Writing a book can be overwhelming, especially when it's your first attempt. Your imagination may be running wild, or you have loads of interesting facts or ideas you've been cataloguing in your mind. There are two great ways to get yourself organized and prepared before doing any writing - researching and outlining. Thriller author Guy Morris spends a lot of time up front researching and outlining a book before doing any writing. He creates what he calls his "material box" which includes everything that can support his story idea or premise. He also develops his main characters up front and does a light outline to identify his major plot points and conflicts. He finds that these efforts help him move much faster during the writing process.
I very much appreciate the value of researching book ideas explained by Guy Morris.