a book isn't an overnight process.

It will take time, which means using your discipline to remain focused and patient, in order to create work you'll be proud of by taking it to a stage where it will be published.

Consistency

Writing a book is a serious job, so you must not only be disciplined but also capable of adhering to a consistent schedule.

This will help you develop good habits that are effective and don’t waste a minute of your time.

Approach your writing work in this consistent manner, and your book will progress quickly and in the best possible shape.

Focus

Finally, it’s crucial that you find your creative space where you can be comfortable and focussed. Whether it's your kitchen or office - or even a coffee shop - it needs to be somewhere you can relax and stick to your writing schedule to deliver the manuscript you'll be proud of.

The character traits we’ve noted in this blog post could mean the difference between a book that is never published and seeing your name on the bestseller list. Which ones are you missing?