The Sims 4 Writing Skill

Book Types, Royalties, and Getting Inspired

The Sims 4 Writing Skill
The Sims 4's Writing Skill

The Sims 4's Writing Skill allows your Sim to publish books and get paid for their efforts. Inspired is the Ideal Mood for this Skill, but you may find that Sims who are Sad or Flirty can make great cash off Sad or Romantic Books by writing Bestsellers. This Guide will teach you all you need to know to be successful with this Skill, though it has been simplified compared to the previous versions in earlier iterations of the Sims Franchise. All books take about the same time to write, and Bestsellers produce similar earnings.

How to: Writing Cheats
Press Control + Shift + C then type testingcheats on and press enter. You can now set your skill level with stats.set_skill_level major_writing x (fill in 1-10) - we also have a full listing of Skill Cheats and a master list of Cheats in The Sims 4

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Writing Skill Video Guide

A guide Writing, maximizing profit and the Book of Life you get for the Bestselling Author Reward Trait

The Sims 4 Writing Very Inspired
Being Very Inspired Raises Book Quality, helping your Sim Write Bestsellers

Getting Started & Inspiration
All you need to get started with Writing is a Computer, and perhaps some of the things you need to get Inspired. Showers allow you to take Thoughtful Showers, and Radios help boost Happiness so that you can boost Inspiration. You can listen to the radio, then sit down for a long writing session in which you can likely finish two to three Books. Objects from the Painter Career synergize very well with this Skill, as do those from the Chef (although you'd be effectively writing in the Kitchen). These give off Auras which provide Inspiration. All Sims who can write may also browse art from the Web on the Computer, which allows them to get Inspired as well. Stacking all these, along with the Writing Skill's 'Read for Reference' ability, allows your Sim to get Very Inspired.

Good Traits & Aspirations
The Creative Trait is a natural choice, since it randomly gives your Sim Inspiration. Also, Lazy is a decent choice given it will give your Sim more Happiness from sitting in a chair for extended times, which helps boost all Inspired Buffs. The Bestselling Author Aspiration is the best choice for this Skill, given it allows you to write The Book of Life.

The Sims 4 Book Genres
There are numerous Book Genres, but they perform similarly in Royalties

Skill Unlocks & Book Type List
Here are the various unlocks for each level of the Skill. Note the Emotional Books. Sims with the Expressionistic Trait from the Painter Aspiration can write these so long as they reach the level. Sims without it need to be in the proper emotional state. Every Book type takes about 4 hours to write and produce similar earnings.

  • Level 1 - Practice Writing, Write Children's Book
  • Level 2 - Write Sad Books (if Emotional), Self-Publish Books
  • Level 3 - Write Short Story Books, Write Excuse Notes for Sims in School, Read Non-Fiction Books for Reference (makes your Sim Inspired - the book must be placed in the game world to see this option) and Discuss Favorite Book/Author Social Interactions Unlock. Motivational(Confident) and Playful Books possible if Emotional
  • Level 4 - Write Poetry Books and Write Love Emails to other Sims. Romance (Flirty) and Workout Guide (Energized) Books if Emotional
  • Level 5 - Write Non-Fiction Books, Sell to Publisher, and Recite Love Poetry Interaction Unlock
  • Level 6 - Write Screenplay
  • Level 7 - Write Fantasy Books
  • Level 8 - Write Science Fiction Books
  • Level 9 - Write Mystery Books, Submit to Literary Digest
  • Level 10 - Write Biography, Mentor Sims in Writing

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The Sims 4 Read for Reference
Read Non-Fiction for Reference Helps your Sim get Inspired

Book Quality
Book Qualities range from Normal, to Good, Excellent, and Bestseller. Naturally, Book Quality is important. In order to raise it, you should either be Very Inspired or Very X if you're writing an Emotional Book. The Creative Visionary Reward, bought for 2000 Satisfaction in the Rewards Store, raises the odds you'll come out with Bestsellers.

Publishing and Royalties
You can publish books from the Mailbox. Book Royalties vary based on the form of Publishing. Self-Publishing is baseline, and will not be used once you reach level 5 and are able to Sell to Publisher, which gives about 50% more earnings (but is based on book quality). There is no downside to this form of publishing. At level 9, once you're able to Submit to Literary Digest, you can submit a book once a week. Save it for a Bestseller, as it gives practically double that of what a Publisher will provide. Royalties are paid out every day at 10AM, and you'll earn them for about 20 days for any book type. You can have as many books published as you want at any time.

