Considering writing a book. Any helpful hints?

[RodISHI]

I'm not a writer but I would like to share some things so I'm considering writing a book. A friend asked me to write a book about my life some years back. Actually several friends ask me to write it all down. So I did. Well actually I started. Almost four hundred pages into it something happened that changed the whole course of our lives. I was awakened in the middle of the night with nightmare, yet it was a real event that took place when I was five years old. Three fifteen in the morning I called Rod and he answered the phone with, "What's wrong". He sounded to me like he was wide awake sitting by the phone when he answered the call. He was in Iowa and I was in Florida in the Everglades. We had a disagreement before I had went to Florida, well actually more than one but that one in particular nearly caused the final straw for a full and complete divorce. We had previously signed the papers and our attorney had put them in a file all prepared to submit at a phone call to him to do so. The year before our attorney told us to wait and try to work things out because he really did not think we wanted a divorce. He was right but we were or seemed miserable around one another. That final argument was about trust. Even though I did and still do trust Rod more than any man on earth he was very jealous that God alone gets me absolute and total trust. Three months went by and he refused to go to Florida that year with me so I had packed the pickup with the computer, my stuff and the dogs, hooked to the boat and went by myself down there to our little spot. I was also very hurt and mad that Rod refused to go. I called and the attorney's secretary. She said she threw the divorce papers out. The divorce would have to wait until I got back from Florida and new papers could be filled out.

Several weeks of going through memories and events that shaped my life and the path that I have walked this dream/memory totaled it all. When Rod first came to stay at my home I would awake us both with terrible screams from the nightmares I had three to four nights out of every week. Back then Rod would just hold me in his arms and let me know I was safe until I fell back asleep. Over the years the nightmares subsided but had never fully gone away. When he asked that night I called him from Florida, "What's wrong?" I responded I think I have had the last nightmare I will ever have. Rod said, that's it you cannot do this by yourself. He flew down the next day. From that point onward everything changed. After few weeks were a roller coaster of recollections of events and emotions of the previous twenty years and beyond the time we had been together. A battle was on and it was a spiritual battle. Some will understand that some here will not. The Holy Spirit was with us for almost two months. The book I had been writing seemed so unimportant at that point. The precepts that men have proclaimed and taught melted away at that point for us. I know some will understand what I am speaking about and others here will not.

We learned at that point in our lives that although we may perceive something one way we really have no clue what is happening in the spiritual realm. We also learned the most precious things in this life are stored in a place the flesh is not allowed to go. It is hidden from us and kept in a safe place. A lock box that God Himself keeps. Truly a treasure beyond what people of living on earth can imagine.


So any helpful hints on how to write a book?

 

[Neser Boha]

I've been wanting to write a book since I learned how to write; however, the will to write a book about my life hasn't surfaced until I was in my late teens. My English language professor asked me to. He made me promise that one day I will sit down and do just that. I've been thinking about doing so off and on. I still want to. And I still don't know how. I don't know where to start, what to focus on, etc. Basically, I have the same question ... How the hell do I write a book?

Good luck. It seems you're way ahead of me. Writing 400 pages is impressive!

 

[AllieBaba]

Get an agent. It's almost impossible to get anything published without it. Subscribe to a writer's magazine and learn how to write out your book proposals.

 

[RodISHI]

I've been wanting to write a book since I learned how to write; however, the will to write a book about my life hasn't surfaced until I was in my late teens. My English language professor asked me to. He made me promise that one day I will sit down and do just that. I've been thinking about doing so off and on. I still want to. And I still don't know how. I don't know where to start, what to focus on, etc. Basically, I have the same question ... How the hell do I write a book?

Good luck. It seems you're way ahead of me. Writing 400 pages is impressive!

Thank you. I was terrible at English in school. It was one of those subjects that I just could not get into. I have depended on Rod to be my editor over the years for business letters I had to write. The only one that read what I wrote the first time was Rod. Part of it got saved on a disk and when we got back to Iowa the computer crashed so most of it was lost. I still recall all of it. Shame we do not have the hard drive Rod has recovery software now we could get it all back with. I have to assume it was not meant to be and start over.

 

[RodISHI]

Get an agent. It's almost impossible to get anything published without it. Subscribe to a writer's magazine and learn how to write out your book proposals.

Thank you. I'll look into it from that angle.

 

[Big Black Dog]

I'd like to write a book too but I'm afraid the only person who would buy it would be the wife...

 

[Skull Pilot]

Online Writing Workshops For Unpublished Writers
Writers Online Workshops - Writing Workshops from the publisher of Writer's Digest
Online writing workshops taught by the UW-Madison Department of Liberal Studies & the Arts

 

[Mr Natural]

Keep it conversational.

