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I can remember a time where it was just certain people who were considered authors . Just a small select few who wanted to carve out their niche in society. Not only has times changed …books have become the new thing to make an additional income . It is also very easy to write a book and even easier to get the books published. Even though its a fairly easy process there are still some areas that people need to know before they start the journey of writing a book .
Let’s be realistic although we can write complete sentences we are not all writers and those of us who cannot write a complete sentence doesn’t mean that you’re not a good writer as well. Why did I say this…if you have an idea to write a book take advantage of the internet . Find a few creative writing courses, find a free English course and take those courses. Use those courses as a way to advance yourself. This sort of advancement can give you a lead when it comes to getting your book out.
Come up with an original idea. When I say original I don’t mean to reinvent the wheel . Original can be a different spin on things. If you are writing a children’s book and your favorite book growing up was Jack and Bean Stalk . We know that that book was already written but what can you do to use the same story with a different spin . Think about the Cinderella story and think of how many times that story has been rewritten , revamped and changed to go along with the times.
Once you have your idea of what you want to write , purchase a notebook. It can be a small notebook or a 5 subject notebook. It just needs to be something that you can take everywhere you go . This is a tool that can be used as you are brainstorming your book. And the way computers and phones die it is also a good way to keep your things together. Also as your write this notebook can be used as a map.
Stick to your idea. It is very easy to have a thought and branch off to a lot of other thoughts. Have you ever heard a person give a speech and it was supposed to be about one thing and when you left you didn’t really have a point of reference because so many things were said? They didn’t know how to stick to the point. I don’t know about you but if I am reading something that has the title 5 ways to make money …I’m not too interested in a recipe that you added unless that recipe is how to make money . So stick to one idea. Don’t try to write 3 books at one time . Don’t think about a sequel, a trilogy and so on …carry out your first assignment and then on to the next.
Now its time to start writing . I would suggest you write your manuscript on something like google docs. You can log on to any computer and find your information. It saves automatically and you won’t lose your things if your computer crashes. Also and this is the best part of google docs, it makes changes and corrects words that are misspelled and gives you an accurate word count …which will be very important once your book is finished. Some people like to write on inspiration , some sequential, some spontaneous it doesn’t matter how you get your thoughts out just be sure that your reader can follow your story . Make sure that your writing is clear and understandable.
Remember you are writing for someone else to read so make sure what you are writing is easy to understand . I’m from the south and some of the words that we use here are not words that are used around the world. I have to be mindful of that even when I’m blogging because I want what I am saying to be understood by all and not just people who are from the south specifically to the area I was raised in . Now this can change if you are writing specifically so that people can see the cultural differences in your book. For an example…when reading some books that were in the civil war times there are some words that are specific to that time . It allows the reader to know that its is from that period. Otherwise…stick to the regular universal speech that we all can understand.
After your book is completed its time to shop your book . The easiest and most economic way is to take that work that you have written and upload it on Amazon. All you need to do is create an account, edit it , add your graphics and select your price. Amazon will take a percentage of the sale price and you will use word of mouth, social media, mass media and other profiles to sale your book. The best part of this is that you won’t go through any type of rejection…well unless your book title is not so original then you will have to change things ( I guess thats a rejection) .
Another way is to self publish your book. If you are good with graphics you will upload your book to a graphics program ( Canva) and send it out for print. These books cannot go to stores unless you send them to your local stores and sell them. There is money that is required for print, there will be no editing so be mindful or hire your old English teacher to help you will editing and grammatical errors.
Another self publishing way is to send your book to companies that self publish . This is very interesting and what most first time authors do. Always read the fine print …you will be required to pay money to get your book published. If your book is good you will make that money back but be prepared to spend over $2000 to get your book published. The advantages of this is that you will be edited by a professional ( kinda) and you will be placed in all book stores. At the same time there will not be much publicity so you will still have to self advertise your book .
The traditional route is the last and possibly the longest way to get your book published. First you need to write a query letter to a literary agency . This agency will represent you to sell your book to a publishing company . A lit agent will receive a portion of the sale of your work. In your letter you will tell about yourself, the book, the word count ( each book has to have a certain word count , most chapter books have over 10000 words) and also you will give them a portion of your story. If they ask you for more of your story give it to them …that is normal and they want to make sure that its worth their time . At some point they will say yes I would like to view your entire book and shop your book for publishing . Or they will say no. Remember NO can just mean no today…
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Tesha
