Have you ever written a book? How did you do it?

I'm sorry, I haven't written a book. I don't like it when people respond to something they haven't done...but I am also wanting to write. I am working on a book and would like to do many more. I have read other peoples responses on getting published etc. I'm not that far yet, I just want to get my ideas out and written down for now. Childrens books is one of my interests also. Maybe we can keep in touch along the way of becoming "famous authors". ;)

This lot is full of writers. Hit the writing threads, and a tale of horror and hope will emerge, along with much griping from me about how difficult it is. Publishing comes in two forms: meaningful, and utterly useless and expensive. For conventional publishing, you'll probably need an agent. There's a site called Writer Beware, http://www.sfwa.org/beware/ operated by professional writers, that you need to see, before doing anything, particularly online. That will guide you through the rituals of publishing and what to avoid, as well as who to avoid.

Yes...I published a cookbook of Danish recipes, in English. The title means "Thanks For The Food." I self published it using lulu.com Tak For Mad ISBN: 1-4116-3456-X http://www.lulu.com/content/116633

I publish books at lulu.com for free. Go visit the site and check if you you deem it good for you. I don't have money and that was my big problem until I accidentally saw the promo of lulu. I am a Christian, a child of God, baptized into Christ on October 1, 1989 and I belong to the Church of Christ founded and headed by Christ as shown in Acts Chapter 2. I am given the gift of knowledge and understanding Bible Greek and I translate the Word of God from Greek to English PLAINLY - Greek word into its English equivalent with additional words for grammar purposes written in italics so that readers may delete them as the wish. I have already published THE WILL New Testament (Greek to English), GENESIS & EXODUS (Greek to English), ELEMENTS of SALVATION, The Right Way, GOD, ORIGIN, TRANSFER into PERFECTION, GREEK-ENGLISH (Grammar & Vocabulary), WORDS in THE WILL New Testament, and others shown at http://www.lulu.com/arseniajoaquin Try visiting lulu. It's free, no set up fees, no buyng required, and they extend a lot of help to those who do not yet know the how-to's.

I have a collection of my poetry, I am also thinking to publish my book. It is healthy activity to publish ur intellectual efforts and get the response by the reader. Wish u good luck.

Hey =) Kudos with the fine form of discussion. as you can tell or haven't noticed i've post to quite alot.. lol =) I've released a few online anthologys. (pdf - e-books) I'm also in the middle of writing on which i plan to release on my poetry and art community sometime when i get on with it. I haven't been doing to well with writing recently =) I doubt it'll do well but i know a few people enjoy my work so being published doesn't matter to me. what i writes from my heart and i wouldn't change that. ~Joey

I did but didnt have success I think you need to be very lucky to get good representation publishers are easy to find but getting them to read your work may be hard I tried poetry I think that is harder

I have never written a book. I only copied the whole book by hand writing on bible. I think it needs much time to do. Although I face the real situation, but I have never started yet.

the book can be hard and easy at the same time i made a book on my life. i also like to write about what makes me feel good inside and what dose not. writing about my life helps me too get over my hurts and understand life more clearly.

I've not written a book for myself; the closest I've come to that is having written several short stories online. However, I HAVE ghostwritten several books for a very untalented and unethical author who has penned several children's books. (I won't name her because she could conceivably see this post and sue me...) The writing part is the easiest, especially in my case where I wasn't creating the characters and situations (though, and this is one reason my client and I parted ways, I'd try and come up with more marketable ideas and subplots). If you are a writer and have a PC and a good word processor, all you need is the time, peace and quiet, and ability to lose yourself in your story as you write. The hard part, naturally, is the business end. You need to get a trade publication geared for writing and writers, maybe Writer's Digest, and read up on publishing options, agents, and marketing strategies. Writer's Digest also publishes an annual book on how to get published.

Yes I have written a book - mentally though, never been able to get it on pen and paper so it will never be published, it is a sort of gentle science fiction story which is set partly in roman times and partly in the present, with space ships, revolutions and lots of other 'exciting' happenings, but I just don't feel able to have the time to present it properly. I could buy a computer aided book printing programme and do it that way, but I don't feel that that would be individual enough to get published. Perhaps I could give my ideas to a 'Ghost Writer' who would write it for me for half the royalties (if any), but I am also not sure if there would be a market for my book.

My book, Teaching Ideas for the Come-Alive Classroom, was published quite a few years ago by Parker Publishing Co., a subsidiary of Prentice-Hall. I approached potential publishers with query letters before attracting an interested editor. I've also heard it said, over and over, that nonfiction is easier to find a home for than fiction, and I believe that it is true. Editors, after all, are looking for people who are experts in their subjects and know what they are talking about. For example, I was an elementary teacher who targeted my book to colleagues and included stuff that I tried in the classroom. Overall, the first step is having a good idea. For nonfiction, you should create a working title for your book and a brief outline (chapter by chapter). You should also visit a bookstore and examine similar books. How is your book different/unique/better than those competing books? And why are you the most qualified person to write it? Then explain this to a query letter to an editor. (You'll find a lot of markets listed in the Writer's Market.) Usually, I advise new writers to send ten query letters to ten editors. Doing this gives you a psychological advantage: if one editor says "no thanks," there may still be one among the other nine who says "yes." Finding a suitable publisher does take awhile because many publishers, especially the big ones, are just inundated with work. That's why so many of those publishers will only accept manuscripts submitted by agents only. And by the way, getting an agent is just as difficult as getting a publisher. Some editors ask to see 2 to 4 sample chapters, while others assume that you have written the entire book and request the manuscript. As a published writer who has worked with new writers, I know how difficult getting published can be. It takes time and perserverance! Don't ever give up. If you do, you will have sabotaged a promising writing career.

I've written several books as a ghostwriter and as myself. The children's market is the toughest to get in to. Some websites to read up on are Verla Kay's and harold Underdown's Purple Crayon. And go to the library and get a children's Writer's market book. It has publishers who still accept unsolicited material - but it is getting slim. You probably will need an agent. Once you have something written, find an online or in person critique group that dishes out honest opinions. A group that likes everything and has nothing to say is worthless. You want to create the best and get good critiques of your work. SCBWI (I used to belong) also has a lot of regional conferences that have a lot of information. www.scbwi.org