The best types of books to write are generally higher level, given the time to complete the books is about the same. An Excellent Biography or Mystery Book will do far better than a Bestselling Sad or Children's book, because those are easier to write. This isn't very realistic, but is just the way it is. The higher level books have higher multipliers. Your Sim's Writing level does influence the pay for each book type, however, so if you stuck with writing a low-level book you'd gradually see the value increase as you approach level 10. Later in your Sim's writing Career, save Submit to Literary Digest for Bestsellers that are high level, and submit the rest to regular publishers.

The Sims 4 Book Royalties
Book Royalties come in daily at 10AM

Rake in the Money
No matter the book quality, you should publish your books. You can make $10k off a Bestseller during the 20 days you get Royalties, though day to day earnings may fluctuate up to 30-40%. The list will not show all your books at once (max about 16), but rest assured you do get all the money from those works each day. As the old books drop off, you will see your new books' performance. It would have been better if Maxis had listed the newest books first so that you can see how they perform, but I suppose it's OK the way it is. You just won't know exactly what you're making off a book until time has passed... but you'll definitely feel the effects in your Household's bank account.

Love Emails & Excuse Notes
Love Emails allow Sims to send an Email to any Sim they know, which will raise their romantic relationship with them. This is a very powerful feature for increasing the affection between two Sims. Excuse Notes allow a Sim to skip Work or School without major performance hits.

The Sims 4 Book of Life
The Book of Life lets you Resurrect Dead Sims or Raise their Needs and Soothe Bad Moods

The Book of Life
Perhaps the single most interesting aspect of this Skill is the ability to write the Book of Life. The Book of Life is unlocked by completing the Bestselling Author Aspiration and getting the Poetic Reward Trait. First, you must write it, but then need to bind it by capturing the Epic Saga of a living Sim. With this Book, you can call a dead Sim's ghost to your lot, so that you may befriend them and add them to your household where they can be resurrected to life simply by reading their own book. Eating Ambrosia (Gourmet Cooking Skill). The Book may not be bound to a ghost Sim and if a Sim has been returned to the netherworld via their Urn, they will not be able to be called by the Book. If a Sim who is a Ghost reads their own book of life, they can use it to Restore Life, bringing them back from the dead as effectively as Ambrosia, only much easier.

If The Book of Life is used while the Sim is still alive you can refill their Needs on demand and soothe any negative moods, any time! You may pass this book to a Sim to let them restore their own Needs. Only the Sim that wrote the book may bind it, however, and a Sim may not bind it to themselves. If a couple wanted to have this book for each other, both would need to write the Book of Life, and bind it to the other, thus requiring both to complete the Aspiration.

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Comments (25)

Gravatar
New
MissFlowerssays...
Is it possible to cheat to get better at the writing skill?
Admin: Yes - control + shift + c
testingcheats on
stats.set_skill_level major_writing 10 would set you to max level.

More on cheats here
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New
MissFlowerssays...
I'm Norwegian, and i play in With the Language Norwegian. Does it still work? Or should it still work?
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New
SkyfriHimmelsays...
The language you play in does not affect the cheats. I play in Danish and all the cheats I have used still work :)
Admin: Thanks for letting us know, I had no idea myself.
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New
Willowsays...
I tryed this but it didnt work, even with testingcheats on
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New
Autumnsays...
try typing testingcheats true instead on testingcheats on. Otherwise, IDK.SmileSmileTongue
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New
Maegansays...
Does writing a book and practice writing raise the skill level at the same amount in the same time?
Admin: It's very similar, practice just lets you go without having to start over once they're done with the book. For some skills, using the socials you unlock gives more XP than actually using the skill. This is to accommodate the fact that you're discussing it between Sims and learning, but it is subject to abuse. Use the enthuse about iambic pantameter for writing.

I am actually planning to edit into all the skill guides that socials give gobs of XP and can be used to level them faster.
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New
bootsguysays...

Which book genre earns a big profit for a Sim once a Sim decided to sell the book to a publisher?

