There’s More to Writing a Book Than Just Writing

So, I’ve always loved the spy or crime genre.
I prefer reading mostly fiction.
That’s fine but, I didn’t spend much time reading non-fiction subjects outside my personal comfort zone.
Now, reading an easy book is okay for somebody whose career doesn’t involve moving around words and ideas, but it’s poison for the new and want-to-be author.
Here’s the truth of the situation:
When becoming an author, then reading and research on the subject area is part of your role.
You must spend time reading outside of your comfort zone, reading the work of authors you admire and the books of authors you detest.
You must take notes, write down and learn to arrange your ideas before you start your book.
Once you start a novel, I just lept into it and was a pantser. I got to about 14,000 words and sat back and thought, “Oh, what happens next?”
Also, after writing just one sentence, I looked at it and edited away. It is so hard to read some text and find the grammatical or word errors and not correct the text.