Avoid big words and complicated sentences.

Don't talk down to your audience.

 

[RodISHI]

Keep it conversational.

Avoid big words and complicated sentences.

Don't talk down to your audience.

Not a big word person normally. I do have a hard time forming sentences at times. Thank you.

 

[Coloradomtnman]

Here's the best advice: really, really want to write it. Don't write it to get published (cause you probably won't and it can take years for it to be published after you write it). Don't write it cause you dream of being a writer. Don't write it to please people. Write it cause you enjoy the very act of writing it and that is what is good enough.

If, after you finish it, then think about getting published and take classes and do LOTS of research on the best way, at the time, to do that. Many writers are publishing themselves these days and that takes a lot of money and gets very little distribution.

My English lit professor had written a number of books before being published. Each book took about ten years to write, finally get published (if they actually were published, and its the longest part), and then released to the public. Another English professor I know has written three novels, all of which have never been published, and the manuscripts have been collecting dust in his closet for years. There's A LOT of competition out there.

Good luck!

 

[RodISHI]

Thank you, CM. If I write it I'll be treating it like the art I do. It will be because I want to. Not into pleasing anyone in particular I just think there is a lot of misinformation out there and the God experiences we had were and are awesome. If no one else read it my family and friends would want to read it.

I had not read any books for a few years until recently. Rod's sis gave him "The Shack" to read. I think it was written as fiction not sure. It is about a Holy Spirit experience but written in a manner that did not keep me reading it until the end without stopping. On a whole it was good meat and it gave me a lot of things to consider.

 

[BasicGreatGuy]

The most important thing you need to do is come up with an outline for your book. This will help you with staying focused with the subject matter and the flow of the book. Without an outline, you run the risk of being too verbose and fragmented.

The next important issue that needs addressing, is proof-reading. If at all possible, have a third party go over your work. When I say third party, I am referring to someone besides you and the person(s) involved in publishing your work.

In regards to publishing, you don't need a publishing agent. Having an agent is apropos, when you have already established yourself as a writer with more than one book. The most economical and practical route to take at this point in time, is self-publishing. There are several reputable self-publishing companies online. There are several different packages you can choose from. By availing yourself to self-publishing, you control every aspect and cost of your book. Depending on which package(s) you choose, your self-publishing cost can run from a few hundred dollars to fifteen hundred dollars and up.

 

[AllieBaba]

My ex and his brother are both published novelists. In fact, his brother has written dozens of books. My ex only co-authored one novel, but he's written all his life. He wrote articles for the Farmer's Almanac, he went to Afghanistan to do a series of articles, he ghost writes for friends, he edits.

 

[AllieBaba]

I find his writing trite and dull, but boy howdy it's very, very correct.

 

[California Girl]

If I had a buck for every person who has asked my advice because they wanted to write a book, I would indeed be a wealthy gal.

As a professional writer, my advice would be don't bother - seriously. Unless you actually do have a unique story and an ability to write, forget it.

 

[Charles Stucker]

As a professional writer, my advice would be don't bother - seriously. Unless you actually do have a unique story and an ability to write, forget it.

Yeah the professionals always talk about contracts, while everybody else talks about Plots and characterization etc.

The current market is very hard on novel writers. Google around to find some published writer's home pages and look at the blogs. Even people with a dozen or so books published are holding down a "real job" because the market pays so little. The Publisher doesn't pay the writer much because the publishing company almost universally takes a bath on a first novel.

If you want to get your book written - start writing. Just put words on paper until you have a book. Then, knowing you can get that many words down, go back and start over - do an outline, develop your themes, etc.

No agent will touch you until you have a polished product, you'll just get form rejections to your inquiries.

 

[Terry]

I have a better idea. Get a tape recorder and record your words, then hire a writer to write it.

Well that is what I would do because you all have seen my writing ability or should I say Non-ability.

 

[manu1959]

my brother the holywood literary agent always said that one should go take creative writing class at the local jc and use those course and the teachers to polish your chapters....oh.....and grow to like rejection....

 

[Charles Stucker]

go take creative writing class at the local jc and use those course and the teachers to polish your chapters

Check out the course before you take it. A lot of junior colleges have writing courses so minimal that you won't gain anything; some instructors are worth taking, but many are not. Check to be sure which it is before you put money down.

 

[JimH52]

I self published a book in January. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I had been writing it for years on my experiences growing up in rural Virginia. With technology available now, it really isn't that hard. I took lots of creative writing courses in college.

I don't expect to be rich or famous, but I hopefully will leave something for my great grandchildren to read when I am dead and gone. I have sold over 400 units and I am writing the sequel. If that is your dream, do it.