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New
Alacazamsays...
It depends on how high your skill level of Writing is, I suppose Wink
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Keep an eye on the worth of each book as your sim writes the different genre. Sometimes there is a particular genre that will earn more. Once you have found it, just keep churning that genre out.Smile
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New
Alacazamsays...
I just thought I'd put this out, I've tried it and now you can make copies of written books to keep at home or whatever. Grin
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New
moonvibessays...
How??? I've wanted to do this for so long!
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New
LunaTicksays...
Drag the book out of their inventory or click place in world, click on the book and select make copy. How much it cost depends on the quality of the book.
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New
RobertaKsays...
I think that feature came with GTW, so people could write books then start a bookstore and still sell the originals for publishing. :)
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New
Pixonutsays...
Nope, It works even without any expansion packs
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New
beckysays...
How do I know if a book was accepted by the literary digest? How long does it take?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Just by using the mailbox the book is automatically accepted.
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New
Rebekahsays...
After the author of a book dies, does the household still get the royalties?
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Senior
Playalotsays...
No the royalties stop immediately after the death of the author sim.
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New
Chris Phoenixsays...
When writing my second book, I put a title and description like normal, but when I finished writing it saved the book as "Children's Book" with the description "You know, for kids" or whatever it says on the interaction menu. I think it might be because I clicked out of the action before he finished the book but he just kept writing until he finished...I don't know. Is there a way to go into the console and change the title back to what I originally chose after I've published it? Or at least after I've written it?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
No, not that I've discovered. Huh
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New
bea334says...
Can you buy a book that you published? Huh I published a ton of books, but I want to sell them in my store. Can I buy them off the computer; or do I have to write them again?
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Senior
Playalotsays...
No you can not buy a book you have already published. Best to make a copy of the book before sending it to the publisher. Drag the book to a table or the floor and click on it. Choose 'make a copy'. You can make as many copies of the same book as you want.
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New
JaSminesays...
If the book of life is used on a sim and it revives, will it then die later again?
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Senior
Playalotsays...
Yes if you have aging on or an accident befalls that sim. They revert back to being ordinary 'alive' sim and can die all over again if that is how you want to play.
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New
RobertaKsays...
If you get tired of the standard genres, complete the Painting aspiration as well; you'll be able to write all the emotional books (Romance, Sad Book, Confident, Playful) no matter your mood when you start it.
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New
Malcolmsays...
Is there any way to publish my book to the internet? (The book shows up in computer at Order > Buy Book... interaction. and my book listed there?)
I really curious about it! Thank you SmileSmile
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Admin
Playalotsays...
The only way to publish is via the mailbox.Smile
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Regular
Rachelsays...
Can I make a copy of any book I write
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Yes you can, just get your sim to click on a completed book and make a copy. Smile
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Regular
Berkulesesays...
Oh wow! Wish I'd known this sooner. Any chance how to do this could be snuck into the main body of the guide? Going to copy all my books from now on.
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Regular
Berkulesesays...
I just noticed that my copies are not the same quality as the originals, oh well. Mainly wanted it for the jokes I put in the titles (eg, my childrens books starring Captain Profanity) but having a bestseller reproduce as normal quality is a bit of a downer.
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New
Sofiesays...
How come I got nothing in royalties for my new mystery book? 0:
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Depends when you sent it to a publisher, it will take a full sim day for the 1st royalties to come through. Also if you have a lot of published books the most recent ones will not show up in the notification until some of the earlier ones drop off.
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New
Sofiesays...
It wasn't like that... It were on the list like the rest of the books, but I only got 0 or 1 for it
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Maybe it was of poor quality. The better the quality of the book the more simoleons it will make each day in royalties with Best Sellers making the most.
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New
Laura Daviessays...
In the city living expansion, where you can live in apartments, in struggling to find he mailbox to self publish? Is there any other way?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
The mail boxes in an apartment is always on the wall (looks like a small grey box) in the communal hall area where your sim will spawn in after using the elevator.
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New
Kittenclawsays...
Under 'Getting Started & Inspiration' you had browse simpedia as a way to get inspired, but I believe you actually meant browse art. Grin
Admin: Opps, yes I believe I did mean browse art! Thanks for pointing that out. :)
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New
Piniiisays...
How come I cannot resurrect my nanny?

