So You want to Write a Book

The other night I was in a workshop with a lovely lady we’ll call Marie who was a cancer survivor. She started to tell different stories about her life – not just about her vacation with cancer, but other parts of her planet that captivated me and everyone else in the room. I said, “You need to write a book!” Marie replied, “That’s what people tell me.” Yet it was clear Marie had no burning desire to go do that.

This was an unusual exchange, since most individuals I encounter can not wait to pick my brain about how I wrote and published my book. Everybody I meet these days seems to wish to write a book. One other day, as having a routine exam, my dentist told me his wife wanted to write a book. How did I go about getting it published, he wondered, as I opened my mouth to say “Ah.”

It seems to me that it is natural for people to want to put down on paper (or in such modern times, on computer system ) their story. With the ease of learning anything we need to know about anybody by just a click of our laptop mouse on a search engine, comes a desire to be part of the global community. If they can web log about topic x, so can I. Yes you can!

The 1st thing to do is to get clear on your topic. Take a stroll through a book store and notice all the different headings: fiction, self-help, sci-fi, biography, music, health, cooking, love, history, achievement, psychology, literature, etc. The variety is countless. Once you’ve chosen your genre, just start to write. Try to write at very much the same time every day. This is training yourself to spend time just for you and your book. This is the stage that most people never take! They have an excellent idea and can tell you things to know about it, but when you ask if they have started writing any of their thoughts down, the usual response is “Oh, I do not have any time.”

Yrs ago I worked for a very effective businessman who had also written a very productive book. It had been translated in several languages. If he wished, he never had to write another book again. Nevertheless, he got up every single morning at half a dozen:00 am and wrote for 1 hour, then came into the office. Writing was his passion. I admired his tenacity.

If you’re writing about a certain period of history or a particular part of the planet, you might wish to do research about that time or place to help bring out the spirit of that atmosphere in your writing. Research can also inspire you and help you see your story from a different perspective.

The old adage that you must write about what you know isn’t so far off the mark. I recently published a book about my experiences as a celebrity personal assistant. Having never written much of anything before that, I was pleasantly surprised at how effortless it was. My life is comprised of a series of events which I turned into a book which is a reflection of my contemplation of what that all means in today’s working environment. That was a mouthful!

Once you feel your book is ready to show a publisher, I suggest you initial give it to someone in your inner circle to proofread. We get so close to our own merchandise that it helps to have brand new eyes search for spelling and grammatical errors. Nothing drives publishers and their editors crazier than to receive a manuscript that is riddled with misspellings! Lately with laptop or computer spell check programs as part of all word processing programs, there’s no defense to ever send out any written piece with errors.

Now that you have written your book, checked it over for errors, and maybe gotten feedback from the friends you have given the manuscript to read, you’re ready to submit it to a publisher. Being published by a standard big home publisher is a good goal. If you’re luck enough to snag a contract with a firm , be prepared to wait to see your book in print. Most publishing businesses once they sign an novelist to do a book with them, schedule the book release for 2 yrs or more from the date of the signing of the contract! You are put at the end of the line of another writers that already signed up ahead of you.

The more realistic aim is to publish it yourself. Personally, I strongly suggest going directly to a print on requirement publisher. There are various different self publishing corporations. The cost just isn’t as much as you might think. All have skilled staffs that guide you through the steps of having your book edited, a cover designed and eventually printed. From start to complete, my book took less than a year from the time I submitted it to my publisher to the time it was on available on Amazon.

Nothing is more thrilling than the day your published book arrives and you are holding it in your hand. The procedure can appear daunting doing the research on your subject, getting up everyday and writing, getting up every single day and not writing, agonizing as you wait to hear what your family and friends think about your book, finding a publisher, collaborating with editors to make changes to make your story more readable, writing merchandising material, selecting a cover design, and finally, having the book printed yet if you keep your eye on the prize: youre sense of satisfaction for having followed through using your dream – it’s all worth it. Go for it! Start writing currently.

Georgette Adanas has been writing content articles on advantagefamily.com since 1999.