The Sims 4 Writing Skill & The Book of Life (2025)

Book Types, Royalties, and Getting Inspired

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

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.

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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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.

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 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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