I accidently killed her in a locked room (starvation) and i was sorry i decided to resurrect her using this method. (I had already binded her to a book a long time ago)

I invited her to the household and made her read the book and also do the resurrection but she had a question mark everytime and was not able to come back alive again. What can i do? :((

I am worried because I have a ghost son that also starved to death and i want it to come back alive again but it might not work as well.... :'(: crying:
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Do you use any mods? If you do they maybe the issue. The other thing you can try is making the ghost eat Ambrosia
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New
Angiesays...
What about the other genres of books like romance. A full skill sim I got from the gallery can write romance books but my author sim with 10 writing skill cant?? what does she have that he doesn't? do I need to max another skill to write that genre??
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Senior
Playalotsays...
It's been a while since I played a writer sim but I think the ability to write in any emotional genre regardless of the sims current mood unlocks with the completion of the painting aspiration ( Painter Extraordinaire) and L10 writing. But your writer sim should be able to start writing emotional books when in that emotion themselves.
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New
Amr Elsayyadsays...
When I use the book of life that has been bound to a ghost, It just fills the needs and I get a notification that the sim has been invigorated and never gets the sim resurrected
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Senior
Playalotsays...
The ghost sim needs to do the reading and the book of life needs to have been written by a sim that knew the ghost when it was alive.
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New
Delitesays...
Hey all! This may be a silly question, but how do I "capture epic saga" on a ghost sim if they don't show up in the line up of friends any longer? Do I have to bind the book them before they die?? Or can I bind the book to any living sim to aid in the process? Thanks Smile
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Can only capture the epic saga of a living sim. If the sim has already died then it is too late. You have to do this interaction on living sims that your writer sim knows. So once your writer-sim has written a Book of Life, clicking on it will bring up the option to capture an epic saga.. clicking on this option brings up a sim menu picker. Choose which sim to capture and your writer-sim will do this automatically for you. Once it's ready rename the book with the sim who it is for so you don't get confused.
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New
thunderblotsays...
It's been a long time since I used the book of life. But today when I tried to use it, it won't give me an option to read it. The only options I get on clicking the book is "name" "put away" and "create copy".
Has the filling needs part of the book been removed? The sim I am using it for is alive sim.
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Sounds like a patch may have corrupted it, try writing another Book Of Life and then Capturing the Epic Saga of the sim you want it for again.
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New
thunderblotsays...
Tried it 3 times for 3 different Sims. It can do everything else. Calling back the ghost, redirecting. Just the filling up needs part is bugged. Sigh...
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Looks like this is a reported bug, sorry about that, I must have missed that on my initial look when I was replying to you.
EA Bug Report- Book of Life Broken
I guess it will have to be a developers fix. Such a shame as using the BoL is so good for sims when they are at work etc. It's like a cheat that isn't a cheat really.
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New
Tim Collinssays...
Is it possible to bind a book of life to a ghost sim?
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Admin
Playlotsays...
No, this book has to be bound to a living sim that your author sim knows. You can bring ghosts back to life with ambrosia though. Guide to Ambrosia
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New
Erynsays...
My sim accidentally burned to death from heat. I tried to resurrect him by having his girlfriend write the book of life. When capture saga appears the sim I am trying to resurrect does not appear in the dropdown. I choose his dad just to see what would happen, it stated sim was invigorated by an epic tale . Please help me change my sim from a ghost. (also the ambrosia way is too long) also ( i did plead for my sim but the grim reaper wasn't having it)
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Best bet would be to just cheat away the trait. Enable testingcheats on then use the cheat traits.remove_trait x with 'x' being the death the sim died from.
Ghost Guide
Cheats Guide
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New
Katiesays...

This is so disappointing!

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New
Katiesays...

Sorry if anyone misunderstood the message. I was having a problem with the skill and I was typing, and I accidentally hit the add comment button!

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New
AprilParker624says...

My sim is advanced and has almost maxed out all of her traits, but she still needs to write 5 GOOD books to finish out the Creativity, Bestselling Author task. Thats fine and all, but all her books she writes are EXCELLANT. How do I make her downsize to GOOD? Any suggestions? Maybe a cheat?



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