LucidElement Posted July 24, 2006 #1 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hey All, Well, ive done this post a LONGGG time ago, but im serious, i want to write a book.. i just don't no where to begin.. and is it hard to get it published? i mean there r millions of books in Barnes & Nobel, so i dont no if it can be that difficult but im sure it is.. Anyways, if you guys can give me any insight or steps to do first id appreciate it thank you soo much!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonDäniken Posted July 24, 2006 #2 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hey All, Well, ive done this post a LONGGG time ago, but im serious, i want to write a book.. i just don't no where to begin.. and is it hard to get it published? i mean there r millions of books in Barnes & Nobel, so i dont no if it can be that difficult but im sure it is.. Anyways, if you guys can give me any insight or steps to do first id appreciate it thank you soo much!!! First of all, what sort of book do you want to write? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnSide Posted July 24, 2006 #3 Share Posted July 24, 2006 To get published you need to work extremely hard, impossibly hard unless writing is your full time job. You need a very high talent for words, with impeccable grammar and spelling. You need to be new and innovative, not using ideas or even a writing style that has previously been used. And if you had that, then you also need a hell of alot of luck, probably some contacts in the business would help, and stubborness in the face of years of trying and failing to get even a page of your writing to be read by a publisher. Money would help alot too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never_Hit_Nirvana Posted July 24, 2006 #4 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Hey All, Well, ive done this post a LONGGG time ago, but im serious, i want to write a book.. i just don't no where to begin.. and is it hard to get it published? i mean there r millions of books in Barnes & Nobel, so i dont no if it can be that difficult but im sure it is.. Anyways, if you guys can give me any insight or steps to do first id appreciate it thank you soo much!!! There's two roads you can choose. 1) In it for the money. Pick a standard plot and subject and just tear the thing off. Find something hot for the subject, like hidden codes in ancient writings and research the subject then pump out a 800 words per chapter page turner of dubious quality and originality and wait for the royalty checks. 2) Write about what you want to write about, and do it your way; fulfill your spirit. Starvation, frustration and the mockery of the artistically insipid but filthy rich (see choice #1) lie down this path. As far as the steps... Practice, practice, practice. Write so much and so often that it becomes second nature to you, as necessary as breathing, then tackle the book. Start with a detailed outline that defines each section of your book, and work from it. Set aside time each day, and shoot for a target word count each day (1600 is a good round number) and bang out the rough draft, then edit, rewrite, revise, curse, drink, get depressed, then hopeful again, then, once you have something you want to show somebody, give a draft to a few choice friends and family to read and comment on. Listen to what they have to say, then repeat the rewrite process. After you are done, and can live with the book (learn quickly that satisfaction will never happen), hope you have an agent to shop the book around to a publisher. Not nearly as easy as it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucidElement Posted July 24, 2006 Author #5 Share Posted July 24, 2006 cool guys thanx, keep the ideas comming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucidElement Posted July 25, 2006 Author #6 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Has anyon ehere written and gotten a book published, if so let me no pleasee thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walken Posted July 25, 2006 #7 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Lucid, don't waste your time; You will not get a book published in my lifetime...and I will live a lot longer than you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlDrippy34 Posted July 25, 2006 #8 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Lucid, don't waste your time; You will not get a book published in my lifetime...and I will live a lot longer than you. An admirable rigor in manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walken Posted July 25, 2006 #9 Share Posted July 25, 2006 An admirable rigor in manner. An admirable rigor in honesty. If it makes you feel any better, I'm currently working on two...peices of literature. Feel free to rip apart my ambitions, but - let's be honest - with my masterful command of the English language, it's a lot more likely than Lucids. Tell me Lucid, what is your 'book' about? An encyclopedia? Perhaps a novel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Posted July 25, 2006 #10 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Well, ive done this post a LONGGG time ago, but im serious, i want to write a book.. i just don't no where to begin.. and is it hard to get it published? i mean there r millions of books in Barnes & Nobel, so i dont no if it can be that difficult but im sure it is.. Masterful command? Anyway I agree that your ambition is admirable, LucidElement, and would also say that what others have written here about persistence and keeping at it every day would be the way to go. Good luck!! I think all of us who love English or language would like to see our names in print. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplos Posted July 25, 2006 #11 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I've got a novel shopping for agents right now. What type of book do you want to write? My 2 big tips: read a lot and write a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maelstrom5 Posted July 28, 2006 #12 Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) Hey All, Well, ive done this post a LONGGG time ago, but im serious, i want to write a book.. i just don't no where to begin.. and is it hard to get it published? i mean there r millions of books in Barnes & Nobel, so i dont no if it can be that difficult but im sure it is.. Anyways, if you guys can give me any insight or steps to do first id appreciate it thank you soo much!!! Writing a novel is not difficult if you know what you want to write about, you research it and have the patience to spend two months or more writing and rewriting until you get it right. Where the difficult part comes in is actually getting it published. Sure you can send it off to Xlibris or other POD type publishers, but your book doesn't really get 'out there' where readers will read it unless you're excellent at promoting it. If you don't feel like taking that route, then you submit your manscript to either agents or traditional publishers (I suggest submitting to an agent, because they'll know right away if they can find a market for the book). I have several manuscripts that I'm trying to sell right now, but my problem is that the subjects I write about are so way 'out there' that a lot of agents aren't sure they will sell. I recently completed a more 'mainstream' novel that one agent is interested in and I'm waiting to hear back on it even now as I write this message. Not just anyone can sit down and write a novel - most people don't feel up to sitting down every night for nights on end and writing until they can't see anymore and fall asleep with their head on the keyboard. I write sometimes from midnight until 5:00AM (because everyone's asleep & the house is quiet) and then I take a 'power nap' and go to work at 9:00AM. Writing a novel sounds easy, but only those who want to see it through all the way to the bitter end ever see publication. best of luck, let us know how your book goes. - Jillian Edited July 28, 2006 by Maelstrom5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maelstrom5 Posted July 28, 2006 #13 Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) Lucid, don't waste your time; You will not get a book published in my lifetime...and I will live a lot longer than you. Don't be so negative. Lucid can publish a book, but he/she must write it first. Granted, a brush-up on spelling and grammar might be called for in Lucid's case, but it's not out of the realm of possibility - I've seen stranger things happen. I've already published and been paid for several short stories and some poetry, and I'm three times older than you are - and I only started getting serious with writing four years ago. My novel(s) will be published, I'm sure of it. Will I make any money at it? That's the question. Only time will tell... Edited July 28, 2006 by Maelstrom5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplos Posted July 29, 2006 #14 Share Posted July 29, 2006 to spend two months or more writing and rewriting Two months? Wow, I'm impressed. My first novel - inspiring dream to final rewrite - took about 2 years. Then I hammered out the sequel's first draft in 3 exhausting weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walken Posted July 29, 2006 #15 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Alrighty, fine; I apologise for being so negative. I take it back and what not. Lucid - Whats your book about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maelstrom5 Posted July 29, 2006 #16 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Two months? Wow, I'm impressed. My first novel - inspiring dream to final rewrite - took about 2 years. Then I hammered out the sequel's first draft in 3 exhausting weeks. Two months is how long it took me to write my first draft, and I edit as I go. Add about four weeks to that to do a final edit & submit, let's say three months altogether, tops. But then again, I write 4,000 words a day regardless of circumstance. I certainly have dedication, if nothing else. - Jillian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthenno Posted August 17, 2006 #17 Share Posted August 17, 2006 An admirable rigor in honesty. If it makes you feel any better, I'm currently working on two...peices of literature. Feel free to rip apart my ambitions, but - let's be honest - with my masterful command of the English language, it's a lot more likely than Lucids. Tell me Lucid, what is your 'book' about? An encyclopedia? Perhaps a novel? Masterful command? I believe you’ve lost an apostrophe off the end of Lucid, there... Oh, and you spelt pieces wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never_Hit_Nirvana Posted August 17, 2006 #18 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Masterful command? I believe you’ve lost an apostrophe off the end of Lucid, there... Oh, and you spelt pieces wrong. Spelling matters very little, gives editors something to do, makes 'em feel useful. Lots of published, widely-read writers couldn't spell to save their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Posted August 17, 2006 #19 Share Posted August 17, 2006 An admirable rigor in honesty. If it makes you feel any better, I'm currently working on two...peices of literature. Feel free to rip apart my ambitions, but - let's be honest - with my masterful command of the English language, it's a lot more likely than Lucids. Tell me Lucid, what is your 'book' about? An encyclopedia? Perhaps a novel? You're completely mistaken if you think it's spelling and punctuation which makes a book a book; what do you think it is that editors do? What you need is creativity and originality, assuming it's fictional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthenno Posted August 17, 2006 #20 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Yep, but if someone is claiming a ‘masterful command’ of a language they should probably make sure their spelling’s up to scratch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaoszerg Posted August 17, 2006 #21 Share Posted August 17, 2006 use a programe like new noverlist i use that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maelstrom5 Posted August 19, 2006 #22 Share Posted August 19, 2006 use a programe like new noverlist i use that. I've tried those - they're really just organizers. I like Dramatica Pro, though, for an organizer it's top-notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplos Posted August 19, 2006 #23 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Oh gosh... I tried some free trial writer's software once. All it did for me was waste time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vavelva Posted August 21, 2006 #24 Share Posted August 21, 2006 I suggest writing a book for specific people. I am currently working on a story for christians that seem to catch the interest of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthenno Posted August 21, 2006 #25 Share Posted August 21, 2006 A story for Christians that catch the interests of others? Other whats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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